Showing posts with label Wireless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wireless. Show all posts

Monday, February 28, 2011

Three Ways Wireless Internet Is Changing Our World

It seems just a few years ago everyone had a tiny flip phone, and a few years before that nobody had a cell phone at all. Considering that rapid pace of change, it might be fun to reflect on a few ways life was different before you could just pull up the shared knowledge of the entire Internet world on a mobile broadband phone!

1) It was a lot harder to settle a bet. Sadly, the fine art of being completely sure about something to the point of being willing to wager money on it might go completely by the wayside for the next generation. How many friendly bets have you lost over who was the Yankees' all-time winningest pitcher, or the name of last year's Best Picture winner, or the name of your dining hall in college? These bets can be settled so quickly with the Internet. You don't have to go home to consult a sports almanac, or a guide to movies, and you don't have to call that old friend from college to find the information you need. With wireless Internet, there's no time to renege on your bet by claiming that the bet was about something different, or that it never happened at all, as was often the case between friendly bettors. Having the entire Internet on your phone makes these questions open and shut cases.

2) It was harder to ignore the world around you. For example, take the sights and sounds (and smells) of a lowly city bus. A crowded city bus could be a much more unbearable experience before the advent of smartphones. These phones make it infinitely easier to tune out the world around you as the bus rattles its way up- or downtown, allowing you to catch up on e-mail or just surf the Internet instead of staring blankly at other passengers (or being stared at). However, some people would argue that smartphones deprive us of some of the random social interaction that might otherwise occur on a given day. Even on city buses, you can meet wonderful people without warning - and isn't that why people live in cities anyway? Anywhere people are congregating, there is the ability for an amazing new encounter. You can even use your smartphone to settle bets with new friends!

3) Home and work were strictly separated. These days, many companies issue their employees Internet phones so that they are always within reach. Our workforce no longer consists only of people who work strict eight-hour shifts from 9am to 5pm. With schedules widely dispersed in the workforce, expectations are higher that people should be available 24 hours a day. However, you can make this work for you. Just because you are available all day does not mean you have to be working all day. There is a flexibility in our working schedule that wireless Internet gives us which is relatively new in the working world.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

What to Look for in a Wireless Router

Shopping for a new wireless router can be an intimidating experience for many and can often end with spending far more money than is necessary. With the incomprehensible alphabet soup of router specifications, numerous numbers big and small, and pushy salesmen itching for money, buying a new piece of hardware for a wireless broadband setup can be a frightening experience. But it doesn't need to be, with just these few basic pieces of information anyone can confidently walk into the electronics section and make a purchase that is right for them.

A need for speed?
While a faster internet connection is always an ambitious goal and should be on the top of anyone's list, actually increasing that speed comes with many strings attached. Simply buying the most expensive router will not guarantee a faster web browsing experience. So put the ?100 router down, walk away from the ledge, and do some homework.

Many internet providers and countries have restrictions on how many MB per second (MBPS) you can use, that means that even if you buy the fastest router ever made your browsing speeds could be no faster than your next door neighbour's. Find out just how many MBPS you are allowed by your provider and apply that to the kind of router you want.

Decide what you are primarily using your broadband for. Are you simply checking emails and doing a bit of web browsing? Or are you streaming videos and downloading large files? Does anyone in your house play online videogames that require a superfast connection? There is no need to get a super high speed router if you will only be using a fraction of its capabilities. Speaking of super high speed routers, just how are they classified?

The most general term for routers has evolved with three different letters accompanying each generation (technically there are four generations, but you almost never see the first generation anymore). From oldest and slowest to newest and fastest, the letters you are going to see associated with speed on a router are b, g, and n. These generations match up with the same labels for modems, so if you have a modem from the b generation, getting a router from the g or n generations will not boost your speed in any way. However, having a modem from the n generation and using a g router will slow your home broadband down, so be sure your hardware matches.

The next important label you will see is the GHz, which will be either 2.4 GHz or 5GHz. While they have slight differences, both generally work the same way and neither is outright better than the other. Many other electronic devices such as your phone, garage door opener, etc. might run on 2.4 GHz, which could cause interference with your 2.4GHz router. However, outside of this inconvenience, the two technologies work basically the same, and the 2.4GHz routers tend to be quite a bit cheaper.

Finally, before you go into the store you are also going to want to evaluate the specifications of all of your existing hardware, including your modem and your computer. Does your laptop only have one internal antenna in it? There is no need to buy a router with three or four antennas if you will only be using half of them. However, getting a router with 2 antennas when your computer has four could leave you using only half of your signal capabilities.

