Tag Archives: Wireless
Oz watchdog bans mobile porn | The Register
Posted on 06. Jul, 2005
Classic quote:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/...
Putting technology to work
Posted on 05. Jul, 2004
Oli has been having fun with Clicker (Mac) and Bluetooth. I love the idea of using your mobile phone as a presence device. Looking forward to playing with the Windows alternatives to Clicker and my shiny new Sony Ericsson K700i:
- When I leave the flat with my phone, the music pauses, my chat status changes to out of office
- When I come back it checks my mail, changes my status back to avaiilable and resumes the music (if it was playing)
- If someone calls (or I call) it pauses the music, switches status to 'On phone' and logs a call in iCal (time and length of call, who to/from etc) and turns it all back the other way when the call ends."
Bluetooth worm: Cabir
Posted on 16. Jun, 2004
Targets Symbian devices. Cool.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
Xpresso XMS
Posted on 25. Feb, 2004
SMS ahead your order for a coffee at Wynyard. [via oliverw]
http://xpresso.net.au/...
WiFi gadgets and hotspots
Posted on 10. Feb, 2004
Two interesting WiFi links via CM. The first, a very drool worthy consumer WiFi SIP phone, from none other than FWD pioneer and VoIP king Jeff Pulver. With more and more people using SIP phones, the idea of having a dedicated cordless phone rather than fussing with a PC based Softphone is very appealing.
The second is a link to Michael Jennings' Samizdata post on WiFi hotspot providers in London, which he groups into three business models. I agree, the most common model in use by the likes of Starbucks/T-Mobile et al is very unattractive to those of us paying out of our own pockets. Will anyone ever get wireless data pricing right? After years of watching GPRS, and now 3G networks and WiFi hotspots emerge, it seems any real understanding by Telcos of the market potential for wireless data is a long way off. Instead of helping wireless data adoption, by offering realistic pricing, the Telcos are still looking to extract every single last cent they can from their resulting miniscule customer bases. Wireless data will never take off when it can cost up to GBP117.50 for a miserable 50MB of GPRS data depending on your provider and data plan. And GBP16.50 for a WiFi hotspot day-pass, half of what I pay for my entire months broadband access at home.
Naval on Dartmouth College
Posted on 28. Oct, 2003
Dartmouth College is an impressively wireless campus. Of the many apps they've developed the best is the 802.11b triangulation(?) linked to students calendars, reminders are issued based on an estimate of how long it'll take to get there based on their current location. The use of the Vocera 802.11b communication badges is cool as well. [via Oli
http://www.ventureblog.com/...
Quiet around here lately..
Posted on 23. Apr, 2003
I've got too much stuff on at the moment with work and uni. I have a long post in draft rounding up all the WiFi ISP's in Sydney, along with a charging comparison of CDMA, 2.5G and 3G in an attempt to find who has the best offering in Sydney for wireless broadband. I can tell you now though that no one has a good offering, but Azzure and Optus Wireless Data are probably the best of the bunch. Unwired and BigAir look promising but don't seem to be very established. Once again the disappointing conclusion on 3 Australia is that of a massive lost opportunity in 3G. I wish Hutchinson nothing but badness for their overpriced wireless data networks and hope that the far more agressive and market focused Wi-Fi hotspot providers absolutely slaughter them in this space. I realise Hutch paid top dollar for the spectrum (full-marks to Alston on that windfall, one of the few things he has done right), and they're looking for a reasonable pay-back period, but simply focusing on a telephony is a *MAJOR* strategic mistake by Hutch.
3 packet swtiched data pricing
Posted on 15. Apr, 2003
Ah well, I'm incredibly disappointed with the 3 "modem" pricing. They've adopted a per KB charging model at what I consider to be very high rate of $0.01 per kilo-byte for the first 5MB and then $0.005 for each subsequent kilo-byte. Sure it blows Telstra GPRS right out of the water, and 3 don't even charge a flag-fall, but it's a long way from the promised wireless broadband pricing model which should be in the area of $0.35-$0.60 per mega-byte in my humble opinion, rather than $5 to $7.50 per mega-byte. This is trully a premium service, and will gain little usage at those rates. Lets take some examples, you're sitting on your laptop and you visit the SMH on your web browser, 341KB on the home page (measured today including all graphics and streaming flash!).. you've just spent $3.41 to view one page. You read a few articles off and you've spent another $0.60, $4.00 later you may as well have walked to shops and bought the paper for $1.20. Alright it could be argued that you should be viewing 3 only content through your handset, and why would you bother using your laptop. But this is where 3G can really dominate, high-speed access for all your devices, not just your 3 handset. This is certainly what I want to use 3 for. And here-in lies why 3G will fail miserably if these pricing models are retained, it's too damn expensive to be anything more than a novelty on the handsets. Perhaps 3 are pegging all their sales on the attraction of video calls, but in process are ignoring an immense (in my opinion) market of people desperate for a reasonalby priced high-speed wireless data service on their laptops. The pricing model is completely geared to users pulling small chunks of data on their handsets, which is a deadend market. Look I have lots more to say on this, and will form it better later on. For now, this is quick dump of my thoughts on a disappointing packet switched data pricing model, that is only margingally better than current GPRS offers from other telcos. After all this waiting, I've got to say I reckon 3 have shown little understanding of the market potential for wireless data (read: they've fucked it up). There is clearly plenty of oppportunity now for the likes of Boingo, T-Mobile, SkyNetGlobal etc. to blow 3 out of the water for highspeed wireless data *IF* a reasonably workable level of hotspot coverage can be acheived.
http://203.147.166.235/...
