Either wireless tech got so much of the above or I’m just comfortable with my setup.
I still have a whole closet of c*frees Merakis, Foneras, Airports, Linksys, Asus and 3G all-in-one-office boxes and various antennas, mostly WiFi tech. But I only employ a simple Airport Express ‘n with AirTunes.

Somehow it all worked out and the iPhone with its GPRS/EDGE/3G+ took over my connectivity white space.
All this is not to say that my wireless saga is over. It’s more like a new chapter. A bump up in usability and solutions that just work got me closer to connectivity nirvana, having to seek more enjoyable experiences than raw hardware solutions.

Frankly I don’t even know or care what firmwares my routers have installed. I just plug them cables or modems in and there, we have a nice working wireless link.

But all that tech in my closet is probably waiting to be employed. I suppose I could WiFi my whole neighborhood with them.
Listen! Maybe you have an idea on how to mix such a multi-skilled equipment in an ingenuous wireless project. I’ll do it!
Sound it off in the comments.

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Actionec has released the official information on the zControl since my previous post.

Actiontec’s product interconnects any devices that use the Z-Wave protocol such as Motion Sensors, Cameras, Doors, Thermostats, Blinds etc. Z-Wave operates at 900Mhz with a range of 30 m and a bandwidth of up to 40Kbits/s. Although the through output may seem small, it is more that enough to send and receive status information and issue commands.

Interaction with the zControl is done via its a Web-based interface and may be accessed virtually from anywhere (assuming you have an Internet connection in your home and your router/gateway is properly configured to access the zControl remotely). Discovery of your Z-Wave enabled devices can be either automatic or a configuration wizard can be used for that purpose.

Now I’m looking forward to a review of the zControl in a real-life environment. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything. Until then, enjoy these two demos: Z-Wave World and Z-Wave.com.
Njoy your day!

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As pointed out by Tim Bajarin, PCMag.com columnist, Actiontec’s zControl has won one of the 2008 International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards. The product is supposed to bring together many of the devices and gadgets in your home. Even if you’re not a big gadget freak, you might want to count the remotes in your home or phones and you will immediatly understand the need for one central control solution for your appliances and electronics in your home.

The zControl will be officially unveiled at the 2008 CES (Consumer Electronics Show), and no details are yet released. I’m looking forward to information to come on the solution.

I’ve been doing some research on what’s on the market in the area of home automation systems, my disertation thesis is “Multi agent System for Control and Monitoring an Intelligent Home”, so expect to read other interesting stuff I may come across.

Happy 2008! :)

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JetBlue is the first domestic carrier to test high altitude connectivity. You can bring your WiFi enabled gadgets, your BlackBerry’s and start browsing the web. IM on Yahoo! post twits on Twitter or whatever you want. It’s an Airbus A320 and it’s called BetaBlue as presented on JetBlue’s website, and the services are free to customers and provided exclusively by JetBlue and LiveTV™, Yahoo!®, and BlackBerry®.

Yahoo! went another step and even added special Status messages like “Head in the clouds – seriously”, “Sleeping on the Plane” and “Ugh! Crying baby on flight”

I have been predicting this a while ago, and now that it’s here, I just want to say “kudos” to everyone involved, and nice winds for the pilots.

Otherwise the cabin will be filled with flying gadgets ;-)

Sources for this article: Yahoo Messenger Blog, JetBlue Airways

This is why Wireless is FUN, and this is why I’m sorry I stopped writing here lately. I just hope I will have enough time to start writing again and bring you nice and fresh Wireless news, gossips and maybe not only wireless…

Just remember: Wireless IS FUN!

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It’s maybe the first trully unlocked iPhones in Romania and among the few in the World by this method! But I can attest it works! Brilliantly!

Kudos to the dev team and the guys at Engadget who pointed this out. To have yours unlocked, go over to http://iphone.unlock.no/ and follow the exact steps. It’s the method I used and the one that now gives me full use on Vodafone RO and Orange. Simple!

Here’s a screenshot I took of the unlocking process:

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Don’t come here! Go to Engadget! They cover this Apple event aplenty! :P
I love you, my dear readers, but I’m there as well! Or go to Apple.com and start spending.