While it may be daunting to commit yourself to a new router for the next few years, trust that you are making the right decision after you have evaluated all of the above. If you need further assistance, don't panic into an irrational purchase, kindly let your salesman know that you are still in the research phase and just want a little information.


Wireless Internet Terms That Informed Consumers Should Know About

Knowing the appropriate vocabulary is half the battle of understanding anything new. For example, you can't really become a doctor unless you know the common terms related to the medical field. The same applies to internet connections as well. If you want to get a good grasp on wireless internet connectivity, you're going to have to familiarize yourself with some of the terms related to it.

The first term you should know about is Wifi. It's a home networking solution that allows you to forgo the use of wires within a few hundred feet of a wireless router. If it had a lot more range than that it might be considered a good solution, but as it stands now a city will have to use dozens of routers in order to blanket the area with coverage. You probably wouldn't be able to travel around without being disconnected at some point, which makes this a less than desirable solution.

Most people would rather have a cellular connection instead because it's just as fast but it works over a much larger area. Two terms that you should know about are 3G and 4G. 3G is the third generation of cellular connectivity that goes beyond just being useful for cell phone voice calls. It allows for cell phone technology to be used for internet connectivity too. Unfortunately, it's not all that fast. The next generation is plenty fast though and was designed from the ground up to be a broadband internet connection that you can use all throughout your city. In fact, 4G attains transfer speeds of around 6 megabits per second, making it faster than many standard installations of cable and DSL.

When it comes to the latest in cellular internet connectivity, you have to be aware of several terms that make up the competing industry standards. The first is HSPA+. Unlike the other options, this one is built on the older 3G network, though that doesn't seem to have a big impact on its performance. It can achieve fairly impressive transfer rates now, but who knows how long that will last considering that it's build on older technology. Another player is known as Wimax. Unlike HSPA+ it is actually based on next generation technology. In addition, it currently enjoys widespread coverage and the other standards are probably envious of that. Finally, there is Long Term Evolution or LTE. This standard is also based on next generation technology but it's a bit wet behind the ears, so to speak. It too achieves impressive transfer rates, but because it's relatively new you should probably choose a different option. After all, it's not usually a good idea to be the guinea pig for a product.

Now that you know a few terms, you can draw a few conclusions. First of all, your best choice is not going to be Wifi. On the contrary, you should choose a cellular internet solution. Of the three that are available to you, Wimax makes the most sense because it's fast and has been around longer. As an informed consumer, that option would definitely be your best bet.


Mapping the Way to a Better Future With Wireless Internet

There are more than a few ways to pave the way to a better and more lucrative future. Many people find themselves in a position whereby they are evaluating their place within the changing economy and the world, wondering how they can make the most of the unique tools they have before them. Ask anyone walking down the street what the new business model is and they will likely be stumped for an answer. It's because they don't necessarily know the answer, rather, it's because there are too many avenues by which you can arrive at your destination these days. Wireless Internet has provided many of us with the tools that we need order to move forward whilst choosing an approach that works best for them.

We've heard it in speeches and we've seen it on TV, in advertisements and overheard in conversations walking down the street, the social networking phenomenon, combined with our almost universal access to the World Wide Web has completely transformed the way in which we live our lives. Connecting with friends and meeting people, sharing images and recording memories has all taken on a new dimension as more people get connected in more ways, from their homes with their personal computers or on the road with mobile broadband.

The shock of this rapid transition to the cyber age has caught some people off guard, and for others, it has put them in a position that creates new opportunity and the fast track to success. With people accessing the web in a myriad of ways, with 4G and other fast-acting mobile networks, they are able to see clearly into the future of commerce and nearly all human interactions, which inevitably feel as if they will have a digital element.

Rather than let this opportunity pass us by, or wait for the next innovative service to alter the very fabric of our lives, many are taking advantage of the ability to connect to the web from virtually anywhere, thanks to wireless internet, and plotting big plans for the years to come. With an understanding of just how far we've come and how many possibilities lie ahead of us, there are boundless opportunities for ambitious people that see the grandiose nature of the web as an opportunity to bring people together, share ideas, and make pivotal changes that the world badly needs.

It has already clearly been demonstrated that the web, and the social networking sensation, when paired with mobile broadband services, has the ability to ignite huge demonstrations. In Egypt, a revolution was born out of people connecting to one another on their laptops and cellular phones, plotting a gathering, which would lead to pivotal changes in that country. This is just one clear example of how the web can serve as the ultimate form of democracy, in which people express their opinions to a mass audience while holding on dearly to their beliefs and how they can come to fruition in the real world.


