Bluetooth To Piggy Back Wifi Connections

Michael Foley, Executive Director at the non-profit Bluetooth Special Interest Group, has announced plans for new Bluetooth adaptors which will make use of 802.11 connections present to allow for greater bandwidth, thus increasing transfer speeds possible between Bluetooth (and wifi enabled) devices.

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Wifi Detector T Shirt from Firebox

The look for Geeks - and we count ourselves amonst their number - this season is a black t shirt, that lights up when a wireless hotspot is nearby. Yes, some clever bod has come up with a wifi detecting t shirt. Powered by a discrete battery back, the bars light up to indicate signal strength as you get near to an access point.

It's certainly a talking point, if nothing else. The Wifi Detecting T Shirt costs £19.95 from Firebox.

Will Wifi Be Apple iPod's Sales Driver?

The Apple iPod's sales growth have cooled to their slowest since the product was launched, but a research note from investment bank Piper Jaffray, and obtained by respected Mac news site MacNN, believes Apple will be able to use Wifi technology to drive sales on through the iPod's next generational shift.

The research note, authored by Gene Munster, predicts cheaper iPods equipped with Wifi and multi touch (already seen on the iPod Touch) making it the number one platform for mobile Wifi usage. He writes "With 70 percent market share, we believe Apple is in the driver's seat in terms of transforming the portable music market into a portable computing market."

Is there Wifi (Wireless Internet) At Butlins?

We got an email to ask if we knew if wifi access was available at Butlins holiday camps. We did a bit of digging, and the answer is yes, wifi is available at Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness. So whilst the kids are busy with the cool shows, like Chico, and other activities, you can nip online.

Find out more about Butlins by visiting their website...

Play Chess Online using Wifi and Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii has been a smash hit but it's been a little short on titles that actually make use of the onboard wifi connection for online gaming. Hopefully 2008 will change all that and one game aiming to do just that is Wii Chess. Wii Chess uses "loop express", a conversion of the loop chess engine which ranked 3rd in the 2007 World computer chess championship in Amsterdam.

It has 10 levels of difficulty and will allow you to play anyone, anywhere using your wifi and internet connection.

Check out Chess on Wii

Can Wifi Trangulation Supplement GPS?

Interesting piece over at Ars Technica about how Wifi triangulation - working out location by measuring signal strength between public access points - can give better, more accurate readings than GPS in dense built up areas.

Visit Ars Technica for more information

More about Wireless Triangulation

Focus On SMC Wireless Hotspot Gateway

Wireless technology is commonplace these days and many of us know that if we want to share wireless internet access, we trundle down to PC World, buy a wifi router and remember to configure a security key.

But the requirements of a commercial hotspot are quite different. If you’re adding a hotspot to a business venue, such as a café or hotel, you could just setup a wifi router but you’d be missing out on the the value that a hotspot can add. So in this blog post, I am going to look at what kind of solution would better suit a small business, such as a coffee shop for example.

Luckily, a company called SMC has the solution. The SMC Wireless Hotspot Gateway comes with everything a business requires to set up their own hotspot, but then also conveniently manage the technology and make it an integrated part of the service.

With the Hotspot Gateway solution, you get a good quality wireless router. It's not a modem, so you'd an internet connection with an ethernet cable which you can plug into the WAN port on the router. Like all these devices, you manage it by accessing it through a web browser, so you connect a computer up to it via Ethernet in the first instance. Before attempting to configure, you need to understand what this offers you. It gives you the opportunity to manage sessions by creating time limited access keys which you can sell or give to customers. You determine your own pricing structure. You might want to charge x for 1 hour, or charge y for 2 hours. Or you might want to make the access free, but available when a customer makes a purchase. Once you’ve considered the service you want to offer, you can the create your service/billing options within the management interface.

In my example, I've settled on an hour's access for £1. A customer comes in and wants to use the internet. He turns on his laptop and can see an internet connection but when he opens his browser he gets a logon screen and he needs his own access key for his session. You’re busy running your business and haven’t got time for writing down unique passwords, and here’s where the second component to the SMC Hotspot Gateway comes in – an SMC thermal printer connected to the router. It has three external buttons which can you map to the service plans configured on the router. So whilst you’re making the coffee, you hit the right button and the thermal printer prints out all the details for the session, including start and end time, price, and the all important access password for the session. You can also customise it to include company messages and branding. You give the print out to the customer with his coffee or what have you, and then then enters the access key into the password screen to begin using the internet.





Once the options have been configured, the system can be operated simply using the buttons on the printer, so no need to have a PC setup for administration.

This hotspot gateway solution is a great way to truly integrate a wifi service into your business offering rather than the blunt, bolt on alternative of just having a standard wifi router and having to either leave it with no security or give out one passkey to every user.

Find out more about SMC Wireless Hotspot Gateways from your nearest SMC stockist.

Westminster Launches UK's Biggest Wifi Zone

Westminster City Council, in partnership with BT, has launched the UK's biggest Wifi Zone. The zone covers approximately one square mile of space, and includes all of Soho and the streets around Oxford Street, Leicester Square, Strand and parts of Whitehall.

