In Flight WiFi Back In The Air?

December 13, 2007 – 6:41 am

I thought the matter was dead after Boeing shut down their much hyped in-flight WiFi plans (yep), but Engadget got a seat on JetBlue’s private introductory flight for their WiFi service. The good news is that it’s free, the not surprising news is that Yahoo! is partnering in it (and it requires a Yahoo! account), [...]

By Casey | Posted in Dispatches, Libraries & Networked Information, Technology | Comments (2)



[Insert Word Here] Is Hurting Your Network

November 19, 2007 – 11:24 am

Corporate networks are defenseless against the growing threat from instant messaging, and the government warns WiFi is insecure and easily sniffed.
Experts suggest we take precautions against the growing risk of p2p software that’s exposing sensitive documents and threatening national security.
Businesses blame security problems on their employees, their mobile devices, and other consumer technologies.
And now we [...]

By Casey | Posted in Politics & Controversy, Technology | Comments (1)

I’m A Fonero, Are You A Fonero Too?

April 11, 2007 – 12:29 pm

Now that I’ve moved I’ve finally set up my Fonera. I had hoped to offer a story about the process, but it was so simple I can’t really say much more than “I plugged it in, I registered it, it worked.”
The Fonera is a tiny little router/WiFi access point that looks worlds better than the [...]

By Casey | Posted in Libraries & Networked Information, Technology | Comments (3)

Connectile Dysfunction

February 5, 2007 – 11:28 pm

No sooner do I lay down a rant about how bad Sprint WiFi is than do they run an ad telling us how great their service is. Well, not only that, but they promise to save us from “Connectile Dysfunction.”
Angela Natividad described it best:
It’s hard to position broadband ads. You can be like Earthlink, which [...]

By Casey | Posted in Books, Movies, Music | Comments (1)

Sprint WiFi Sucks

February 3, 2007 – 11:01 pm

I’m back in Oakland Airport, but this time I’m bringing my own network and I don’t have to deal with Sprint’s WIFI mess.
See, the problem isn’t just that it costs too much. The problem is that once you pay, you’re plopped at the login page where the login I just created doesn’t work.
And worse, [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology, Travel | Comments (0)



Knockbox = WiFi + Real Estate Info

August 22, 2006 – 12:53 pm

In another sign of the arrival of the stupendous, i.e. that the internet is changing our world, Engadget some time ago reported on the SellSmart Knockbox real estate selling dohicky.
What is a KNOCKBOX?
A KNOCKBOX is a sleek, self-contained appliance that is placed unobtrusively inside your home for sale. It contains a photographic tour, custom buyer [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (2)

PDX’s Free WiFi Rocks

February 19, 2006 – 3:31 am

Here’s a lesson the rest of the world’s airports could take from PDX: free WiFi.
Most other aiports charge dearly for WiFi, but PDX offers it free. Knowing this, I arrived at the airport a couple hours early and got my dinner and caught up on my email here instead of elsewhere. The Port of Portland [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology, Travel | Comments (6)

The Bathroom Reader

December 10, 2005 – 11:44 am

Somebody at Gizmodo found this Agence France-Presse story about the intersection of American surfing and bathroom habits in The Hindustan Times. It’s based on a report by the USC Annenberg School’s Center for the Digital Future. For five years running now, the center has tracked internet use (and non-use) in a 2,000 household representative sample [...]

By Casey | Posted in Libraries & Networked Information, Questionable...funny. Pointless., Technology | Comments (31)

The Fight Over Massport WiFi

October 30, 2005 – 10:04 am

I do a lot of flying in and out of Boston’s Logan Airport, so I’ve been following the controversy about WiFi there with some interest.
The story is that Massport, the government agency that runs the airport, is trying to tell tennents — like the airlines — that they can’t operate their own WiFi networks. But [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (6)

Mac Wireless Card Compatibility

October 3, 2005 – 12:14 pm

In case you’re looking: Metaphyzx’s Mac OS Wireless Adapter Compatibility List.

tags: apple, card compatibility, compatibility, compatibility list, list, mac, mac os, mac os x, macintosh, network adapter, wifi, wifi adapter, wifi cardbus card, wifi pc card, wifi pci card, wifi pcmcia card, wireless, wireless adapter, wireless adapter compatibility

By Casey | Posted in Blink, Technology | Comments (4)

WiFi In Public Spaces

September 14, 2005 – 12:20 pm

A message came acrross the web4lib list a few weeks ago with the following request:
I want to hear from libraries who are currently implementing, or who already have implemented, wireless access for staff and/or patrons. I want your ’stories’–good, bad and ugly. Issues and/or triumphs with IT staff, vendors, library staff, library boards, [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (1)

The Problem With PDAs Today

July 29, 2005 – 4:07 pm

When I finally get around to writing up my impressions of the Pepper Pad, I’ll be pointing to Roger Sperberg’s recent posts at TeleRead about non-PDA handhelds and computers for stand up use. At the moment, however, some of his points remind my of a few I’ve got to make about PDAs here.
I’ve got [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (5)

Skyhook WiFi Geolocation

July 17, 2005 – 3:59 am

Old news from Gizmodo and Wi-Fi Networking News (quoting WiFi NN):
Skyhook has assembled a database of information about 1.5 million access points across 25 major cities in the U.S. by driving every street in every city. Their software records multiple data points per sample for directionality. Fire up their software on a laptop, and it [...]

By Casey | Posted in Blink, Technology | Comments (4)

When You Don’t Have A GPS…

June 13, 2005 – 5:46 am

Geolocation by GPS my be the most straightforward approach, but we mustn’t forget the other ways to get lat/lon coordinates.
All current cell phones support aGPS positioning to comply with federal E-911 mandates, but not all phones make it easy for the user to get that information out of them. Still, some do and GPS-enabled moblogging [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (5)

Reviewing FCC Rules on WiFi Use

November 17, 2004 – 4:27 am

I wasn’t really paying attention in June when WiFi Net News reported on a FCC decision regarding control of WiFi:
The FCC says landlords, associations can’t regulate Part 15 use: The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology says that the function of regulating and coordinating frequency use is reserved to the FCC itself. It’s a clear [...]

By Casey | Posted in Technology | Comments (7)