Oct 24

Amped Wireless gives your WiFi 1.5-mile range: never lose signal in the garden again

Posted in: networking, Today's Chili, wifi, Wireless
Those of us stationed inside the Engadget compound are always wishing we had better WiFi signal at the outer reaches of the battlements. Thank heavens for Amped Wireless’ range of professional networking tools. With a 600mW amplifier and a high-gain bi-directional antenna, its SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater can expand the range of your internet transmissions by up to 1.5 miles. The device also has two extra network ports for other devices and is designed for large buildings, boats, RVs or, you know… massive gadget labs. On the other hand, the AP600EX Pro Access Point can sit on the end of a wired network and do the same job for building-to-building connections. Both devices come with a 30-foot power-over-ethernet cable and are available today for $180.

Continue reading Amped Wireless gives your WiFi 1.5-mile range: never lose signal in the garden again

Amped Wireless gives your WiFi 1.5-mile range: never lose signal in the garden again originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 06

HomePlug Alliance keeps plugging away at powerline communications

Posted in: networking, Today's Chili
HomePlug Alliance

Try as it might, the HomePlug Alliance just can’t seem to get its foot in the proverbial door of consumers’ homes. Now the organization is eying a different target market — utilities. Its new Netricity Powerline Communications program aims to get utility companies and makers of smart meters to adopt the 1901.2 standard for sending data through existing electrical wiring and march us into the smart grid future. The low-frequency, narrow-band PLC won’t do anything to help you stream HD video around your home, but it should be more than enough for monitoring your energy consumption. Check out the PR after the break for a few more details.

HomePlug Alliance keeps plugging away at powerline communications originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 25

Switched On: No new wires, one new caveat

Posted in: column, hdpostcross, networking, stream, streaming, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

In the decade that WiFi has blanketed home networks across the United States, several technologies aimed at using existing wiring in the home have met with limited success. These have included MoCA (Multimedia over Coax, which has been adopted by some service providers for implementing multi-room DVRs) and HomePNA (originally for phone lines but later expanded to coax cable as well). At least three dueling standards have also sought to bring high-speed connectivity over electrical wiring. HomePlug, the most successful of these, has had several iterations. The latest – HomePlug AV – is rated at a theoretical throughput of 200 Mbits/sec. However, power line technologies have been held back by high prices and occasional interoperability problems.

But a new approach seeks to be the one protocol to rule them all, operating over phone lines, power lines or coax. Dubbed G.hn, the ITU standard promises up to 1Gbps theoretical throughput, with real-world usage over electrical lines expected to reach between 250Mbps and 400Mbps. If that sounds appealing to you, you’re not alone. Service providers like the idea of G.hn since it allows them more flexibility than previous efforts. In fact, they like it so much that — despite G.hn’s capacity — they have insisted on quality of service standards that could limit or prevent consumers from installing it themselves after they buy adapters from retailers.

Continue reading Switched On: No new wires, one new caveat

Switched On: No new wires, one new caveat originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 12

Broadcom buys NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7b in cash, hopes to add more processors to lineup

Posted in: industry, merger, network, networking, processor, Today's Chili

You’ve probably never heard of NetLogic Microsystems, but you can bet that its technologies may very well end up in your next smartphone, tablet or vehicle. Broadcom has just announced its intentions to pick up the aforesaid company for a cool $3.7 billion in cash, with the “definitive merger agreement” already approved by the boards of both. According to Broadcom, the deal will extend its portfolio with “a number of critical new product lines and technologies, including knowledge-based processors, multi-core embedded processors, and digital front-end processors,” and according to a televised CNBC interview with president and CEO Scott McGregor, he’s hoping to extend Broadcom’s reach in the automotive industry. His view? We’re getting dangerously close to streaming television (and more) to a serious quantity of motorcars, but beyond wild aspirations, there doesn’t seem to be too many hard plans being made public. The full release is hosted up after the break.

Continue reading Broadcom buys NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7b in cash, hopes to add more processors to lineup

Broadcom buys NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7b in cash, hopes to add more processors to lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 10

Scientists build WiFi hunter-killer drone and call it SkyNET… Viene Tormenta!

Posted in: hack, hacking, network, networking, security, Today's Chili, wifi, Wireless
You’d think scientists would proscribe certain names for their inventions — you wouldn’t be taken seriously if your supercomputer was called HAL 9000, WOPR or Proteus IV would you? Well, a team from the Stevens Institute of Technology isn’t listening, because it’s developing an aerial drone and calling it SkyNET. A Linux box, strapped to a Parrot A.R. Drone, can fly within range of your home wireless network and electronically attack it from the air. Whilst internet-only attacks are traceable to some extent, drone attacks are difficult to detect until it’s too late — you’d have to catch it in the act and chase it off with a long-handled pitchfork, or something. The team is working on refining the technology to make it cheaper than the $600 it currently costs and advise that people toughen up their domestic wireless security. We advise they stop pushing us ever closer towards the Robopocalypse.