3 Australia
Posted on 15. Apr, 2003
All eyes on Orange-Hutchinson's "3 Australia" launch today to see if 3G really can fly in the Australian market. Full marks for being the first to offer consumer mobile video phones. I've got to say the initial handsets being offered look less than impressive. I'll never touch anything from Motorola since having the most terrible user experience imaginable with my V8088, that leaves the NEC models which don't really appeal either. Ho hum.. at least the first round of applications look cool (nice work guys ;).. I'll wait until there's something decent available handset wise before I buy in though. When are we going to see some nice DoCoMo style Sony-Ericsson handsets? I think 3's hardest sell is going to be the handsets, rather than the service. Even hardcore gadget devotee early adopters will think twice about buying a Motorola or NEC device. Still no pricing online, very interested to see how much they're charging for data.
http://www.three.com.au/...
Got my new WLAN antenna installed
Posted on 14. Jan, 2003
I've got my spiffy new 802.11b 8.5dbi pico cell patch antenna bolted to my balcony railing (see picture). From this location it has line of sight to seven mid and high-rise residential apartment buildings, maybe I would make a good AP after all.
Turns out I did some *VERY* poor research on the selection of the D-Link 900AP+. Although it supports amazing array of modes as an access point, wireless client, wireless bridge, multi-point bridge and repeater. Everything except the Access Point mode requires another 900AP+ (or other compatible AirPlus product) at the other end. From my reading of the specs and the sales material, I knew this would be the case with the bridging and repeating modes, but not for wireless client mode! Which means it won't work with the D-Link 1000AP access point I was planing to hook up with. However he is considering going 900AP+ as well so we can use the multipoint bridge mode which would allow our three locations to all connect up sharing the same subnet.
I swear, for all the talk of 802.11b being a standard, there sure are some significant incompatibilities between the vendors. Then again, FULL MARKS to D-Link for creating an extremely cheap and yet powerful wireless device in the 900AP+. As long as you're hooking up to other 900AP+'s you get much more bang for your buck than buying a whole stack of Cisco bridges and access points to achieve the same thing.
http://anthonyjhicks.com/...
XM Satellite Radio
Posted on 11. Jan, 2003
Interesting write up from a Slashdot thread on one guys experience with XM Satellite Radio in Florida, USA.
http://slashdot.org/...
Mixed messages for mobiles
Posted on 02. Jan, 2003
Interesting piece from BBC on the state of the mobile market:
I still believe the primary factor holding back 2.5G/3G adoption in Australia is the absolutely ridiculously high data charges. For example, Telstra charges AUD$25 for just 2MB of wireless data. This is outrageous! It totally elimates the attractiveness of sitting in an airport lounge with your laptop accessing your email or the web via GPRS.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
More Sydney Wireless activity
Posted on 09. Dec, 2002
Received two more emails from Sydney Wireless people in my area, one in the office buildings near Ozemail and another over in Lane Cove. I still haven't bought any hardware yet, but my RH8 box is ready to go.
vxUtil suite of Internet utilities for Windows CE
Posted on 08. Nov, 2002
Perfect for PocketPC NetStumblers.
http://www.cam.com/...
Sydney Wireless nearby activity
Posted on 19. Oct, 2002
Finally some nearby Sydney Wireless activity in my area, with two or three blokes setting up and testing nearby keen to hook up. One bloke is particularly keen with an omni ontop of Forum West building and another halfway up the Forum building. Might be time to get my proper firewall running, setup a Linux wireless AP, and bolt a 8db antenna on my balcony. Damn, no more staff discounts through Didata on all the nice network gear :(
Bluetooth Orgy
Posted on 27. Aug, 2002
While I was over in Singapore I bought a little Bluetooth USB dongle for $100. I finally took my USB hub home from the office and set it up. Surprisingly it covers my entire apartment, so I've achieved complete wireless connectivity and synchronisation between my laptop, primary workstation, PDA and mobile phone, which I think is pretty cool. Also quite keen on the Thinkpad A31p. It is an absolute kick-ass laptop, with 802.11b and Bluetooth built-in, its also quite pricey.. might wait till I get some firm contract work before I fork out for it (that may be three or months away as I'm planning to basically do nothing for as long as possible). We'll see.. we'll see. All will be revealed in a few weeks.
Singapore goes online for mid-flight text messages
Posted on 30. Apr, 2002
"Well, at least the 'the good news is that any message sent from the ground will be in reply to a message sent from the plane'. Alas, the concept of being uncontactable whilst en-route is fast disappearing." [via CM]
http://afr.com/...
Sydney wireless nodes
Posted on 18. Apr, 2002
There's a few underwater nodes there.. hmm.. but seriously, started pondering getting involved in this again. Time to get the right hardware together and get this happening, maybe with Tony at the Forum.
http://www.sydneywireless.com/...
Airloom
Posted on 28. Mar, 2002
Interesting, airloom are going after the wireless market using the T39m and T68 Ericsson mobiles in conjunction with the new Bluetooth Ipaq 3870. They're reselling GPRS network access on Vodafone, which is cheaper than Telstra as there's no session fees, but it's still pretty expensive at 1.2 to 2 cents per KB. Ultimately mass adoption of GPRS will fail with pricing this high, even the Vodafone site illustrates pricing examples of a long text email costing 23.6c to download and a 68kb PDF file costing $1.45 to download, and you thought Broadband was a ripoff in this country.
http://www.airloom.com.au/...
