Author: Wayne Slavin

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously approved rules Thursday morning to permit the marketing and operation of ultra-wide band (UWB) technology, which will allow wireless devices and services that deliver higher data bit rates with lower power consumption than either Bluetooth or 802.11. Via [internetnews.com]

Taking a page from their wired peers, wireless local area network (WLAN) providers Wayport Inc. officials announced Wednesday the acquisition of four Laptop Lane business centers at the Cincinnati/North Kentucky International Airport. Via [internetnews.com]

Newbury Networks, Inc, a developer of location-based network products, today announced the availability of LocaleManager and LocaleServer. The company described these as solutions for managing and deploying location-enabled networks and applications on WLANs supporting the 802.11 standard. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

There's no doubt that the most widely available and implemented wireless LANs today comply with the 802.11b standard. The recent availability of 802.11a radio cards and access points, however, introduces what is becoming another mainstream wireless LAN solution. If you're planning the deployment of a wireless LAN, you now face making a decision on which...

A few weeks ago a USA Today reporter called me and asked me what I had heard about companies pulling 80211b installations due to security concerns. I had not heard of any such instances and told her so. She was slightly inaccurate about what was going on: turns out that high-security places like the Lawrence...

A standard for low-voltage, low-power chips for wireless devices will push the concept of ubiquitous computing from theory to reality in homes, offices, and even cars, an executive from Koninklijke Philips Electronics said here Monday. Via [pcworld.com]

Some of my most popular columns have been about my continuing struggle for good Internet service from my home in rural Sonoma County, California. From bad dial-up to bad DSL (IDSL—don't get it) to Starband satellite Internet to my current set-up, where I use a 10.5 kilometer wireless link to borrow DSL service from a...

WLAN in Asia-Pacific has risen out of the woodwork, even as non-US shipments of WLAN pick up faster than anticipated and as more public places become connected via the IEEE 802.11b standard, said analyst firm IDC at its Asia/Pacific IT Forum in Singapore. Via [asiacomputerweekly.com]

Wireless networking keeps getting better and better. 802.11a-based devices are more than fast enough for most applications. And assuming you can find them and stomach the possibility that they'll be obsolete by year's end, you'll be a happy camper. Via [eweek.com]

Leading handheld computer manufacturer Palm has launched a new "always on" device which it hopes will strengthen its hand in a battle with rivals Microsoft, Compaq and Handspring for the wireless data market. Via [news.bbc.co.uk]

A draft of IEEE's 802.11i spec to beef up security on 802.11 wireless networks was finalized January 21 and is now circulating within the engineering community for editing and subsequent approval, says Dennis Eaton, chair of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance. The first products to incorporate the technology should be available by summer, Eaton says....

Computer security expert Frank Keeney took me for an eye-opening ride around Pasadena, California. Frank brought along a notebook computer, equipped with a wireless PC Card and an antenna mounted on the car's roof. In a half hour of "war driving" (as he called it), we accessed over 40 wireless networks in homes, real estate...

Intersil Corporation today announced the industry's first chip set designed to support the IEEE 802.11g draft standard. The Intersil PRISM GT chip set, operating in the 2.4 Ghz band, will enable data transmission speeds of up to 54 Mbps with backwards compatibility to 802.11b infrastructures. This news comes roughly two and a half months after...

This month, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California banned all wireless networks, including the most prevalent, Wi-Fi, from its grounds due to "security vulnerabilities," directors said in a newsletter. Other entities that handle sensitive data are implementing or considering similar bans. And airlines are coming under fire for using Wi-Fi in curbside baggage check-in systems....

Corporations across America are opening their doors to hackers when they set up wireless networks--or when their employees set them up behind their backs. Via [news.com.com]