WiFi

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How to Improve the BlackBerry
 How to Improve the BlackBerry 

How to Improve the BlackBerry

RIM dominates in sales, but the iPhone has big advantages

(Newser) - The iPhone has become a cultural phenomenon, but RIM sells way more units than Apple does. Why, then, does the BlackBerry have such obvious flaws? Wired lists five improvements RIM needs to make:
  1. Browser. The web looks much the same on an iPhone or Palm Pre as it does on
...

Coffee Shops Grow Weary of Laptop Users

Drink-nursing users told to make way for bigger spenders

(Newser) - The longstanding love affair between coffee shops and laptop users is starting to go off the boil, the Wall Street Journal reports. Big chains still let computer users linger, but a growing number of independent shops, sick of customers nursing a cup of coffee all day when seats are in...

Hackers Create Fake Wi-Fi Spots to Scam Vacationers

(Newser) - If you’re planning to take your laptop on the road this summer, pay careful attention to which wireless network you sign on to. Scammers are setting up fake wi-fi hot spots in tourist-friendly places like airports and hotels, or simply using official, but unsecured networks, Fox News reports. Once...

Flying-Phobic Comic Takes to the Air

AirTran is using him to pump wi-fi service

(Newser) - The best way to get over fear of flying? If you’re comedian Mark Malkoff, living on a plane for 30 days. Malkoff—who once lived in an Ikea store for a week—embarked upon his journey this month, but it wasn’t all for the sake of therapy. He’...

A WiFi Hotspot in Your Pocket
 A WiFi Hotspot in Your Pocket 
TECH REVIEW

A WiFi Hotspot in Your Pocket

(Newser) - Verizon’s newest wireless gadget, the MiFi—a portable WiFi hotspot—has a big fan in David Pogue of the New York Times. The MiFi is a combination of a cellular modem without the “nasty little antenna protuberance” and a wireless router. Anywhere on Verizon’s 3G network, one...

India to Unveil $10 Laptop
 India to Unveil $10 Laptop 

India to Unveil $10 Laptop

Low-cost computer is part of plan to update nation's colleges

(Newser) - India’s government will launch an ultra-cheap laptop computer tomorrow as part of a new initiative to update the nation’s educational system, the Guardian reports. The Sakshat will sell for $10 (500 rupees), a price India hopes will be accessible for most students. The laptop is the centerpiece of...

Libraries a Cheap Refuge, But Top Target for Budget Cuts

Popular books see huge waiting lists, while unemployed line up to use computers

(Newser) - Whether you’re looking for a job, or just a cheap respite from the horrors of the economy, the public library has become the place to be, the Wall Street Journal reports. But even as attendance swells, the same financial crisis that brings patrons has left many branches cash-poor. One...

Wi-Fi Goes for a Ride&mdash;in the Slow Lane
Wi-Fi Goes for a Ride—in the Slow Lane
Tech review

Wi-Fi Goes for a Ride—in the Slow Lane

In-car system is reliable but may distract drivers: Mossberg

(Newser) - Wi-Fi has moved to the car, with Chrysler and Autonet Mobile teaming up to offer connectivity on wheels. It's a neat idea that works reasonably well, writes Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal, though speed isn't great, and the initial cost is steep. Moreover, "the company says the...

FCC Gives 'White Spaces' to Wireless

Decision to open spectrum a big victory for Google, tech giants

(Newser) - The FCC has voted to open up an unused chunk of TV airwaves for the delivery of wireless broadband services, Bloomberg reports. The ruling is a huge victory for Google and other technology giants, who backed the measure against fierce opposition from broadcasters. The tech firms say the plan will...

Dolly Gives Google Static in Airwaves Feud

FCC to decide today who gets rights to 'white spaces'

(Newser) - Singer Dolly Parton has added her powerful country-music lungs to a battle against Google over an unused chunk of radio spectrum that will be settled by an FCC vote today, the New York Times reports. Tech companies have been pushing for the spectrum to be opened up for public use,...