Getting the Best Use Out of One's Wireless Internet Connection

When it comes to any kind of technology or gadget, knowing how to use it the very best is definitely a crucial step in getting the most out of it. And the world of communications these days is no different than reading the manual for a new television set or figuring out something else. It's the sort of situation where it makes a lot of sense to actually delve into the world of facts, figuring out what the best possible solution is towards getting something accomplished in terms of figuring out the better ways to be using things. And when it comes to something like Wi-Fi, so many people assume that simply having a network and connecting is the absolute best, when in reality, there are plenty of other little tips and tricks that actually get things done a whole lot better.

For anyone who wants to get the best out of a wireless internet connection, the first step is obviously keeping the router set up close to where people will be doing the most of their working on the world wide web. For anyone who sets up a router that is a single router in an office area and then does not allow for another router that can bounce the signal, things are going to be pretty dismal for anyone who wants to be able to get online and get something done from another location around the house. Because a typical Wi-Fi network signal is a whole lot more limited than something that is national, like WiMax, it is crucial to be sure that things are set up accordingly and in a way where they can make it possible to get online quickly and actually keep the signal.

The fact of the matter is that anyone who is actually used to being able to connect quickly and easily is likely doing so on a network where there are no other users taking advantage of the same signal, and that can definitely be helpful in terms of actually being able to get work done. The trouble often occurs when there are multiple people connecting to the same wireless internet network, and because this is going to result in things getting a little bit slower and potentially lagging, anyone in a household with multiple users trying to accomplish big things on their laptops is likely going to be a bit disappointed and frustrated with the ease of access to things that require more power.

One solution for this is to try to keep people using the regular web signal, rather than using Wi-Fi. But another is to just go the route of WiMax instead, which makes it possible for anyone with a computer to simply flip it open and be immediately connected to the world wide web. That's definitely a more helpful solution for anyone who truly wants to get the best out of being online, and it's a forward-thinking solution, too. So consider that as a potential way of solving the dilemma of the shortcomings of typical Wi-Fi.


Find Your Long-Lost Friends With Wireless Internet

Wireless Internet is an incredible way to keep in touch with friends and family, especially when you are living far apart from them. Now, when your sister has a baby halfway across the country, you can see all of the pictures for yourself within hours of the birth. Her husband or partner will likely post them on a social networking website like Facebook. Or maybe if the happy parent is one of the few people still holding out on joining such a website, the pictures will be shared through another site, such as PhotoBucket or Flickr. Even though one of you is in Seattle and the other is back home in Iowa, it will feel like you are living blocks away, able to share all of the simple moments in life without having to buy a plane ticket!

But wireless Internet is not just good for staying in touch with people that you still talk to on a regular basis. It is also a great way to find people that you haven't seen in years! Everyone on occasion wonders what happened to their high school boyfriend, or how their roommate from freshman year of college is doing. Did he or she get married? Do they have good jobs, or are they working at the post office? Did they gain a bunch of weight? Did they start their own business? These are all questions that you can answer with just a little creative research, thanks to wireless Internet.

The first thing that you want to do is join a social networking site. This is the number one place where old friends can use wireless Internet to reconnect and maybe eventually even meet in real life. These days, everyone and their mother has Facebook, so that might be a good place to start. If you do not already have a profile, create one for yourself. Then start adding people. You might find that looking through the friends of other people is a good way to find familiar faces. Perhaps someone you are still in touch with from high school has been an active social networker for years now, and is already friends with everyone from your senior class. This is a great resource for you to use!

The one tricky thing about finding people via wireless Internet is sometimes people's names have changed. Women who have changed their last names after getting married might be more difficult to hunt down, for example. (A hint: if this is your situation, and you want people to be able to find you easily, include your maiden name in any profile you might create. For example, if the last name you were born with is Anderson, but now you use your husband's last name, which is Pazera, register your account under Tina Anderson Pazera). Other people choose to hide their accounts from view, because they are afraid of people gaining too much access to them via wireless Internet. In these situations, you might simply have to scan profile pictures and hope that no one has changed too much!


