FCC Goes WiFi  http://www.secureyfi.com/ 

  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on 06/15/04 it would provide free wireless Internet access to visitors at  its  Washington office. The system uses the 802.11a and 802.11b protocols and visitors can use the service on the 12th  Street, Courtyard and eighth floor levels.The FCC will not provide technical support, and all transactions using the service are the responsibility of the visitor . At present, the FCC will not request personal identifying information prior to allowing access to the wireless network."When you come to the FCC, l  eave the cords at home," said FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell. "We are embracing the power of WiFi and the freedom and convenience of wireless Internet access it gives to consumers."Finnish telecomms solutions provider Nokia is taking the threat from the Cabir virus seriously, according to Anna Svensson, information director at Nokia.Svensson has told the Swedish newspaper Expressen that the company is working with several antivirus companies to stop the virus that claims to be a security upgrade. It is reportedly not known whether the virus has arrived in Scandinavia yet, but it is known that Nokia and Sony Ericsson cell phones are particularly vulnerable to it.It is only a matter of time before the virus arrives in Scandinavia, according to the Norwegian online newspaper Nettavisen. According to Joakim von Braun at Symantec in Sweden, it is something that has to be expected that either Cabir or another version of the virus arrives.

  You've no doubt heard a lot of hype about wireless networking  and you may wonder whether there's any real business advantage to going wireless, or if it's just the cool technology talking. The definitive answer is: it depends. The most important part of a wireless network is the time you spend upfront thinking about what your company's work and networking needs are, and whether going wireless will help you meet those needs . Once you've decided that a wireless network makes sense for your company wireless networks report higher productivity, application flexibility and worker satisfaction and remember the equipment you buy and the way you configure your wireless network will be driven by your business needs, so it's important you have a clear plan before you spend any money on equipment or other resources .                                                                              

Telecomms company AT&T Global Services Canada has won a contract from forest products company Nexfor Inc (TSX: NF) for the deployment of a fully managed networking solution.Under the terms of the agreements AT&T will deploy three legacy frame relay networks to connect 20 Nexfor sites across Canada, the US and Europe with a global MPLS-based IP VPN. This will  be used by 6,500 of Nexfor's employees to access a number of applications such as financial, sales,  management, health and safety, intranet, e-mail, file and print services, collaboration software and bar coding applications.

Wi-Fi hotspots are to be installed in some UK courts as part of a three-year pilot scheme with BT.The trial will include the Royal Courts of Justice, Southwark, Birmingham and Swansea Crown Courts and Winchester, Liverpool and Leeds Combined Courts where users will pay to use the service.It is the first time public Wi-Fi access has been made available in government buildings.The Department for Constitutional Affairs said the service will be evaluated on an ongoing basis.

  SanDisk Corp. said it would begin shipping a Secure Digital card combining flash memory and WiFi connectivity beginning 07/04 The SanDisk Combination SD Card requires a Secure Digital I/O slot as well as either the Windows PocketPC 2002, 2003, or Windows Mobile 2003 OS, meaning that the technology will almost exclusively be tied to handhelds. The card, which combines 256 Mbytes of storage plus 802.11b, will retail for about $129, SanDisk said.SanDisk plans complementary enhancements to the USB thumb drives that are already in the market and use flash memory, Wong said. In addition, the capabilities could be added to MP3 players and handheld digital cameras, he said. "It makes sense as we understand the slot," Wong said. "We intend to work with OEMs. It's a natural progression, owning that slot, as we plan to add additional capabilities with WiFi."

Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP include extensive Wi-Fi support, the widely adopted Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard for high-speed networking across wireless local area networks (WLANs). This link contains information about Wi-Fi and associated technologies that are currently supported by Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000.  http://www.microsoft.com

  Washington state ferries will be WiFi-enabled by summer of 2004, thanks to a small Port Townsend firm Mobilisa. They are beaming a fat signal from ship to shore over 5GHz (Glenn Fleishman is guessing 802.11a), then distributing it freely via 802.11a/b/g -- at least until the fall, when they'll start charging. Each of the first equipped ferry runs have crossing times of 30 minutes.

AirPort Express

Apple Computer did it again in 2004, combining 802.11g wireless, a USB print server, a WiFi repeater and bridge, and the ability to stream music wirelessly to consumer-electronic equipment.AirPort Express isn't just the world's first mobile 802.11g base station -- with the addition of AirTunes users can now play their iTunes music on any stereo in their home -- all without wires," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, in a statement. "This innovative Apple product will appeal to both notebook users who want wireless freedom in their hotel rooms and to music lovers who want to listen to their iTunes music library on a stereo located anywhere in their home."

Warchalking

  Seventy years ago, during the Depression in the US, hobos drew signs to indicate to each other where they could get a meal. Now, across the Atlantic in London, geeks are talking about using a similar system of chalk symbols to signal where they can get a decent wireless Internet connection.the practice has been coined Warchalking:, entails simply drawing a chalk symbol on a wall or pavement to indicate the presence of a wireless networking node. If you see one of these symbols, you should -- in theory at least -- be able to whip out your notebook computer equipped with an 802.11 wireless networking card, and log on to the Net.But warchalking is remarkable because it is based on a process of people discovering Wi-Fi nodes -- whether commercial or not -- and signalling their presence with chalk symbols. It is also remarkable for the reception the idea has had."Some people have asked why not use stickers or paint," beacuse  using chalk won't piss too many people off."it justs washes away.  