Google Keeps Up Battle for Open-Access Cells

Phone operators balk at plans to loosen mobile networks

(Newser) - Google renewed its battle for open cell phone networks this week by filing for a new patent, CNET reports. The search giant filed to free smartphones from network-carrier agreements so users can tap into whatever connection is strongest and most affordable. But carriers mostly resist the notion, saying tight networks...

Research Paves Way for Better Wi-Fi in Autos

Researchers find a way to stabilize mobile internet access

(Newser) - Researchers at Microsoft and two US universities have designed a system to give drivers better Wi-Fi connections, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The technology, presented last week in Seattle, allows a moving computer to hook into one Wi-Fi station as an "anchor" while using other stations as support. Researchers say...

Delta Adds WiFi to Whole Fleet

Become first major airline to wirelessly enable its entire fleet by 2009

(Newser) - Unholster your Blackberry and sharpen your stylus; Delta will become the first major airline to offer Internet access across its entire 330-plane fleet by next summer, the Wall Street Journal reports, driven by the proliferation of handheld wireless devices and a desire among business passengers to keep working. Delta surveyed...

Chrysler Plans Wi-Fi on 2009 Models
Chrysler Plans Wi-Fi
on 2009 Models

Chrysler Plans Wi-Fi on 2009 Models

The struggling automaker will have wireless Internet options available

(Newser) - Struggling automaker Chrysler—the weakest of Detroit’s Big Three—is looking to the information highway to gain an advantage. To the dismay of some highway safety experts, the automaker will offer wireless Internet access as an option in all of its 2009 models, the Los Angeles Times reports.

'Dress Rehearsal' Tomorrow for American's Wi-Fi

In-flight internet will be briefly free on some long domestic flights

(Newser) - American Airlines will offer a trial of its in-flight wireless Internet service tomorrow, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. "Gogo" will be installed on 15 of American’s 767s, and available on flights departing New York’s JFK for Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. Free tomorrow, the service will...

In-Flight WiFi Takes Off
 In-Flight WiFi Takes Off 
Product review

In-Flight WiFi Takes Off

The last refuge from the office is gone

(Newser) - Now you can manically check your inbox from 40,000 feet, reports Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. Certain American Airlines routes between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami will offer in-flight WiFi starting in July, and Virgin America will have it later in the year....

Stolen Gadgets Call Home With Pictures of Thieves

New technology lets cameras, phones, computers automatically email owners

(Newser) - Technology letting cameras and other gadgets automatically contact their owners is thwarting thieves, Reuters reports. GadgetTrak software, for example, lets stolen BlackBerrys send data from thieves’ SIM cards to their rightful owners and allows Macs to shoot and send video of robbers. In other cases, emailed data not intended to...

Starbucks Offers Free Wi-Fi for 2 Hours a Day

Firm unveils its latest attempt to revive business

(Newser) - Starbucks will offer its customers 2 hours of free Wi-Fi a day starting next week, its latest effort to snap out of a sales slump, USA Today reports. Those eligible need a Starbucks Card and must register online with the company's rewards program. Critics say the move isn’t the...

Free Broadband Could Be Part of Feds' Auction Plan

FCC head considers plan that could have 95% of US covered in 10 years

(Newser) - The Federal Communication Commission wants you to have free Internet, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it's considering a plan to auction airwaves with the requirement that the winner offer Wi-fi free to most of the US. The free access would come with its own strings for users, though, in...

WiFi Startup Wants to Share the Love

But rivals also want world hooked up on shared connections

(Newser) - WiFi hot spots should be anywhere and everywhere, says Martin Varsavsky. The 48-year-old Internet guru founded FON, a company that's built a WiFi network on members' shared wireless connections. Analysts say such global WiFi is only years away, but FON could still lose out; despite $55.2 million from giants...

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