But do come back for sugga-lovin-thrills about what the above all means! I’ll make sure you’ll find that unique insight here!

To tip you off, focus not so much on the new hardware, but drool on the new iTunes WiFi Music Store! That’s where history is now being written! ;)

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I thought of this story not in relationship to any current weirdness with Microsoft, but rather with my currently uneasy relationship with Apple Inc. You see, I want an iPhone, but I frankly don’t give a damn about the phone function itself. While I am willing to pay the hefty price tag for what is allegedly the world’s greatest iPod/mobile internet/email/PDA device (with functionality over WiFi), I am not willing to pay a dime to AT&T for service (let alone the $59 x 24 months = $1,416 for the most meager minute allotments).

I currently live way off the grid in a rural community. Mobile phone service doesn’t work for miles from here, and I venture “off the mountain” as rarely as possible. We do have WiFi in the central area of our community, but I’m not lugging my laptop satchel around each day to check my email and update Twitter. I would really value a sleek handheld experience, and my iPAQ barely does the job, and makes it a painful experience to boot. I’m a devoted Apple user from back when OS7 was more stable than Windows 95, but don’t fall neatly into the Apple user demographic. And now I’m feeling that if I don’t fit the mold, Apple could care less about my business or my seamless end-to-end user experience.

There are, of course, a variety of hacks available that will bypass the necessity of having a two-year contract with AT&T, allowing me (or you) to have all of the allegedly blissful handheld computer functionality without needing to have a monthly hole in my pocket for mediocre mobile phone service that I can’t use. However, if Apple gets wise to these hacks or views them as unacceptable, they can simply bundle a firmware update within a mandatory OS update and turn my $600 investment into a brick.

I have an iPod, too. An older one who’s hard drive failed after only one year of use (living in a rural community can do that to delicate electronics). I replaced the drive myself, and the repaired iPod seemed to be working fine, until I downloaded an iPod update and restored the unit – at which point iTunes observes that the iPod is corrupted. I try to restore again, and learn that I must be connected to the internet in order to do this. I connect to the ‘net and get a generic error that the latest iPod software cannot be downloaded. No error code, no explanation. Just doesn’t work. After communicating with an Apple database. Of course, Apple’s online support mentions nothing of this particular error.

Apple’s seamless end-to-end user experience is superb when a member of the average demographic uses it precisely how Steve Jobs wants it to be used. When deviated more than slightly (i.e. don’t have regular access to internet, don’t want or need cellular phone service, doing repairs one’s self) the system breaks completely, leaving a loyal customer dangling pants-down in the breeze. One thing I love so much about computers is how flexible they are – my various laptop and handheld computers can be configured to be made best use of depending on my environment and situation. However it seems that Apple’s baby projects (quickly surpassing the value of simply designing and manufacturing excellent personal computers) are quite well designed to not be flexible beyond a narrow range of projected living environments and financial intentions.

The crux of this is that Apple seems to have found a solution to the trouble that Microsoft had with the original xBox: by ensuring that they control the entire user experience – and by collecting tremendous data on each and every iPod and iPhone each time it is inevitably synchronized with iTunes – they have absolute power to reduce to a brick any device that is determined to not fit within Apple’s narrow range of tolerance to customization or modification.

My iPod is ‘corrupted’ without any explanation. My only options? Buy a new one, or switch platforms. I’m weighing my options carefully before attempting any deviations on an iPhone under Brother Jobs’ watchful eye.

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Pics were uploaded via computer, but this text is *proudly typed on an iPhone*! Enjoy!

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Of course, people will love using *free* WiFi networks across the city, and of course everyone thinks it’s a good idea to have *free* WiFi, but the costs for a free network have to be covered by the city also, not only by the ISP’s and companies willing to use the *free* WiFi as an advertisement platform. Tom Haulli from Bloggingstocks wrote about San Francisco’s WiFi ballot: “Do you want *free* WiFi” the people are asked, and who in their right mind would say no to such a question? OK, maybe my grandma who has problems with GSM phones, and why do they work with no wires attached?

