The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), the group behind the testing and certification for interoperability of 802.11-based networking products, has officially changed its name. As of this week, it will be known only as the Wi-Fi Alliance. Via [siliconvalley.internet.com]

Secret Service agents are putting a high-tech twist on the idea of a cop walking the beat. Using a laptop computer and an antenna fashioned from a Pringles potato chip can, they are looking for security holes in wireless networks in the nation's capital. Via [securityfocus.com]

Microsoft and Cisco this week are expected to detail how they will support an emerging IETF wireless security standard for authentication that could quash a competing standards effort. Via [nwfusion.com]

Is Wi-Fi shedding its blue jeans for pin stripes as 802.11 looks to go commercial? Analysts and those in the trenches of fee-based hotspots see an inevitable trend as Wi-Fi availability goes nationwide. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

Lucent Technologies has demonstrated the successful seamless handoff of a wireless data call from a "WiFi" or wireless local area network (WLAN) to a UMTS network, enabling mobile laptop users to browse the Internet while roaming between the two network types with no interruption in the session. Via [cellular-news.com]

Nicholas Negroponte explains why Wi-Fi "lily pads and frogs" will transform the future of telecom. Via [wired.com]

Wireless LAN sales are rocketing, with shipments expected to grow 73 per cent this year. Even though prices are falling, revenue will grow 26 per cent this year, according to Gartner Dataquest. Via [theregister.co.uk]

Microsoft plans to release new wired and wireless networking products Thursday into the crowded and hypercompetitive consumer hardware market. Via [news.com.com]

Government declines to create protective laws, saying security should be a shared and voluntary act by all involved. Via [pcworld.com]

A new wireless standard five times faster than Wi-Fi got an important approval Monday. Via [news.com.com]

Sneaky US company uses 'honey-trap' WLAN to study hacking techniques. Via [software.silicon.com]

Wi-Fi chips for wireless home networks will be moving in with a roommate: broadband modems. Via [news.com.com]

In July hereUare Communications put itself up for sale and said at the time that if it couldn't sell in two weeks, the company would "go away." Via [siliconvalley.internet.com]

IBM Corp will next week renew its pursuit of the enterprise road warrior with a new "ultraportable" Thinkpad that boasts the first twin-battery offering in its class, and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth wireless comms features. Via [theregister.co.uk]

Announced rather quietly earlier in the summer, it looks like Toshiba's Computer Systems Group (CSG) hotspot initiative is ready for phase two. The company seems poised to give the push toward increasing the number of public hotspots in the U.S. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]