Category: Commentary

More than a decade ago, an EDN article examined the developments that paved the way for the wireless technology era. A March 4, 1993 feature entitled "Digital wireless networks" foresaw the existence of wireless LANs that could operate over infrared or RF channels and predicted that the Federal Communications Commission would allow various frequency-hopping and...

IBM has partnered with Xing to develop Kyoku-NAVI S and Kyoku-NAVI II, which are karaoke controllers with built-in WLAN. Users need to only use the machines' touch screens to search a database hosting tens of thousands of songs, by singer, song title or category. Access to the catalogue is made possible by IBM DB2 Everyplace,...

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that would label WiFi routers with security warning stickers. The law, which will take effect on October 1, 2007, aims to ensure that consumers would know how to activate security setting on a new home networking equipment. Schwarzenegger also vetoed a bill that would restrict the way the...

ABI Research sees a rise in the demand for consumer electronic products with wireless networking capabilities and an explosive growth for WiFi with a shift in the way entertainment is delivered. The firm expects shipments of WiFi-enabled consumer electronic devices to jump from 40 million this year to 249 million in 2011. The key to...

Free-Hotspot.com plans to start a new campaign that will give people free Internet access, and even phone calls, if they watch a cinema advertisement and answer a two-question quiz later. According to CEO Dan Toomey, the scheme is intended to expand the company's presence in the U.K. Via [theinquirer.net]

Trapeze Networks Inc. unveiled its "Smart Mobile" software, which conveys copies of Station Switching Records to each access point in an 802.11 network. The new solution renders local copies of information on Quality of Service policies, firewall protection, and Virtual LAN tags. It enables encryption to be carried out in a distributed manner and it...

The WiFi Alliance plans to certify the interoperability of draft-n products ahead of the full approval of the 802.11n standard. Under the two-phase certification program, the alliance will begin testing the products including baseline features from the standard in the first half of 2007 while the next phase will involve the final ratification, which is...

Information technology has come a long way from what it was 10 years ago. In 1995, people were just getting acquainted with the Internet and Netscape Navigator 1.0. Going to countries like Indonesia and Thailand would mean that a traveller must bring along a medley of devices to ensure his or her laptop would function...

Fon.com's WiFi routers are apparently in violation of the conditions of seven of U.K.'s top 10 Internet service providers. The company's routers enable sharing of broadband connections with third parties, which is allowed by Blueyonder from Telewest and Orange Broadband. But others like BT, NTL and Tiscali prohibit connection sharing while AOL would only permit...

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs believes offshoring of manufacturing capabilities and eroding intellectual property rights pose as threats to the wireless broadband network development. Jacobs made the statement at the fall meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers, the biggest industrial trade organization in the US. He noted the continuing degeneration of young engineering talent in...

A new survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) suggests an increasing popularity of wireless technology among small and medium-sized firms. It shows a 20 percent rise in the use of wireless equipment -- from 57 percent in 2004 to the current 77 percent -- by firms. Wireless access to email, WiFi hotspot use and...

The USB Implementers Forum has launched the Certified Wireless USB Compliance and Certification Program, which will allow vendors to have their UWB-based Wireless USB products certified for product interoperability. Although vendors can perform self-tests, they must submit their products for testing to a Certified Wireless USB test lab before they get certification. Intel's Wireless USB...

At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced that the company will integrate WiMax into its 5th generation Centrino chips by 2008 as part of its goal to make the technology as 'ubiquitous' as WiFi. In view of plans by Sprint and Clearwire, Otellini believes WiMax will virtually extend over...

Over the last few months, interest in WiMax has intensified as indicated by commitments from various companies to develop networks and offer services using the technology. According to Joe Nardone of Intel, initially, "the industry as a whole had a lot of doubts and was very skeptical of WiMax," but "now with Sprint and Clearwire...

Voice over WiFi is set to become a mainstream technology in view of the current developments in the market. Nokia has unveiled handsets that would run Wi-Fi voice along with 3G and GSM operations. In Singapore, SingTel is now offering dual-mode service that will allow Nokia E60, E61 and N80 phones to perform VoIP calls...