Glenn Fleishman from WiFinetnews.com writes about Milwaukee’s MuniWiFi not being built at all due to “whether it will make financial sense to build the network“, and thisis based surely on the 3 years experience San Francisco had with MuniWiFi and other similar projects.

Some good news though comes from Glenn Fleishman, about *free* WiFi on trains in the UK. The new operator, National Express who will take over on the East Coast from December 2007, included it (*free* WiFi) in their offer, as until now only First Class had it, and coach passengers had to pay for access.

Wireless is fun, can be monetized, but it’s nothing like we’ve ever seen until now… Starting to get intrigued as how many people can be blinded by a single word: *free* and not take the time to ask themselves: what’s it going to cost me in the long run?!

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My good blogging friend Dennis Smith made early morning honors today at Starbucks and I felt I could not miss the opportunity to prove that, even if Frisco (US) and Bucharest (RO) are 8 years walking distance apart, good habits have the same brown sugar taste!

“I’m doing my Dan Berte imitation this morning, as there’s nobody I know who spends more time doing what he loves, and doing so via Wi-Fi with a strong cup of coffee in hand (Dan – I raise my Venti Rift Valley Blend in your honor!).”

Needless to say that my WiFi habits rock! And Dennis knows that well so he was following! He was riding T-Mo wireless and I was using Vodafone’s. He gets free Venti at SBX. I don’t! :P

Lovely Friday! :)

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[+] click picture to enlarge

Toys in test:
1. Reference RDS/RCS 1Mbit cable connection via 54Mb WiFi – http://www.rdsnet.ro/
2. Vodafone 3G/HSDPA 3.6Mbs Huawei USB ‘SmartModem’ – http://www.vodafone.ro/ [product page link]
3. Orange 3G/HSDPA 3.6Mbs Option ICON II USB Modem – http://www.orange.ro/ [product page link]
4. Zapp Mobile 2.4Mbs Z010 CDMA 1xEV-DO wireless modem http://www.zapp.ro/ [product page link]

Testing machine and area:
1.83Ghz Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM Apple Macbook with a/b/g/n – enabled Airport WiFi card.
All tests were performed in a residential area in Bucharest, RO. Time 11:00ish PM. Moderate network loads.
Additional testing was performed on a WinXP Dell 1.6Ghz Core2Duo machine. Performance obtained was about 30% lower!!

Testing on:
- Local (short path) download – Zapp data driver library
Test file – Software image WL-500gx – Deluxe (v 2.1) – 1x/EV-DO [3.20MB]

- External (overseas) download – Revision3 / Diggnation
Test file – diggnation–0108–2007-07-26multipass–large.h264.mov [108MB]

- Ping to google.com

Without further ado, the results:

============================================

The control RDS cable connection needs no introduction or explanations. It performed as expected, capping out at the 1Mbs mark. Response times were great -inline with expectations- but maybe reported a tad lower as the WiFi router adds its own slowdown. This said, here are the screenshots.
Short path:

Overseas:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 67.475/68.679/71.692/1.056 ms

============================================

The Vodafone HSDPA SmartModem. I had a really good experience using this modem with speeds in excess of 300KBs (3-4Mbs). Unfortunately I was unable to replicate the performance tonight. Granted, and this goes for the other two players, the quality of the link, signal strength, network load and cell performance affect the max speeds attainable. Vodafone RO provides 3G+ (HSDPA) 3.6Mbs service in major cities and a guaranteed minimum of 1.4Mbs. What I managed to get was a not-so-flashy minimum with an excellent signal strength.
The proof-
Short path:

External:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 11 packets received, 8% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 278.274/313.286/609.070/93.856 ms

Notes: The application (Vodafone Mobile Connect for Mac) needs to be downloaded from the VF website. It weights around 15MB and it’s fairly easy to install and use. The drawback is that an additional “Activate” click has to be performed in order to enable the connection in the pref pane. The link is pushed through a VF APN proxy that strongly compresses the traffic (esp JPG images). That adds a certain lag and forbids use of some web bandwidth testing apps.
VMC:

