Not strictly speaking the most useful thing in the world for everyone, but sometimes you got a wired connection and wish that shit was wireless. Here is your solution Via IOGear.
If it doesn't mean anything to you move along, just flushing out weird old drafts and working this damn A-Z posting.
This sounds a little like snake oil, but I'll bite Engadget posted a link to a Wi-fi range extender. The claim is that is can boost the signal up to 1.5 miles!!!! For the price of $180 I'm inclined to give it a whirl (Though from my understanding of wireless you would need one on both ends of the connection to make this work). My parents have a few acres and the shop that is far enough from the house that it doesn't get signal from their access point in the house. I had considered a number of solutions for this, but the one that was the least work was burying some fiber in a conduit and getting 2 fiber to copper adapters (I am actually qualified to terminate fiber so this is less insane than it might sound). Wireless would be a hell of a lot less work, but something about this makes me not believe it will work.
What do you think?
After watching the Engadget Show EP5 I was reminded of the Intel wireless display technology demoed at CES recently. This is using some custom drivers for the wifi chip in the laptop to switch quickly between the Wireless network for internet access and a PAN link to a television set/ or display device. There are have been some rumblings about the limitations of the 2.4ghz spectrum being saturated, but I think that this technology shows that there is still a ton of opportunity for innovation in how we use that spectrum. Saturated or not, the ability to sling the images from your laptop to your tv without having to purchase another STB ala The Boxee Box or a popcorn hour is a pretty neat feature, but it would make it hard to surf the while you are image slinging. So rather than getting a dedicated box to use while you surf the internet, you have to get another laptop. Oops, guess Intel forgot that people actually watch tv with a laptop on their lap now to distract them from their distraction.
As someone that recently passed on the Palm Pre because it lacked the ability to expand it storage I can personally attest to the importance of ever growing storage options for your mobile experience. In my case it was a phone, but with the Airstash I think that we could see a day when you load your media, neigh your whole computer environment and run it from a device that can be connected to sans wires. I really dig this devices potential for other markets than the Cellphones, but think that the expanding iPhones and Pre's will be the first order of business for these devices. Breaking into that market would give them a lot of clout to pursue other markets with this class of device. If the experience can be as slick as the Zune wireless sync is (not the slow social, but the home syncing) this could easily be a hit.
Gizmodo via Engadget
So Helio Wireless went ahead and removed the road block preventing me from switching to their service this January when the old T-slowmobile contract expires here in January, Helio now offers Family Plans.
I am not sure if this was a soft launch or what as I don't recall anyone mentioning it anywhere, but I am excited none the less. For about $20/mo more than I pay now I can have the same minutes and 2 phones with data access. To add data access to both phones would be at least $30 per line per month and it would be the slow speed that T-mobile has to offer.
For that family member that talks too much there is always the $99/mo unlimited package. It won't be included into your family plan, but at least they can yak as long as their lungs and battery hold out with out breaking he bank.
Never do I find that I have to ply my trade more than when my parents need something. They sold their house and now for the new one wanted some of the really neat things I have been boasting I could do. Should be interesting, I am looking for a multi-zone smart receiver, 46"+ LCD TV and trying to be patient and wait for Vista to put in a media center server. On top of that I am trying to setup the wireless so that it covers seamlessly 4500 sq ft and a shop across the way, with exactly one wireless access point so that once connected you could roam the whole house and maybe part of the 5 acres.
They are hoping against hope that their won't have only dish as an option for tv and Internet, but the number of dual-LNB dishes in the area make me suspect that is not the case. I traced the leads off the dish and confirmed that two run to the office one in and one out to feed back to a splitter. And to the cable tech that did the hack job on the side of a very nice house I give a big FU, I will have to put up a box just so I don't have to look at the damn thing for the next few years... Blah.
On an even more depressing note, a quick call to Verizon(local service provider) and no DSL to that location. If they don't offer it, I would be very surprised to find and any resellers are out there. The house has two telephone lines lines terminated in the service box, and I am pretty sure that it wasn't just for a fax (second line in the office is labeled "I"). And a call to Time Warner Cable (formerly Adelphia) and my parents house wasn't on their map(other houses on the road where). I requested a locate service, and have my fingers crossed that someone somewhere has them covered for broadband ("the majority" of citizens covered with 3 options my ass Mr. FCC chairman).
They may not yet be resigned to a life of slow data at really high prices, I believe that have edge coverage in the area, (my tmobile smartphone did with full bars even in the basement of their house) so that my be the next best thing (stompbox here we come).
In the end, I am have a lot of research and most likely work to be done to get my parents up and running. Here's hoping for Vista, and Time Warner to come through.
Tags: Wireless Internet FCC Vista Meida Center Convictus Home Life
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