Widgets are cool, especially when they do something useful - and even cooler when they look quasi-military.
Xirrus Wifi Monitor is available as a Yahoo Widget (for Mac, too) and a Vista Sidebar Gadget. It sits at the side of your screen scanning at your specified interval and updating its tiny radar screen with new hits. In our testing, it did a very good job at plotting the physical location of nearby APs. To our dismay the widget doesn't actually animate sweeps - too bad, because that would be pretty sweet.
Don't think it's just eye-candy. Wifi Monitor also provides you a ton of statistcal data about your access point's capabilities, your wireless connection, even a glossary of wireless terms. The details screen also allows you to disable your wireless adapter and to connect/disconnect (forwards you to your OS's wireless connection manager).
Well worth the download - if not for functionality, at least for its good looks!
The Mac users at Download Squad love the built-in Airport cards in our Macbooks, but sometimes we wish the software were a little bit ... smarter. The menu-bar interface for Airport doesn't really give a lot of information about the available networks, and sometimes it automatically joins one you know you don't want to use. If you want to disconnect from a network without connection to another one, you have to turn your Airport off and back on. Frankly, it's annoying, and we're glad there's an app called AirRadar that makes things easier!
AirRadar color-codes the available networks, so you can quickly see which ones are open or protected, and what their signal strengths are. You can tinker with colors, view a signal-noise graph, and add networks to your favorites (there's a color for that, too.) Just as importantly, you can disconnect from a network without toggling your Airport off and on. It also fixes those auto-join problems by letting you set more specfic parameters for when it should get you onto a network.
If you consider taking out a second mortgage on your home every month when the cellphone bill arrives, you might want to check out BillShrink. This web-based service lets you compare cellphone plans in the most useful ways possible. It shows you which plans can save you money and which companies provided the most reliable coverage in your neighborhood.
The toolbar at the top of the page lets you describe how much you're currently paying for service and then you can drag a few sliders around to show the number of lines, anytime minutes, text messages, and data minutes you need. BillShrink will then try to find a plan that matches your criteria for less than you're currently paying. If there's one that meets your needs and has a strong signal in your area, it will show up at the top of the list. If there's one with a weak signal in your area, it will move down the list a bit.
You can click on any plan to see additional details or to see comparable plans from other wireless carriers. And you can sign up for service, at which point BillShrink redirects you to the carrier's web site. The only problem we see with this service is that it doesn't account for local fees and taxes. So if you normally pay $95 per month for your phone service, you might accidentally input that value and see a whole bunch of bargains before realizing that your actual plan is closer to $75 while the rest is fees that would apply no matter which carrier you use. Not that we made this mistake the first time we checked out BillShrink. Nope. No siree.
Not that this should surprise anybody, but Google has officially announced plans to participate in the upcoming FCC wireless spectrum auction.
The 700 MHz auction that is part of the transition to digital television begins January 24th, and will be part of a shift for a more efficient wireless internet service.
Om Malik has pointed out that Google believes this is a winning situation for consumers no matter who wins out, but for some reason they are not hard pressed to win. Could it be a move to drive up bidding prices from the likes of AT&T and Verizon? Or is it truly on their wish list to save the world and make a few extra billion while they are at it?
A recent trip to a coffee house had us thinking--why isn't WiFi everywhere yet? Well, at loss for the answer to that one (though opinions explaining WiFi's utter lack of ubiquity differ widely), we decided to ask another one--how can the wireless road warrior equip himself for navigating the mostly-uncharted seas of WiFi?
The first tool for your wireless toolbelt is NetStumbler, a Windows app for discovering and probing WiFi access points. There's also a Windows CE/Mobile version of NetStumbler that you can fire up on your Windows Mobile cell phone, if you're really packing light. Mac users will want to try out JiWire, available in compact widget version for OS X, shown here. If none of those options do you any good, visit WiFinder, a site that's sort of a MapQuest for WiFi hotspots. Though our initial test didn't reveal a number of local spots we're sure are actually there, we did uncover a few we never noticed before. WiFinder even knows where a few spots are in the Vatican.
Now if it's hardware that really turns you on, take a look inside your cell phone. Dual-mode cell phones like our Nokia N95 can detect and browse WiFi hotspots, too.
Of course, if the hotspots you detect are WEP-encrypted to prevent unauthorized access, you'll have a hard time getting to the Net. Not much you can do about that without getting yourself in trouble. But if you like living on the edge, have a peek at AirCrack NG. Just don't do anything illegal--you don't want to end up like this poor dude from Michigan who was arrested for stealing WiFi (from an open access point).
Though Nokia's Internet tablet, the N800, has been on the market for quite a bit longer than Apple's iPhone, we here at Download Squad have been thinking about the N800-iPhone comparison since Steve Jobs first demoed the iPhone back in January.