                            Detroit's Best WiFi Teacher

   City of San Jose

        Now you can get online, access to the world wide web, connect with the office and check your email for FREE while visiting your favorite downtown San Jose hot spot.Only a cutting edge place like San Jose offers FREE high-speed wifi service in a outdoor wireless network that supports the latest mobile technology.This FREE WiFi network is brought to you in partnership by Global Netoptex Inc., Cisco Systems, the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau and the City of San Jose. For more information about San Jose and Free Downtown WiFi, call 1-888-SAN-JOSE.   

 Michigan s                 Detroit Yacht Club    connected with WiFi

     Last summer, Myers organized an effort at the Detroit Yacht Club to set up WiFi coverage for the Club’s 380 boats, motivated primarily by wanting to spend more time on his boat and at the Club. A struggle is underway between Detroit Metro airport officials and wireless Internet providers as to who controls the network air space for WiFi users. The situation may require the FCC’s intervention before it gets really nasty at Detroit’s airport wireless signals from Northwest Airlines to its baggage handlers got swamped by those from a nearby AT&T Wireless Services office, the Wall Street Journal reported 06/04.

         Orange networking in France

     With its Orange network wifi access of more than 1500 hotspots and simple of use and made safe offers, Orange democratizes in France WiFi of quality in all the places of life which they are businesses or leisures. Thus Orange team all the Accor hotels in France, the shows Air France, of the villages Club Med Businesses, the Virgin coffees and the Disney hotels in DisneyLand Paris.Orange gathers all the activities of mobile telephony of the France Telecom group. Orange is a leader in France with 48,8% of share of market and 20,3 million customers at December 31, 2003

Hyatt

      WiFi is available in the lobby and select guest rooms at most Hyatt hotels by the start of 2005, officials for the Chicago-based hotel   company said.CHICAGO - High-speed wireless Internet access is coming to nearly all of Hyatt Corp.’s 200-plus hotels and resorts in 2005, under a deal announced  by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and T-Mobile USA Inc.

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                                    Detroit's Best WiFi Hot Spot Finder ShopDownRiver.com

                                                Detroit's Best WiFi Hotspot Finder

WIFI Happy meal

McDonald’s Corp. has been testing WiFi at about 300 restaurants in the San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York areas. The company hopes to outfit 6,000 restaurants — nearly half its U.S. locations — by the end of the year.2004 Intel, Wayport, and McDonald's formally launched their wireless venture on the West Coast on 06/08/04, adding WiFi access to the fast food chain's menu of  burgers and fries.Users will pay $4.95 for a two-hour period.When users open their notebook PC or PDA and attempt to log in, they are greeted with a McDonald's/Wayport screen that asks for a login number. Users can buy an access code at the restaurant, use a coupon, or access the network with an existing Wayport account or affiliate, such as AT&T Wireless, GRIC, or Boingo. Wayport OEM partners include Sony, IBM and Dell, the latter of which includes a Wayport coupon in the boxes containing its notebooks. Currently, the McDonald's hotspots will only support 802.11b technology, the only WiFi component currently integrated into Intel's Centrino chipset. Over the next twelve months, Intel will begin supporting more of the 802.11 technologies. Discrete wireless chip providers, such as Atheros, Broadcom, and TI, have already deployed one or two generations of the more advanced 802.11g components. Over time, "Wayport will look at deploying 802.11b, 'g', or 'a', McDonald's service does not contain security provisions.

   Play Ball

Pacific Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, is one of the world’s largest public WiFi “hot spots.”

SPOKANE, Wash. - With the flip of a switch Wednesday June 24/04, 100 blocks of downtown Spokane got wireless access to the Internet.City officials and private developers activated what they call the largest deployment of wireless Internet coverage in any city to date.  

        North American Free Trade Agreement

   SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 24/04 (UPI) -- Almost 1 million Costa Ricans have regular connection to the Internet from home, work, school or cafes.Internet service provider Radiografica Costarricense, or Racsa, said the country has experienced constant growth in Internet service at a rate of more than 10 percent annually, and now 24 percent of the population has access to the Interne

     WiFi on Capitol Hill  

 Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, launched the first public outdoor wireless Internet hotspot in the nation's capital on 04/28/04. The free service provides coverage in front of the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the Capitol Visitors Center site. The Capitol Hill hotspot is the initial step in Open Park's plan to provide free public wireless Internet service across the National Mall."Washington policymakers deserve a firsthand look at how quickly innovation can develop in unlicensed spectrum bands, such as those used by WiFi," said Kevin Werbach, a technology analyst and cofounder of the Open Park Project. "From WiFi phones to radio location tags to portable guides for park rangers, the possibilities are extraordinary."

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