Author: Wayne Slavin

When DoCoMo announced its dual mode, Wi-Fi and 3G handset, the N900iL (from NEC) back in July, it kept pretty quiet about the fact that it actually uses Linux instead of Symbian. The INQ only discovered this when searching for a picture of the handset now it's shipping. Linux is not mentioned in the tech...

Broadcom Corp.'s 2005 to-do list includes integrating security features into its enterprise products, backing AMD's microprocessors and boosting its presence in handsets, executives said Thursday. Via [eweek.com]

BT plans to launch a Wifi-enabled mobile phone next year that will allow people to make cheap international calls from wireless hotspots across the world using Voice over IP (VoIP). Via [vnunet.com]

Mohit SantRam, a student at New York University, happily shares his high-speed Internet connection with whoever taps the wireless signal available within about 300 feet of his apartment in the East Village. Via [globetechnology.com]

The WiMAX community has been awash for some time with optimistic predictions about the technology's prospects in the WISP world. A quarter of US wireless ISPs will migrate to WiMAX in 2005-6 and a further 25 per cent in 2007-8, according to ABI. Broadband is now offered by 92 per cent of rural service providers,...

Reading e-mail and surfing the Internet via high-speed wireless connections is growing more widespread in U.S. hotels, but prices vary widely and not every chain offers connections just yet. Via [cbs.marketwatch.com]

Considering all the buzz these days about WiMax, you'd think the forthcoming wireless broadband technology would face no competition once it arrives next year. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

Like it or not, standards are what enable the IT industry, and networking in particular, to flourish. But it takes time to agree standards and there will always be vendors wanting to bring products to market ahead of those agreements, as is happening now with the 802.11n wireless specification. Via [vnunet.com]

Most wireless applications make use of unicast packets for transporting information directly from one point to another. For example, an interaction with the Internet makes use of unicast packets when you browse the Web or synchronize email. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

T-Mobile has struck a deal with six international wireless operators to simplify roaming and billing for travelers using Wi-Fi abroad, the company said Wednesday. Via [internetnews.com]

The ZigBee Alliance is set to ratify its specification later this quarter, complete with support for mesh networking as well as security provisions. Via [extremetech.com]

Cisco Systems Wednesday unveiled a line of enterprise-grade multi-band wireless access points that include beefed up security. It also said it is adding intrusion detection capabilities for its entire Structured Wireless-Aware Network (SWAN) wireless LAN framework. Via [crn.com]

Although concrete barricades block physical access to many roads and buildings throughout the Washington, D.C., region, a Federal Computer Week team discovered that information and systems at many defense and civilian agencies are left exposed through wireless networks. Via [usatoday.com]

A high-speed wireless network that covers most of downtown Seattle is being rolled out by Internet service provider Speakeasy. Via [seattlepi.nwsource.com]

Nigel Ballard, Wi-Fi guru on his Web site and wireless director for Matrix Networks of Portland Oregon, had a nuanced message for attendees at ISPCON. Drawing on his experience with the WiMAX Forum, he described his hopes for a technology that he feels can solve the well-known flaws in Wi-Fi. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]