Westminster council Deputy Leader, Councillor Colin Barrow, said:

"This is a groundbreaking project. Westminster is proud to lead the pack in rolling out this technology in an innovative way. We are excited about the improvements this will bring for Westminster and the opportunities it will create for businesses and personal use.

"Much of the network has already been up and running, but from today we are making it available to the public. People can now walk through the streets getting continuous internet coverage, rather than being anchored to a coffee shop or other wifi spot."

Free Wifi at Somerset House

To coincide with the launch of a new interactive artwork display called Superactive i2i by Langlands & Bell, a new Wifi network has been launched at Somerset House, London.

You can get access to the wireless network in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Seamen's Hall and River Terrace.

And best of all, the wireless access is completely free until October 15th.

Create a portable internet hotspot

Thanks to 3g technology and the ingenuity of a company called Draytek, it is now possible to create a totally portable internet hotspot.

Draytek have long been the professional's choice for ADSL modem routers. Their 2800 range always had a USB port which was originally intended for use as a print server, but thanks to a new firmware update, you can now plug in a 3g internet dongle and share your internet connection between users connected by ethernet or by wifi connection (on the 2800G).

That means you can instantly setup an internet hotspot wherever you are, providing you have a power source for the router. This is a perfect solution if you're setting up a hotspot at an event, such a conference or fair, or if you are on the move such as on a coach.

Another way to use this is as the internet connection for an office. Many businesses can run fine without landline phones, but you need to get a landline installed to get broadband, which means 12 month contracts at least. This solution gives you internet at work and the freedom to take your dongle when you leave the office.

Things you'll need
1) 3g USB Dongle and Internet access plan (from £29 a month at T-Mobile)
2) Draytek 2800 or 2910 Router

iPod Touch Announced, Wifi now included

Apple boss Steve Jobs has announced details of the latest generation of iPods, called iPod Touch. The hugely successful music player will now come with wifi as standard, with a version of the Safari web browser for surfing the net and access to Apple's music store buying and downloading music tracks.

Like the iPhone, the new iPod will have a touch screen interface and will be available as an 8gb or 16gb model.

Find out more about the iPod Touch

Is it theft to use someone else's Wifi?

The case this week where a man was arrested for making use of someone's Wifi has prompted much debate as to the rights and wrongs of leeching other people's wireless internet connections.

The law apparently sees it as stealing pure and simple - but is it? I would say that using open and unsecured wifi connections is not an act of theft at all and the law has it all wrong.

If you buy a newspaper and read it whilst sitting on a train, very often people might look over your shoulder and have a look at the headlines. They are consuming information you just paid for - are they stealing? No, of course not.

Some people may have their wifi connection open and secured because they actually you want people to share it. How can we tell what someone's intention is when they decide to transmit an open network?

I believe that broadcasting an open network is an invitation to use it. People on the other side of the argument might say "If I leave my front door open, does that mean you can walk in?". And the answer is no, of course not - but if you leave your door open with a sign above it saying "Open House - Party Inside", don't be surprised if people come in.

In actual fact, by broadcasting your connection details you are almost tampering with my laptop or wireless device. If someone set their wireless access point's SSID as the worst obscenity possible and caused that word to appear on your screen by broadcasting it to your Wifi equipment, are you in the wrong for receiving it, or are they in the wrong for sending it? Who is it that has committed the crime?

Some make the point that people may use your internet connection to access illegal content. I don't disagree and would say that's a very good reason for ensuring your internet connection is secured, because let's be clear, I'm not advocating that people do leave their wifi open - I'm simply saying that if you do decide to carelessly pump your connection out into the ether, you are making it available to all and sundry and that can't be theft.

Man Arrested for using Unsecured Wifi

According to news reports, a man in Chiswick was arrested for using someone's unsecured wireless network from his laptop. He has been bailed to return in October.

A police officer said:

"This arrest should act as a warning to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to illegally use other people's broadband connections.

"To do so potentially breaches the Computer Misuse Act and the Communications Act, so computer users need to be aware that this is unlawful and police will investigate any violation we become aware of."

This raises an interesting question of you can possibly differentiate between "illegally using other people's broadband connections" and legally using the open wifi connection of various independent hotspots, often found in cafes etc.

Nintendo Wii Games You Can Use Wifi With

After the difficulty of getting hold of one since its release, Nintendo Wiis are becoming more commonly available in the shops. If you have a Nintendo Wii and also have a Wifi router which allows you to connect to the net from your console, you might be interested in this list of wifi-compatible Wii games.

Still not secured your wireless network?

If you haven't got round to securing your wireless network yet, check out this video that came from the BBC's "Real Hustle" programme.



The video makes some good points though when they approach the homeowners, I have no idea why they claim to be from Ofcom, since they proceed to just tell him everything they know anyway. Why not just say they were from the BBC? I've seen the show a few times and personally I've never quite believed that the interactions with members of the public are as straight forward as they seem.

But that aside, the video should demonstrate to you why you must secure your network. WPA is your best option, and WEP (128 bit) if you don't have that.