[+] click to enlarge

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Orange touts a fresh 3.6Mbs capability in its network. Although generally slower compared to Vodafone, with a poorer link quality, the very ugly Option modem has performed on par (if not a tad better) with its competitor. Here is the proof:
Short path:

And overseas:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 267.750/283.606/298.381/8.540 ms

Notes: Orange has performed notably better than VF in the response time test, with almost half the average round-trip time. Great news for VoIP applications. Its Mac application I had to request at Orange Customer Service and was later forwarded in an email. The whole process took around 10 minutes. GlobeTrotter Connect weighs around 2MB and is spartan. It required a restart (not typical for OSX) to work without asking for one. The traffic is also routed through a proxy but optimization is only provided through separate APN.
Orange took no pride in customizing the packaging of their modem, sign of eagerness to take it to the market. More so, the documentation has Mac screenshots of an app you expect to find in the package but can only get separately, on request.
Not so cool!
The app:

[+] click to enlarge

============================================

Zapp…oh Zapp…used to rock when its antenna was in good shape. Anything between 1.4Mbs and 2.0Mbs was possible. It’s generally a connection that can handle many streams at a time without degrading the ongoing transfers. It scales in an intelligent way. Plus, unlike Vodafone and Orange, the connection is direct without a pass trough a proxy for compression.
On the short path the Z010 would usually do 150KBs and on the diggnation file it would normally fly at a sustainable 180KBs!
I’ll add the screenshots though, but with a big fat disclaimer: this is not how a *healthy* Zapp modem performs!
Local (their own freakin servers):

A la longue:

— google.com ping statistics —
12 packets transmitted, 12 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 254.470/386.584/1362.356/296.632 ms

Notes: It breaks my heart to bash Zapp so badly after serving me 140ishKbs downloads for years in times when Orange/Vodafone only had shitty EDGE (150ishMbs) with this poor performance due to the faulty modem. Yet I think the ping results are relevant, the Z010 still doing good at 254.470 minimum round-trip time! Mkay… we have some spoilers here as I knew what to expect of some modems in test. Also sadly reporting that the CDMA modem was only here for a broader image of the competing technologies, less for actual results. It’s had a long service life feeding my mobile lifestyle and unfortunately it has the antenna bruised, which translates in very poor reception – read performance!
The Z010 needs no drivers for Mac running OSX, a compatible driver already rests in the OS’s library. With the connection set up in the pref pane, call is initiated in 2 clicks and established in less than 3 seconds! No other apps involved! Sweet!
Unfortunately the Z010 is no longer offered by Zapp but can be purchased by special request. It features a battery of its own that improves overall performance and lowers the drain on the notebook battery. It also has a b/w LCD screen that displays data such as signal strength, time/date and battery level. SMS can also be received on the device.

============================================

The conclusion is optional for a buying decision. Both Orange and Vodafone do well in normal-real life tests! Both offers are compelling, reasonably and approachable priced for near-unlimited traffic (8GB/month). Both modems come free with subscription and are both Mac and PC compatible. If on the PC counterpart the modems have PnP installation – the drivers are stored on the modems themselves – you’ll have a little more trouble getting them for your Mac. Be advised! Request those drivers before you are on the road and need further internet access! :)

Not surprisingly, both modems do shitty jobs on Bill Gates-flavoured machines. With Orange capping downloads at around 85KBs I went no further testing and lit up the Mac. And there numbers started looking like the ones on the marketing fliers. ;)

Overall brief: sexiness/performance/ergonomic; grades from 1-5

Vodafone 3G/HSDPA SmartModem: 5 / 3 / 4
Orange 3G/HSDPA Option ICON II USB Modem: 1 / 3 / 3
Zapp Z010 CDMA 1xEV-DO: 3 / 4 / 3

===== 5 cigarettes were smoked during the making of this review. please do not try this at home. smoking is bad for your health!! =====

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Of couse both my N70 and my HSDPA SmartModem from Vodafone could have taken over in case there was no WiFi to grab. But for some reason I love WiFi and simply like to enable the Airport on my Mac and enjoy it from there.

Now missing a more portable device to play with nets for when taking the Macbook out feels cumbersome. I’m considering one of those new HTC touch smartphones. Anyone tried one?