Top Reasons to Get Wireless Internet Today

If you have not invested in wireless Internet yet, you really have to ask yourself what is holding you back. Because there are few technologies that have had anything resembling the impact that wireless Internet has had in this country. Now, thanks to the many technologies that have been developed over the past few decades, we run businesses differently, we socialize in new ways, and we share information in ways that would have seemed unimaginable just a few short generations ago. It really is no wonder that people as young as their 40s, 50s, and 60s have so much trouble grasping modern technology: if you were not avidly following every new development, you could get too far behind to ever catch up. People - generally women - who decided to take a few years off to raise their kids suddenly find that they have no idea how to operate any of the software or different technologies that are used in the standard office place!

But you should not be getting wireless Internet out of fear, simply to "keep up with the Joneses" as they say. There are countless positive reasons that it makes sense to invest in this simple and yet brilliant technology. First of all, it opens up a world of communication that you never even knew existed. Instead of having to stay in touch by picking up the phone, and possibly making a long distance call or missing the people to whom you wanted to talk all together, you can simply shoot an email. If the person you are trying to contact is a close friend, you can send a Facebook message without ever having to log into your email account, or you can simply text them with your 4G phone; remember, there is no long-distance with the vast majority of cell phone plans these days. You can also chat with loved ones, coworkers, or friends online with ease, using services like AOL Instant Messenger, GChat, and MSN to go back and forth throughout the day. This keeps communication casual but enjoyable.

You can also go online to share photos with friends, which is the reason that so many people join social networking websites like Facebook. They may not be tech-savvy, but they want to see pictures of their grandchildren! All they need is a little bit of wireless Internet in their homes.

Wireless Internet can also be used to make your company more efficient, if you are a business-oriented person. This is because communication within your company will be easier than ever, and with each employee owning a 4G phone, they can communicate better with other colleagues, as well as potential and established customers and clients. Employees will always be plugged in to the work force. They cannot simply go home, check out, and screen their phone calls with the answering machine, pretending they are not home when you are looking for them to come in early to fill an assignment.


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Choosing Wireless Internet As Your Online Access

You already know that you want to be able to get online at all times of the day and you want a reliable connection when you get online. What you don't know is what type of Internet connection you want to use to connect to the World Wide Web. You have a few options for Internet connection while some of them are more reliable and easier to use than others. The most popular forms of Internet connection are cable, DSL and wireless Internet.

You can get online with a dial-up connection in your house and access the Internet, but you might find the connection slow and stressful when you're trying to work efficiently online. Not only will you be operating with slow dial-up speeds, but you will also be stuck at your computer desk through a cable connecting your computer to the wall. You won't be able to get up and move around while you're using your Internet connection because you will have to use it while you're connected to the wall through the cable. Many people also don't like using a cable Internet connection because they have to work with the company that also provides their cable television connection and some people prefer not to do that. It could be that your cable TV provider is not reliable or you just don't want to give that one company more of your business.

Many other people connect to the Internet with a DSL connection. It is faster than a cable Internet connection but you still don't have the mobility you could get with a wireless Internet connection. You can get online quickly and easily from your computer desk with DSL, but you will still be stuck at your computer desk. Also, so people are not even able to get a DSL connection because it requires you to have a special cable for your phone lines in your house. Some houses don't have the required equipment and therefore can't even connection with DSL.

The other high-speed connection option is to use WiMax. You can get online with mobility rather than being trapped at your computer desk in your house or office by a cable or phone line connecting your computer to the Internet. You will be able to access the Internet from virtually anywhere in the city when you get online using mobile wimax. You won't have to sit at your computer desk while you work online because you can do your online research in the office, in your living room, in the kitchen and even outside of your house. You can get online while running errands all over the city so you will always be connected without sitting at your house or office.

You'll also be working on a 4G network so you'll have a connection that is faster than your typical dial-up connection or the connection you would get with a 3G network. You can do everything you need to do online quickly and easily and without being confined to your desk like you would be with cable or DSL.


Does 4G Wireless Broadband Render the Fibre NBN Obsolete?

Telstra CEO David Thodey has announced that Telstra will be rolling out 4G mobile broadband services in Australian capital cities and some regional centres before the end of 2011.

This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering that 3G wireless has been readily available in the retail market since about 2004 and started becoming more affordable in 2007-08. The natural progression with all things technology is for an increase in speed and data. 4G is the logical next step.

This is also hardly surprising that Telstra is pushing to be the market leader in 4G services. With profits from fixed landline infrastructure in a free fall and Telstra set to become more of a retail player in fixed broadband with the roll out of the NBN, wireless is the one field where Telstra can stay ahead of the game.