Scientists build WiFi hunter-killer drone and call it SkyNET… Viene Tormenta! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 05:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Crave  |  sourceSkyNET Paper (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 09

ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad

Posted in: cdma, hotspot, mobile broadband, mobile hotspot, MobileBroadband, MobileHotspot, networking, Sprint, Today's Chili, wifi

We love mobile wireless hotspots, and we especially love when they work internationally — which until today, has left Sprint’s CDMA/WiMAX devices out of the mix. This latest variant gives some love to the world traveling crowd, however, with domestic support for EVDO Rev A, and international support for GSM/GRPS/EDGE as well as WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA. There’s no word on what you’ll expect to pay for your data abroad, but Sprint does include an “unlocked SIM” in the box, along with international power adapters. A built-in display indicates battery life and connectivity, so you know when the device is ready to beam the web to up to five WiFi devices on CDMA, or a single device while roaming on GSM. Available now, the hotspot will run you $50 after a $50 rebate and with a two-year contract, provides a range of up to 130 feet, and can pump out a wireless signal for up to four hours (sadly WiMAX is not supported). Jump past the break for the lowdown from Sprint.

Continue reading ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad

ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 06

Researchers demo full-duplex wireless: double the throughput with no new towers

Posted in: mobilepostcross, network, networking, research, science, Today's Chili, Wireless
Melissa Duarte, Rice UniversityBack in February researchers at Stanford first taunted us with the possibility of simultaneous, two-way data transmission on the same frequency. Now some folks at Rice University are edging full-duplex communication closer to reality. By the time carriers get around to rolling out 4.5G networks, engineers could potentially double throughput without adding more cell towers and using only existing mobile hardware. With an extra antenna and some fancy software tricks, which allow the device to ignore locally produced signals, the Rice team was able to produce a connection ten-times stronger than previously published studies. Since the technology is based on existing MIMO setups, it may also prove the shortest route to asynchronous full-duplex transmissions. That means you’ll be able to upload ill advised videos of your drunken antics (and suffer the consequences) that much faster, without having to pause the latest Maru clip. Check out the PR after the break.

[Image credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University]

Continue reading Researchers demo full-duplex wireless: double the throughput with no new towers

Researchers demo full-duplex wireless: double the throughput with no new towers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

White House’s ‘We The People’ e-petition website provides a more perfect venue for trolling (video)

Posted in: government, networking, Today's Chili, video
Citizens! Following a tradition set down by the British, the White House will soon launch its own e-petition website. “We The People” will work like this: anyone 13 or older can set up a petition — but before it’s visible on the site they need to get 150 grass-roots signatures. If an entreaty receives 5,000 or more signatures within 30 days, it is guaranteed to receive an official response from a White House staffer. Does the thought of direct access to the executive excite you like a West Wing marathon? You’ll probably enjoy the introductory video we’ve included behind the break.

Continue reading White House’s ‘We The People’ e-petition website provides a more perfect venue for trolling (video)

White House’s ‘We The People’ e-petition website provides a more perfect venue for trolling (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Yahoo! News  |  sourceWhite House.gov  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 15

So What the Hell Are We Supposed to Put on Google+?

Posted in: Google, networking, privacy, Today's Chili, top

Here’s the problem: I hate my friends. You do too. I’m using the word “friends” in the social networking sense. Facebook and Flickr “friends.” Twitter and Tumblr Followers. More »

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Jul 11

Cisco boosts stadium WiFi, makes MLB slightly more tolerable for the internet-obsessed (video)

Posted in: att, cisco, network, networking, Sports, Sprint, Today's Chili, video, wifi, WiMAX, Wireless


Anyone who’s been in a packed stadium or concert venue knows better than to expect to be able to browse the web or even check email, unless of course your device happens to be compatible with a certain underutilized data-only network. A new initiative from Cisco, however, aims to bring connectivity to the over-saturated masses. The company’s Connected Stadium WiFi bundles the Aironet 3500p access point, designed specifically for “high-density stadium and arena deployments,” with strategically placed antennas that target fewer seats with the same amount of throughput — likely similar to the 884-device network AT&T deployed at Cowboys Stadium for Super Bowl XLV. We hope the lighter load placed on carriers — and already sky high ticket prices — would help make Connected Stadium a free service, but key words like “purchasing” and “monetizeable” in the networking company’s announcement make us think that some greenbacks are likely to change hands once the service launches in the real, connectivity-challenged world of overcrowded venues.

Continue reading Cisco boosts stadium WiFi, makes MLB slightly more tolerable for the internet-obsessed (video)

Cisco boosts stadium WiFi, makes MLB slightly more tolerable for the internet-obsessed (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wi-Fi Planet  |  sourceCisco Blog  | Email this | Comments

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