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Till I get my own oppinion (read other good reviews at ElFonBlog’s for example) will share some unboxing pics below.

Update 2: second one just arrived.
Update 1: the thing comes with two double-adhesive 3M pads (I’d call 3M best quality) to help fasten it on windows. It doesn’t have a smart mechanism to allow aiming and pointing in various directions, but it assumes you’d have a stiff “reach neighbor across the street, period” usage. Say you’re lucky to fit in this description, don’t jump like crazy about those pads. My Fontenna falls off the window every other morning. Guaranteed alarm clock! The sun takes care those pads forget they have to be sticky. ;)
Mine now rests on the floor, pathethic and helpless, till I figgure out a way to fasten it – most likely to look for some suction cups. (yeah, I know, some already pointed out they would have loved those for their Foneras, let alone the antenna)

Never mind the pads and suction cups. I live on a busy street with tall 10story blocks of flats on its sides. I’m not into feeding my poor neighbors (none have connected to my WiFi in two days anyway, even by pointing directly at the block across the street) but maybe into pointing the antenna down the boulevard to reach as far as my eyes can see. I can’t do that by two reasons. The darn thing had to be cheap so it does not provide an articulation mechanism of any sort. Hey Fon, usually you get a gain antenna to aim the WiFi signal along a busy street, not across it! Doh!
I mounted many a outdoor WiFi antennas over the years and I can tell you it’s not as easy as it looks from afar. It’s a harsh environment and a simple plastic arm might not really do it. Stainless steel would be a good idea! But that’s expensive.
The missing swinging arm is a deal breaker! Of course I could fool around and go to the closest contruction store to get some pipes and fittings, bricolage my own mini-pole. But I want to have that out of the box for the Euro 17ish + shipping. I’d also have to drill holes to pass the cable and antenna out, something I’m not so convinced I want to do. Bummer!

Sure, many would argue on how far the antenna beams it WiFi blessing. I won’t comment on that yet. Frankly, don’t even care. I know that an average laptop doesn’t have a good range of its own so, regardless of the size of the transmitter, it will only pick up signal in a range of around 100meters (300feet).
Luckily, directional antennas are a blessing in terms of avoiding interference with nearby networks and designating a coverage area. Your Fontenna will not be able to beam your WiFi to the nearest city, but it sure might help focus it on a spot a few meters away than your stock 2dbi antenna would. The difference would be that the stock antenna had omnidirectional RF pattern, scattering your signal everywhere, whereas your Fontenna would focus it in a narrow, directional beam. Of course that increases your range by a few meters!
Not expecting miracles is the rational thing to do. Enjoy your nifty toy and play with it! Explore and experiment!
Or just buy two and, using APs or other routers than the Foneras, make a cool link (using two Fontennas aimed correctly at each other you might just reach a Kilometer or two!) with your friend to enjoy better speeds for gaming, file and internet sharing in your personal high speed wireless LAN! That’s what I would do! :)

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Let me share this web 2.0 story with you. You all know Howard Lindzon. And if you don’t, go over to wallstrip.com or google him and you’ll find out he’s one heck of a stock chap and exceptional web entrepreneur. I’ve invited him many months ago to join Twitter so I could stay in touch with his jibberish that I love reading so much. He declined joining for so long up until a couple of days ago when he made it a ridiculous “I am signing up and will twitter from toilets. Seems to be relevant for that. Track my waste”. And so he did. Until last night when Howard twittered: “Explosion in midtown. What. Pls advise. Seriously.” He was in downtown New York. I was in Bucharest, Romania.

It took about 20 minutes for CNN to react. I was on it. Maybe ten minutes before that Lindzon says “I was a block away from a massive explosion. Maybe grand central. Smoke everywhere.”
No more joking about toilets. No more ambiguity. Lindzon uses the one tool he bashes and pokes fun at to inform and hopefully inform himself of a crisis situation. Instantly! Wirelessly! Have this as an incredible turn of events!