Indeed, there are a few things you can do with the Nokia product that aren't possible on the iPhone. Namely, you can make and receive VoIP calls using Gizmo Project and Skype, choose from a plethora of Debian/Maemo packages to run on the N800 (the N800 is Linux-based), listen to FM radio, and participate Google Talk video conferences.
Of course, the N800 isn't a cell phone, so in some way it seems almost silly to compare the two devices. The N800 doesn't do SMS messaging like Apple's phone. Nor does the N800 support phone calls without going through VoIP software. But both of these devices have great web browsers, newsreaders, and e-mail capability, so the comparison is natural.
We've put together a hands-on video with N800, which includes some tips for better e-mail, moving files to and from the N800 with Bluetooth, running Gizmo, and running Quake 2 courtesy of the open-source Quetoo distribution. You can view the video after the jump and decide for yourself whether or not Nokia's handy tablet is really an iPhone killer.
In previous experiments, in-flight WiFi Internet access failed to capture much attention, either because consumers thought it was to expensive or because it wasn't ubiquitous. Ie. if it's not on every aircraft, it's hard to plan your travel time around being productive, sleeping, or watching a movie on your iPod. For those of us who typically only travel on business, in-flight WiFi is a huge productivity enhancer, if only because it saves us from suffering through the naked feeling of offline e-mail.
Virgin says they'll have the service deployed by mid-'08, and while they haven't talked much about pricing, we're guessing this will be a premium service, since the airline has invested a new in-flight portal called "Red" that will allow passengers to surf and chat even if they don't have their own laptops on board. Red will offer access to Skype and Google Talk, too. Very handy indeed.
But this stuff needs to become ubiquitous. Show us a major domestic airline that offers always-on, zero-premium WiFi access and we'll show you an airline that takes a bite out of business traveler market share.
WiMax is a long-range WiFI replacement. It lets service providers put out (really) fast network access using radio antennas. In fact, if you're using Cingular Edge or similar data service with your cell phone, WiMax is set to make your current speed limit look downright tortoise-like.
Of course, nobody will benefit from the speed and range enhancements of WiMax until the network gets built (right now, you can't really get WiMax service in 99.9% of the world). And the people who build the networks (that would be your friendly phone company) aren't going to build WiMax networks until some devices that support WiMax start showing up in the marketplace.
Good old Nokia, who was among the first to offer cell phones with VoIP built-in and seems always to be ahead of the curve, has let it slip that their nifty Linux-based N800 Internet Tablet (pictured) is going to be getting WiMax capability some time next year. This is something I could see Apple following suit on with their laptops, especially if cozy partner AT&T rolls out a WiMax network of their own. For some more deets on the N800, check out this video.
[Update: As readers are pointing out, the iPhone is appearing in various other, though sometimes obscure, areas of AT&T's site. We stated in our post that this could simply be nothing, so that fact should probably be reiterated given that this does seem to be a false alarm. Guess the version of the site in our screenshot could have easily been a fluke, capped in the middle of a redesign or who knows what else. Thanks for keeping us on our game everyone, as for now, there doesn't seem to be anything else to see here. Let's all move along.]
Rumors that Apple is wearing the pants a little too often in their iPhone relationship with AT&T have received a boost, now that the wireless carrier seems to have stopped promoting the pricey phone on their main page barely a month after its June 29th launch. While we know that Apple negotiated an unprecedented deal for a percentage of every iPhone customer's monthly contract, many suspect AT&T is becoming less and less happy with the rest of Apple's plans. Note, for example, the iPhone's lack of any integration with AT&T's profitable video, audio and ringtone offerings - all things that Apple either sells through their iTunes Store right now or, in the case of ringtones, is widely expected to with a future software update. The more software and media-based services Apple prepares to unleash, the more monthly, revolving revenue passes by AT&T's bottom line.
Of course, another possibility here is that the iPhone has received all the promotion it needs from AT&T. The device has arguably succeeded in Apple's marketing efforts to get it inserted into all the major media hubs, from the Today Show to Steven Colbert. Still, after adorning the pages of Cingular-turned-AT&T during the six month period since its announcement in January of this year, the iPhone's sudden disappearance from the main page and even the phone-specific page is raising our eyebrows.
If you have been one of the patiently waiting San Francisco residents to hear the outcomes of the wireless city network, you might have to wait a little longer.
Earthlink seems to be having doubts about building a wireless network in the city causing the municipal WiFi proposal in San Francisco to get delayed until at least August. With a vote by officials now scheduled for September 11th. The original proposal for city wireless signals to be sent through the air was put together in 2004 and saw Earthlink being the supplier for the paid service, and Google chipping in to offer a special free service to residents and travelers in the area. The plan did see some snags including quality, privacy and health concerns.