Apparently in Telstra lab testing the new 4G services have reached well over 100Mbps and in more realistic field testing around 24Mbps. This is a great increase over current usage speeds which often vary between 1Mbps and 7Mbps depending on the coverage strength, the network congestion and your 3G provider.

But any talk that 4G wireless broadband is going to render the NBN obsolete is nonsense. The data costs of mobile broadband are still prohibitively high for many people. With fixed line broadband deals now offering 1,000GB (1TB) of data for just over $100 per month, wireless looks decidedly stingy offering 10GB for about $50. Consumers and businesses are eating more and more data and until data prices reduce, wireless is not going to be a preferred substitute for many broadband users who have a choice between ADSL2+ and wireless.

The stability of wireless also needs to improve. Drop outs and fluctuations in speed are too unpredictable to make the service more than a "nice-to-have" for many people.

The NBN is already providing speeds up to 100Mbps through fibre broadband connections in Tasmania. This comes with 200GB of data for only $49.95 per month. Wireless simply cannot compete with this - not even 4G.

In the future Fibre will be providing download speeds of 1Gbps and beyond. Fibre is the future of broadband infrastructure in the short and medium term.

But Wireless will continue to be the flexible choice of an internet connection for millions of Australians and an essential tool for many businesses. But it's not the right technology for national broadband infrastructure.


Monday, February 21, 2011

3 Wireless Expense Management Results That Matter

Results do matter! The days when corporate wireless services are just a standard cost of doing business, a nice employee benefit, or tucked neatly into some other aspect of the corporate budget are long since gone. In these days of austerity, when every dollar spent needs to be spent well and can be demonstrated as such are combined with expensive ever advancing technological tools and sophisticated communications devices, Wireless Expense Management results do matter.


For your convenience I will identify 3 quantifiable results that matter.


1. Accurate Wireless Device Inventory/Asset Management


Wireless Device Order /Provisioning Management


Centralized corporate control is fundamental to an optimized and accurate wireless device inventory. Centralized corporate control is initiated when only a corporate recommended/approved device is permitted into your company inventory. Using an automated approval process each device order itself is either approved or denied by management. An automated ordering portal integrated with a life cycle Wireless Expense Management (WEM) solution is preferred and the most cost-effective means of maintaining an accurate wireless inventory. Permitting only necessary corporate wireless device users and their device selections into an accurate inventory is the first step to a result that matters.


Wireless Support/Help Desk Management


Once a device is approved/permitted into the inventory, it is now necessary to be able to map and track the subsequent history of the device throughout its life cycle. Herein is where an automated Wireless Support/Help Desk integrated into the, aforementioned, centralized database continues providing results that matter. When a device is upgraded, retired, swapped or given to another employee, all such transactions need to be forced through the wireless support solution and wireless support representatives who substantiate the details. In so doing, your wireless Help Desk can accurately map the device to each appropriate corporate user from cradle to grave storing all such info in the centralized database a WEM software solution offers.


Simply stated, knowing who has what matters. Great savings can be experienced when only corporate approved assets are permitted only to those who really need them.


2. Automated Wireless Expense Optimization/Report Management


Cost Optimization


As carriers, device types, plans, features, and other service offerings multiply, it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure that each wireless user is on the corporate selected carrier, correct plan, with the most cost-effective features, and using only company approved accessories. A true Wireless Expense Management solution collates the wireless invoice data into a plethora of reports that provide visibility into virtually every aspects of wireless spend. The right application will should flag all carrier contract, corporate initiated business rules, and corporate policy violations. This exception alert system is a Best Practices method identifying the problem devices as it defines what the errors are. Your WEM analyst will use this data to explore reasons for the alerts and determine what recommendations need to be made to management, approved, implemented, and tracked to completion.


For example, selected reports may show a carrier's pool plan is providing too much headroom. The pool plan number of allotted minutes can now be squeezed down or optimized by continually monitoring and tweaking each device in the pool. Often eliminating from the pool those users who should be placed on individual plans, as their excessive usage has become a pool buster.


Cost Avoidance


Cost Avoidance is the aspect of optimization that reduces or eliminates the costs of unnecessary features. For instance, an end user may have unlimited SMS text messaging while he rarely texts to others. The right solution will provide reports that will alert your WEM analysts. The elimination or reduction to the appropriate text plan will help the company avoid unnecessary costs. Another possible point of optimization (out of so many) is identifying zero use devices or features (data, voice, text, etc) and eliminating them from the inventory. A few dollars here and a few dollars there will amount to a result that really matters over hundreds or thousands of devices.