My buddy Loic Le Meur’s twitts a few days ago about how he catches up with news on Twitter more than by reading his RSS. Now excentric Lindzon accepts my invitation to join and unwilingly offers this awesome example of the right person at the right time in the right place using the right service and instantly informing his peers he networked with registering to Twitter.
Is this the real web2.0? Ought to be, as Lindzon did not blog or email about the blast. He freakin twittered it!

Cool Howard! Really cool! Now buy some stock there! I have a feeling this is not the end of it.

I’m really glad you’re Okay and the blast was far enough!!

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But I wonder what their ROI is. The business model is based on 10 minutes of free access then pre-paid card access. Given one would spend an average of 25 minutes in a cab, why would one buy a 1h card for just 15minutes? Yeah, ok, it’s good to have later on a different location, but…

I would assume it’s just an image push. (it works!).

Nevertheless cost per cab is:
- router – ASUS WL-500G w. USB port ~$40
- Z010 EvDo modem ~$20
- unlimited in-network airtime

ROI is thereafter obtained after selling ~50 $2/1h prepaid cards of roughly 30-40h usage. A week per cab, maybe, presuming clients buy the cheapest value card – http://zapp.ro/offer/data/zoe/zoecard/

Risks: nearby accidental users that would hop on the 10 minute free airtime. Probably 60% of actual usage per mobile hotspot. Not so bad as routers are set for DoD (dial on demand).

Related: I wanted to plant a hotspot in my car (a Smart ForTwo at the time) and brand it “free hotspot in range of this car”. Never took the time to do it. Envious!

Later edit: Virgil of yottablog goes further with the analysis here. Go read with confidence!

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The guys also offer two prizes, one for the most active tester, and another randomly drawn amongst all participants. The prize for each winner consists of a Linksys WRT300N Wireless-N router and a matching WUSB300N Wireless-N USB adapter, so that you can enjoy Wirelessisfun.com better! :))

To reach the team email them at beta@whisher.com! And don’t forget to tell them we sent you there! ;)

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Somebody out there in the myst of the web googled “HOW DO I FIND THE wireless channel THAT IS BEING USED BY MY NEIGHBORS” and reached wirelessisfun.com

I know this query is really relevant so I decided to quickly post a few tips on how to avoid that upsetting interference.
Current WiFi regulations allow a limited number of channels as follows: 11 Channels (USA, Canada), 13 Channels (Europe), 14 Channels (Japan) for the 2.4Ghz band.

11 channels permits exactly like the number says: eleven concurrent networks broadcasting in the same area (typical up to 300 feet with no obstacles) without interference. When there’s one single router broadcasting on the same channel another router is already tuned to, interference occurs. WiFi clients can’t tell which signal is which and that makes the connection highly unstable, if not unusable. It’s like having two people talking at the same time in a small room! More so, running more routers than the number of channels available also spells trouble. In the urban realm this is sadly an occurrence that can not be avoided.

There’s little to be done when this happens but fortunately there are some tricks to make your WiFi work again.

TIP – Pick that channel that is used less and by the faintest signal
The first trick is to scan the radio spectrum with a widget or a special utility.
For Macs a great widget is AirTrafficControl and for Windows one can use an application called Netstumbler. Once you got acquainted with what channels each neighboring network occupies note which signals are lower and less stable. It’s likely those access points are at the limit of their reach, therefore generate lesser noise for your home networks. Now set your router to chose the channel the weakest signal uses, also keeping an eye to the availability of the channel among more stronger signals.

The more expensive alternative is to buy 802.11a compatible hardware (a router and a PC card). Most latest high-end laptops come with built in 802.11a/b/g/n compatible cards so there’s no need to upgrade. Please check with the manufacturer to see if your card is compatible with these standards. Though still a flavor of WiFi, 802.11a uses the less crowded 5Ghz band and because of the double frequency compared to regular 2.4Ghz WiFi, it allows just as many more simultaneous non-overlapping signals.

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Mark May 1st 2007 in your calendar as the day when WiMAX changed forever. Until now it’s been merely another wireless technology that competed with WiFi. But world’s largest WiMAX-class service provider Clearwire just received FCC approval for the first 802.16e Laptop Card.

With doors to true mobility open nothing can stop Clearwire (and WiMAX) to show us the real power of the very much hyped technology. I’m watching!