San Francisco isn't the only place that Earthlink has held back plans, they have completely scaled back nationwide amidst doubts that the company can make enough money in the municipal sector.
It only seems to make sense, why not get free Wi-Fi access to the over 10,000 hot spots AT&T runs if you currently subscribe to DSL?
AT&T is rolling out the free Wi-Fi to subscribers of the 3 megabit per second or higher. The lower service subscribers still get stuck with a $1.99 fee for unlimited Wi-Fi access. Why not just allow all AT&T subscribers to get this as an added benefit to being a customer?
AT&T has been expanding its 2.5G and 3G cell networks, but is seeing a place for expansion into the Wi-Fi market as it evident with Apple's iPhone. Data downloads on a 2.5G network peak at about 200 KB, and hooking onto their Wi-Fi networks can see data downloads hit broadband speeds.
How can "we-find" a better connection when on the go...and get it quickly? Searching for that perfect connection is such a hassle, especially if you aren't familiar with the area you're in. You can spend hours trying to activate your wireless. WeFi aims to change that through an online community; linked by wireless access.
WeFi launched a short while ago and provides its users with pinpointed WiFi locations, and connects users of that connection with one another. The tool is a downloadable client for Mac and PC users, having a similar feel to an IM application. When WeFi is launched users are presented with a map of all of the WiFi connections in the area. This includes open, locked, and restricted connections.
Adding a social aspect to the tool is the ability to see which friends are currently online by adding them to your contact list. Friends can then share locations, maps and hot spots with each other.
In the future, WeFi will be incorporating all sorts of tools that help users gauge the quality of signals including hot spot reviews. Nonetheless, this is one tool to have in your wireless connection arsenal when traveling to not only a new location, but anywhere around your town where you are not familiar with signals.
Working from anywhere in downtown Toronto was great for many wireless workers for the past nine months. There was no need to walk aimlessly looking for an open wireless signal, now that time has sadly come to an end. It was so easy to connect to one of Toronto Hydro Telecom's free OneZone urban Wifi network signals in the six square kilometer area that it covers. The area, centered on the cities financial district and spreading out over City Hall and the University, is now only accessible to paying customers.
40,000 users test drove the new Wifi service during the extended free trial offer, with the highest usage times tracked between 2pm and 5pm Monday to Friday. Starting on April 24th, users of the Wifi signal are required to pay either $4.99/hr, $9.99/day, or $29/month for access.
Is 10 bucks a day CDN too much or just right? Would you prefer a free service that is sponsored by ads or a sponsored login page?
Anyone that has used a laptop for a long time eventually runs into the problem of configuration changes when striking camp in different locations. Although Windows XP SP2 does a much better job of detecting and switching network settings when powering up from Standby or Hibernation, there are still situations that require manual reconfiguration.
For example if your work network requires you to use a specific IP address rather than a dynamically allocated one, it's not easy to switch them when you change locations. Well, it's not hard, but it's a pain.
A freeware app called Net Profiles could be your answer. NetProfiles will do a number of things at the click of a mouse to reconfigure your computer to a different environment:
Save your network settings as profiles.
Automatically activate wireless profiles when specified wireless connections are detected.
Change IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, Primary and Secondary DNS Servers, WINS Server, and DHCP settings with the click of a button.
Specify different mapped drives for each profile.
Change your default printer based on which profile you're currently using.
Automatically change you profile via program shortcuts created with Net Profiles.
Change the default homepage for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Proxy settings for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Run a user-defined list of programs when a profile is activated.
Maintain seperate desktop wallpaper for each profile.
Change screen resolutions and color quality when profiles are activated.
So you've got that fancy new smartphone, and you've got an unlimited data plan from your wireless provider. What's the first thing you want to do? Install Skype for Windows Mobile and start making cheap international phone calls over your data connection without paying exorbitant service fees for international calls.
Okay, maybe that's not the first thing, but it's up there. Unfortunately, most mobile service providers include provisions in their end user agreements that prevent customers from using their data plans to make VoIP calls. Well, it looks like Skype is hoping to change that.
The company filed a petition with the FCC on Wednesday asking the commission to make wireless companies drop that restriction. Apparently back in the 60s, the FCC enacted rules allowing customers to hook pretty much any device up to their telephone as long as it didn't hurt the network. This was a reaction to the AT&T monopoly at the time. Nowadays, as telcos continue buying each other out, we're getting closer and closer to monopoly territory, making me think Skype's got a good case. That, and it'd be really cool if they win.
In previous experiments, in-flight 
Change the default homepage for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
