I can sum this post up in a riddle. Everyone loves riddles, especially Joker.

Here it goes:

If McDonalds gives Zune users WiFi for a few years for free, does anyone care?

Didn’t think so. Move it along, folks.

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I don’t care how precious your kid is. Whether his name is Trig or Chainsaw or Thornbush, it doesn’t warrant a $300 picture frame. Sony thinks that it can get away selling the new CP1 digital photo frame with WiFi for that absurd price. Why?

Well despite the fact that it has a 7″ screen with 16 million colors and a resolution of 800 x 480, it’s still overpriced. I don’t care if it gets your Picasa photos and accepts a slew of memory cards. With only 128MB in internal storage, it just simply isn’t worth it. Build your own and spend the leftover cash on a titty bar.

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Keep in mind that the IEEE 802.11n wireless spec hasn’t even been solidified and is still in the draft phase. Draft, people. And now, rumors of Gigabit WiFi are popping up at a time where WiMAX is still having a ton of problems and we’re still on 802.11g as a standard. The new technology, dubbed 802.11 VHT (Very High Throughput), could one day be the new standard for WiFi. The performance increase would be astonishing, but right now, no computer could take advantage of it:

f approved, the increase in data rates would be dramatic, at least by today’s standards. The 802.11n standard calls for bandwidth on the order of 600 Mbits/s; today, so-called “pre-n” devices offer roughly 300 Mbits/s. But actual throughput can be much less, or only about 100 Mbits/s, after overhead and other traffic. The 802.11 VHT proposals call for throughput of at least a gigabit per second, which could place actual data rates many times higher. Interestingly, none of the PAR documents mention the estimated range for the wireless link.

As you can see, that’s nearly twice the speed of 802.11n. Maybe adding VHT into the mix isn’t such a bad idea after all…

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Since purchasing a DSLR last year, my major problem hasn’t been related to having a good time, but rather endlessly worrying if my camera will be lost, stolen or broken. I haven’t had a chance to use the Eye-Fi wireless SD card yet, but I’ve heard plenty of good things. Now I have another reason to pick one up: security.

Seems the Eye-Fi software will let you know what happened to your camera if it gets within range of an open WiFi network. Talk about an added bonus! However, Eye-Fi just so happened to lock on to an open WiFi network that matched the owner’s details and thus an upload was performed. What if that didn’t happen? Would Eye-Fi still save your digicam? Only one way to find out…

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If you want your friends to think you’re a cheap bastard (and you know you are) and want to give your laptop the WiFi capabilities it so desperately needs, Ublog has a step-by-step DIY tutorial to make a simple and cheap Yagi antenna. Who would’ve though a piece of wood and a series of rods were all the components you need for some hot wireless action.

The antenna is a retro-looking thing, so finding the right direction to point it towards for it to work effectively could pose some problems. If you’re still not getting a signal, wrap it in aluminum foil. Unlike other antennae, you’ll have WiFi but you’ll still feel like you’re adjusting the antenna of a ’60’s TV.

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Did I say pennies? What I meant was twenties. Yeah. Sorry about that.

But all humor aside, I am a bit ticked off about something here. I hail originally from Philadelphia and it will always be my home to an extent. About 3 years ago, I had a photo taken of me by an AP reporter. He explained that it was for a story he was doing on a new wireless Internet initiative going on in Philadelphia. I would later find out it was part of the now-defunct Wireless Philadelphia project.

It turns out that part of the reasoning behind the project’’s failure was concerns about cost and being able to broadcast an 802.11b/g signal across the entire city. Understandable, right? Seems like a genuine concern. (more…)

Unsecured networks, get ready for your worst nightmare (if you imagine this said in the voice of the movie trailer voice-over guy it’s much more funny.) No signal is safe from… The WiFi Predator.

The Predator is basically a modified wireless router connected to a high powered antennae, which runs off of a custom honed firmware, scoping out Wifi signals from a distance, and tapping into any unsecured wireless connections. If more than one signal is found, the Predator automatically chooses the one with the highest signal. This summer… no Starbucks is safe. (more…)

How many times have you walked out of your house in the morning without checking the weather, only to be stuck in the rain later that day, sans an umbrella? You really suck at life sometimes. Hell, we all do. But our hands are full. Smelling like wet dog is so unappealing, and you can only wish you look as cute as a wet canine. The Rain Forecasting Umbrella from Materious uses a lit handle to notify you that there is rain scheduled in Mother Nature’s agenda planner.

Utilizing any nearby WiFi connection, the umbrella gathers data on the chance of precipitation in your area, glowing brighter as the chance increases. Maybe next time you’ll be prepared and not have to use that extra pair of clothes your keep in your car for those “you know, just in case” situations. Why didn’t they go ahead and add some Flickr functionality too? (more…)

If you have an extra hand free to hold up an umbrella (and if not, there is always Nubrella), you might as well make it the coolest damn umbrella possible. The Wi-Fi Umbrella has a built-in camera which snaps shots of you as you stroll around town on a rainy day. The umbrella even allows you to upload the photos to Flickr using Wi-Fi support.

And possibly the coolest feature of all, with a snap of your wrist you can view the stored content of the umbrella, projected on the device itself. While there is no price yet listed, the umbrella should be available to UK rain dancers pretty soon. — Andrew Dobrow

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Sport team coaches have the habit of being overbearing. And by overbearing, we mean on your ass like a gerbil to his Richard Gere (oh…snap!). Coaches need a gadget to keep their minds occupied so you athletes can take a break.

The Coach’s Clipboard uses Wi-Fi technology to keep your coach up to snuff with all of the latest coaching information, as well as 80GB HDD space to save play information and browse through draft pick information and such. They can also check updated stats of players and converse with opposing coaches in trade talks. — Andrew Dobrow

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