Ed Sutherland

Remember 802.11b, the Wi-Fi standard that lit the fuse of today’s explosive wireless networking market? Despite the faster 802.11g grabbing most of the headlines, the original Wi-Fi technology has been reborn for handheld devices. "Stick with 802.11b," said Gartner research vice president Ken Dulaney. "It’s got a lotta legs for some time to come." Dulaney […]

When the parent of a home-schooled child recently took to a Usenet newsgroup questioning why his wireless home networking gear was behaving oddly, a privately-held California company suddenly found itself in the cross-hairs of computer users irate over unsolicited ads and IT workers concerned with Wi-Fi security. At the heart of the growing firestorm of […]

As Intel releases its newest Centrino chipset supporting 802.11a/b, some experts are advising their enterprise customers to wait until 2004. Why? Industry pundits believe the faster 802.11a is overkill and companies should put off buying Intel’s popular wireless product until the chip-making giant ships a Centrino employing the 802.11g standard. "Why buy 802.11a/b with only […]

Broadcom , a leading maker of 802.11g chips for wireless devices, plans to use this week’s Comdex trade show in Las Vegas to back up charges a competitor’s Wi-Fi chips could interfere with nearby 802.11 networks. Broadcom is alleging the 108Mbps ‘turbo’ mode of Atheros Communications’ 802.11g chips using Super G cause “enormous degradation” of […]

With the profit margin of Wi-Fi chip producers tighter than Britney Spears’ blue jeans, why was a Canadian company exhibiting a pair of new wireless chips at the recent CTIA trade show? IceFyre Semiconductor sees Wi-Fi moving from laptops to living rooms. While in 2003 the Wi-Fi market is very PC-centric, that will change, believes […]

Will software giant Microsoft’s recently announced Wireless Provisioning Services (WPS) solve the nagging issues of security and configuration for Wi-Fi hotspot users and providers? Experts are already suggesting caution. Unveiled Oct. 12 at ITU Telecom World 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Redmond, Wash.-based company claims its upgrade to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 software […]

The race is on to provide a faster Wi-Fi experience. From special chips to souped-up standards, companies are releasing a bevy of products aimed at leaving your 802.11g gadgets in the dust. But as developers push 108Mbps wireless connections, others ask: What’s the rush? Part of the reason for the drive toward faster Wi-Fi is […]

Silicon Valley commuters traveling by rail across the 1,000-foot-high Altamont Pass in California may think they are escaping snarled highway traffic, but they are also inaugurating Wi-Fi’s newest venue: railroads. Mobility and the cheap wireless technology known as Wi-Fi would seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly, but until now, American Wi-Fi efforts […]

Remember the days when Wi-Fi was simple? Remember when a Wi-Fi network was composed of an access point, an interface card and some sort of Internet connection? Well, you can place those memories alongside eight-track tapes, vinyl records and spam that only came out of a can. We recently sat down with Rich Mironov, vice […]

Alongside the tooth fairy and Bigfoot, you might want to add the viable commercial hotspot to the list of imaginary items. Or so says a new report entitled "Public Hotspots: One Truth and Two Myths." The Dallas-based market research firm Parks Associates surveyed 1,345 Internet households asking about usage patterns and preferences for hotspot pricing, […]

On the surface, the deal struck between chip-making giant Intel and home networking leader Linksys seems only to make life easier for home-networking newcomers seeking to link their Centrino-based laptops with 802.11 gear. But below the calm waters is an undercurrent threatening to challenge the Wi-Fi Alliance industry consortium and the concept of interoperability. On […]

From India to Afghanistan, communities throughout the world are turning to Wi-Fi as an affordable way to bring broadband connections to remote locations. Government rules and red tape have stymied many local wireless efforts. With hopes of breaking the regulatory logjam, government leaders and industry experts will gather at the U.N. to explore “The Wi-Fi […]