3. Invoice/Financial Management


With electronic import of all carrier invoices, from the moment the electronic vendor invoices are received, a WEM solution provider will not only collate all the pertinent data for optimization and asset management but also provide automated management from receipt to payment. The right software application is a powerful tool managing the workflow, automating the cost allocation process, and calculating cost center splits, while providing contract/invoice validation. Remember this fact less human touch means greater process efficiencies and less human error.


These 3 aspects of a true wireless expense management solution provide time/labor/cost savings demonstrating results that really matter to your enterprise and its budgetary bottom-line. Savings and process efficiencies mean less corporate overhead, greater competitiveness, and a better chance for your company to weather our current economic storm.


Let me know if I can help you determine if a wireless expense management solution will offer your company results that matter.

Friday, February 18, 2011

US regulator rejects proposal for free wireless broadband service - Interesting!!

Federal regulators (FCC- Federal Communications Commission)have shot down a proposal by a startup called M2Z Networks Inc. to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network using a spare slice of airwaves.  M2Z had requested that the winner of an auction for the radio spectrum would provide free Internet service to anyone who connects to it.  M2Z's business model was - offering free basic wireless broadband access — with speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second — that would be supported by advertising in addition to a faster, premium service.




The FCC is still studying possible uses of the spectrum.


Five Sites to Check Out Once Wireless Internet Becomes a Fact of Life

The world wide web is known for its development speeds, and for the fact that those who don't stay on top of things sometimes find themselves left back at the curb. For those who aren't as particularly into the world of tech-related changes, reading through all of the new material can feel incredibly tedious. After all, which are the parts that are absolutely essential to focus on, and which are the elements that can just be ignored? Sometimes, even something like wired.com doesn't manage to make this clear, and for those who haven't been as interested in following the ways of the world wide web, it might mean getting left behind on something crucial.

Fortunately, most people are aware of wireless internet and how it has changed the communication game, even if they are completely clueless about the superior method of connection that is WiMax. For those who have recently moved away from the ethernet cable and who are moving freely about life while still plugged into the world wide web, here are five sites worth checking out on that journey.

#1 - Google Maps. Because it's never fun to be lost, and this is one way to never have that problem. Google Maps really does manage to do it all, and doing it all is definitely something that one wants a directional source to be able to handle.

#2 - BoingBoing. While working on the go, sometimes the proper distraction is absolutely necessary. And for those who can't handle a ton of video, BoingBoing sometimes serves up that hilarious content that a browser making use of regular wireless internet will be able to handle with ease and speed.

#3 - Where's Cool? A great time-waster for those who are a little too hip for Yelp, Where's Cool? focuses on the fact that user-written reviews should be enough to get around cities not just by their food items, but by their neighborhoods. Great for those who are younger, and important to access via an actual computer, since their web guru never actually got around to embracing the world of the iPhone app.

#4 - Time Out. No matter what city one happens to be in, this magazine/guide series often manages to deliver. And while it hasn't been as hip in recent years, the fact of the matter is that Time Out is still one of those names that has pull, meaning that anyone who needs to impress someone with a great business dinner will be all about finding the perfect restaurant in there, perhaps even via WiMax connection en route to the city in question.

#5 - Weather.com - For those who are always on the go for work or for leisure, it really does help to see what Weather.com thinks that the temperature and conditions are going to be. And sometimes, it's terribly wrong, but it's still the most well-known name out there in terms of figuring out if it's sweater weather or not, so why not use it while using Wi-Fi?


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Will 4G Wireless Overtake Traditional Broadband One Day?

Technology evolves to become more efficient and productive for everyday usage. It also becomes more affordable as production is cheaper, allowing everyday citizens, rather than merely the elite, to access this technology. While cellular phones originally were toys of the wealthy, it has become so widespread that even people in impoverished villages of Sub-Saharan Africa have access to mobile phones. Just as telecommunications has become increasingly mobile and widespread, it is likely that the 4G mobile internet connection might soon overtake traditional broadband internet connections as the dominant provider of internet access.

Whereas just a decade ago, to call someone, you had to use a payphone or a landline phone, nowadays, even young children have their own personal mobile line. Because of the conveniences attached to having this mobility and technology, it has become widespread not just in the United States, but also throughout the world. When you are running late to meet a friend, you can simply send a text message or make a phone call to inform them that you will indeed make it to the meeting spot, but you are simply running late. That way, your friend will not think that you have stood them up and leave after waiting for a few minutes. