Hasta La Gadget!

Delta Airlines will be expanding WiFi access to more than 150 international aircraft including Boeing 777, 767, 747, Airbus 330 and transoceanic Boeing 757 starting at the beginning of 2013. Existing air-to-ground service has been conveniently available on domestic flights within the US, but international access has always been constrained by this ground-based technology normally used by airlines.

To make WiFi access possible while flying over large bodies of water, service provider Gogo will be working with high-bandwith Ku-band capacity satellites for the first time ever on any airline. Once completed in 2015, it’s expected that Delta will be operating about 1,000 WiFi-enabled aircraft internationally.

There’s nothing quite like sending a tweet or snapping an Instagram photo when you’re high above the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and even though the technology will be more expensive, Delta and Gogo are well aware that customers are keen on staying connected all the time. The airline currently serves over 160 million customers annually and all Delta Connection two-class regional jets offer over 400,000 passengers WiFi access on a daily basis.

[via Engadget]

Delta expanding WiFi access to international flights starting next year is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Here’s a reminder that you should never, ever, ever have a Wi-Fi network without a password on it. Police in Indiana called up the SWAT team to raid an 18-year-old gir’s house by smashing her front window and throwing two flashbangs inside because of her open Wi-Fi network. What the hell? More »

Google Glass will not have a cellular data connection, at least initially, meaning wearers of the augmented reality system will need to rely on WiFi or tethering to get online. The headset demonstrated at Google IO yesterday includes only WiFi and Bluetooth technologies, not 3G or 4G despite early rumors, with senior industrial designer on the Google Glass project Isabelle Olsson confirming to ABC News that users out of hotspot range will need to tether to their smartphone for WWAN access.

Talk of an integrated cellular link first began prior to Google making Project Glass public, when rumors of the wearable display initially broke. Then, it was suggested that Google would equip the headset with either 3G or 4G connectivity, making the unit as a whole self-contained.

Whether that was ever true or not is unclear – Google could have attempted to include WWAN but decided to drop it over battery or size concerns, perhaps – but the current iteration lacks it, according to Olsson. The designer declined to give battery life estimates, though fellow project member Sergey Brin was overheard suggesting a roughly six hour runtime in a post-keynote meeting.

Google was forced to use USB connection tethering with Glass for its live-streamed skydiving stunt, having found the WiFi could not handle the extreme conditions. Otherwise the components are much akin to a regular smartphone, all contained in the oversized arm of the glasses.

No 3G/4G for Google Glass is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Some internet purveyors make a big fuss over having public WiFi. It’s not often that they go out of their way to help you find that WiFi, however, and that’s where CableVision’s recently posted (but just now official) Optimum WiFi Hotspot Finder comes in. If you’re one of the cable company’s Optimum Online subscribers, the currently iOS-only app will pinpoint the 35,000 access points that you can call a home away from home. As we’d hope, the app both finds hotspots nearby for an immediate fix or drills down to specific hotspots if you’re just that determined to find a restaurant with a data pipe. The app and WiFi access are both free — apart from that small matter of the cable account, of course — and will no doubt help iPad and iPhone owners for whom Optimum WiFi’s 15Mbps speed is an oasis in a sea of pokey 3G.

Cablevision launches iOS app to track down Optimum WiFi hotspots, keep you off the 3G sauce originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco won’t be the fastest out of the gate with an 802.11ac WiFi router, but it’s certainly one of the most ambitious. The dual-band Linksys EA6500 and a companion, single-band Universal Media Connector network bridge hike the bandwidth up to 802.11ac’s 1.3Gbps peak, each of them carrying their own quartet of gigabit Ethernet jacks. A pair of USB ports on the EA6500 should make sharing storage that much faster as well. If you ask Cisco, however, the real highlight is the new Cisco Connect Cloud app platform. Not unlike Novatel’s MiFi apps, the software helps either manage the router itself (think parental controls) or tap into other devices around the home, including AirPlay sharing and remote camera monitoring. There’s even a new SimpleTap hardware integration platform that will pair third-party WiFi gear like Onkyo receivers to a router through Android and iOS smartphone apps. Eventually, that should include a gentle NFC-based nudge.

A Linksys Developer Community is starting now with six app developers already lined up, and support is due for any access point Cisco deems worthy of the Smart Wi-Fi Router name. That said, you’ll have to wait awhile if you want the 802.11ac tag attached to that router at the same time. The currently-without-a-price EA6500 doesn’t hit shops until early August; you’ll have to wait until September for the equally priceless Universal Media Connector.

Continue reading Cisco rolls its first Linksys 802.11ac WiFi router and bridge, kicks off Connect Cloud app platform (video)

Cisco rolls its first Linksys 802.11ac WiFi router and bridge, kicks off Connect Cloud app platform (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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