Get the press report here.

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Unfortunately we’re not ready to disclose names, business plans or other details related to the new venture but here’s some pointers:
- take all you know about WiFi. Forget it! Now rethink it!
- the platform allows *any* WiFi router in the world to join in
- a market of over 10 million routers and a few hundreds of mil. users targeted
- worldwide. no regional limits.
- social, simple and catchy.
- from the creators of c*free wireless and wirelessisfun.com

I’ve pitched the idea to a number of contacts and it arose some VC interest. Looking forward to actual negotiations.
I decided to spill the news on wirelessisfun.com before it gets picked up elsewhere.
Expect the new service to come live in the next couple of months.

For business partnerships, inquiries or media coverage please shoot an email at dan {at} wirelessisfun {dot} com

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So I find myself now paying for broadband and hooking up my own wireless access point, even as I’m bathing in the excessive microwave radiation of all of my neighbors’ networks. Of course I use encryption, and change the broadcast channel to one not being used in the vicinity, and of course, now my network works great. But I hardly feel triumphant; there are nine more wireless networks in my neighborhood than are really necessary – mine being one of them.

See, I believe that internet access ought to be completely free to all people, and WiFi begins to make this possible, but people are still thinking in terms of protecting their precious bandwidth, and their precious data. (In fact, hotspot hosts now need to be concerned about protecting their very precious freedom, as recent court cases have demonstrated that the owner of an open hotspot can be held criminally culpable for illegal activity across their network based on the fact that their IP is connected to their name and that’s proof enough for the American justice system. Owners of open hotspots, read up on this!)

So if I do want to take on the risks of acting on my ideology of Free Internet, I need to run two wireless access points off of my broadband connection – one encrypted for my own traffic, and one wide open free for all – just adding more noise to the ether.

We have the same problems everywhere: too much WiFi, all WEP’d, and all interfering. Some businesses I know have given up WiFi with robust encryption and returned to wired networks – yes, they have turned off the WiFi for the reliability of ethernet! Obviously THEY weren’t having fun, and I can’t blame them. Those businesses – cafes, restaurants, libraries – who promote their free WiFi are few and far between in my city.

I live in an urban area where I can walk to all of the services I really need within fifteen minutes, but there isn’t a cafe offering free WiFi for three kilometers from here. WiFi has become almost totally inconvenient. Everywhere I use it, wires work better (though that doesn’t mean that I actually run the cable!). Services like FON are getting a bad rap for everything from shoddy hardware to censoring the community they depend on, and anyway it sounds like the hotspots are few and far between, so there’s not much incentive to sign up.

Standards keep getting better when I look at the specs on paper – N is better than G is better than B – and now we’ve got WiFi TV, WiFi MP3, and WiFi phone – but the system, the platform, the real mobility, is getting worse. Wireless IS fun, when we learn enough about it to make it easy – especially for the non-geeks out there – and I’m excited to be working with people who are thinking up ways to make it more fun, and more easy.

What’s the next evolution of wireless going to look like?

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There hasn’t been much Fon news or related lately but we couldn’t miss the fact that
– Time Warner opened their doors to broadband sharing in the US and
– The programmers in Spain finally came up with a beta version of the FON Spot Mac / Linux

What this software does is that it turns your Intel-based Mac into a FON hotspot. If you use a 3G or EvDo modem this software will turn your Airport into a Access Point-like WiFi adapter and start sharing your connection around.
It’s not a new concept for Mac users as by default Macs let you share your modem connection in three clicks anyway. But FON saw this was an opportunity that could not be missed to expand their service and brand where conventional hotspots do not protrude. Shrewd!

