Author: Wayne Slavin

As soon as next month, Nantucket could be known as a hotspot for another reason: high-speed wireless Internet access. Via [boston.com]

At last week's DefCon 12 -- the annual underground hacking confab -- AirDefense again monitored the airwaves looking for hacker habits. What it found wasn't pretty. Via [techweb.com]

Mobile warriors having trouble making a wireless connection across the hall might want to give some Ohio teens a call. This weekend they were able to make a 55-mile Wi-Fi connection. Via [wired.com]

An initiative supported by Intel is in the final stages of outlining a method to disable the radio transmitters of handheld devices during aircraft takeoff and landing. The development should help pave the way to greater freedom to use wireless-enabled mobile devices while in the air. Via [theregister.co.uk]

Now, consumer-electronics companies want to turn televisions into wireless gizmos. The trend began in Japan, and for the past few weeks, I've been test-driving the first model to hit U.S. shores, Sharp's Wireless Aquos. Here's how it works: Connect your cable and up to three other video sources -- DVD, TiVo, and the like --...

Is it really any wonder that wireless LAN service providers continue to struggle to generate a sustainable revenue stream when they pay so little attention to the needs of the end users they are targeting? Via [computerworld.com]

Wireless-LAN access point developer Aruba Wireless Networks will provide recommendations to the Internet Engineering Task Force this week aimed at preventing security breaches in Radius network access servers with WLAN clients. The company said the widespread use of WLANs in enterprise networks is exacerbating security problems in Radius (remote authentication dial-in user service) servers. Via...

At one time, wireless devices were notoriously difficult to set up for the non-technical user -- not to mention their flaky performance and security features. Belkin's F5D7231 router signals a shift in wireless networking toward user-friendly set-up, configuration and administration. Via [wireless.newsfactor.com]

Wi-Fi and cellular network technology finally tied the knot last week, as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Motorola Inc. each introduced mobile devices that can roam between the two technologies. But both products have limitations. Via [computerworld.com]

Northern Ireland is to get BT's first public wireless broadband service later this year, equipment vendor Alvarion announced on Monday. Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]

Intel Corp. has achieved a major step toward applying the power of Moore's Law to radio technology, building a working radio chip that packs in transistors as tightly as today's most advanced production chips, the company announced Friday. Via [infoworld.com]

Last year, the wireless LAN industry was inundated with startups hoping to make their mark with centralized wireless LAN management platforms. Today, major incumbent WLAN players such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Symbol Technologies Inc. consider just two of those startups as formidable competition: Aruba Wireless Networks Inc. and Airespace Inc., both of which reported...

By 2005 consumers will be able to subscribe to a wireless data plan that delivers digital subscriber line-like performance using WiMax technology, Intel's Sean Maloney has predicted. Via [vnunet.com]

Apple Computer's new AirPort Express is a four-trick pony: It creates a portable wireless network, moves music around the house, shares a printer and can increase the range of your existing wireless setup. Via [mercurynews.com]

WiFi-in-the-sky works very well, thank you, but what I learned about it in my aerial experiments this week included some surprises. Via [pbs.org]