Screenshot of Mac’s WiFi sharing enabler

Let’s analyze if this would really work in real life past the obvious geeky sexieness.
Having a Fon hotspot ‘built in’ your Mac is neat if you’re a big fan of the service and really want to take it everywhere with you. Maybe you have a flat mobile broadband connection anyway and you don’t mind sharing but you’re missing the credentials for your signal. Or maybe you just don’t mind doing it. Any case you chose it’s fine!
But in all other cases you’d be simply sharing your connection as is or no sharing it at all. Eventually it all comes down to FON’s business model. Share WiFi and get WiFi for free elsewhere in FON hotspots, as a Linus. Or share your WiFi for some money. These cases are based on a permanent presence in a determined location. Usually one would use a fast connection they don’t really mind sharing.
What happens when you share your crawling 3G/EvDO? Those pipes are not that large, your connection is not in a specific connection and does not provide service 24/7. That does not make for a compatible service with FON’s, which anyway is catchy because it brings advantages both ways.
Based on how FON Spot for Mac works the only winner here is.. FON! You would likely not share that limited bandwidth (I’ve done it oh so many times with my EvDo) and not agree FON is using your expensive connection for self-promo and Alien (non-member user that pays premium for access) money milking.

Running c*free, a free hotspot operator, I’ve often used Mac’s WiFi sharing to promote the brand at different events or ingenuous places. Hell, I’ve shared that signal a couple of years ago when I was still using Windows through an Ad-Hoc profile and later using a USB kit called c*free mini.
Yet, I still don’t know how this would go beyond such use!
Most folks who have/use a mobile broadband connection pay a shit load of money on it every month. They are usually business/entrepreneur/SOHO types that
- care for their data and its security
- pay for the 3G / EvDo for a precise purpose
- are time critical
- don’t have time or interest in playing with gizmos and hacks such as FON Spot
- are energy-conscious, meaning they would power their WiFi only when in the range of a signal they would use.

It’s unclear to me how this hack will make it in the real world. It might! But as it stands, incentives – even ones like the principle of sharing in exchange for free connectivity (wait!! Free WiFi? Why, when you already have the darn 3G?) – are low or inexistent!

For the techie ones I opened the installer and below is a screenshot of the package contents. I did not install the hack on my Macbook for it’s still beta and I rely on being able to use my Airport card. Those of you who have the time and curiosity are welcome to post their experiences in the comments section.

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- I work on a Macbook and, if unplugged, I get about 3-4h of work time on one charge.
- If WiFi or the ISP fail, there’s a backup connection at hand – a mobile 2.4Mbs EvDo USB modem from Zapp Mobile.

While the outage lasted about 30 minutes and it took the cable company an extra 15minutes to re-broadcast, I should have been offline and out of business for about an hour. Plugging the USB modem and clicking connect was easy. Sure, some have redundant connections and UPS power savers in their offices. Albeit being able to save work and wait for the power to bring back the net is not the way to go.

Both ends meet when I saw that the mobile setup I use when out of the office took over the local setup with flying colours! This is so 2007! :D

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But I was never really happy with the performance when I had to record a live skype conference call for a podcast or when the whole thing slowed down because of the 30+ tabs open in Safari, a few IM clients running in the background, the RSS reader, the email app and maybe iTunes streaming a chill out online radio station. Maxing out the RAM to 1.5GB did not help much either so I always had to chose judiciously what apps to run simultaneously.
Of course it’s a great machine for basic web browsing, normal IM and now-and-then Skype calls, some basic editing of the last vacation video and such. But we take mobile computing serious here at wirelessisfun.com as following the crazy www demands insane multitasking and multithreading.

The most relevant feature, though, is the ability to cover all or most wireless standards. The iBook could “see” 802.11b/g networks but the very new ‘n’ and the isolated ‘a’ running on 5Ghz standards were things I couldn’t really experience. You can laugh, but NASA still uses 3×86 computers in their space missions, okay?! :)

I just bought a brand new Intel Core 2 Duo Macbook that has no problem connecting to 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi networks and, should cables really really really be needed, it can do Gigabit Ethernet! I completely love it! It’s not the black one (because Macs are historically white) and as a matter of fact it’s that machine one can get for around 1060 Euros in Europe.
I’ll provide it with some extra RAM soon and cap it at 2GB (it now has 1GB) so I can effectively run multiple apps and XP decently in Parallels.

The new Macbook is the 5th mobile machine I own in 5 years (I change my laptop almost every year). An older post about the previous ones here! Good times for Wirelessisfun.com! Stand by for an Airport Extreme Base Station review in the next couple of days!

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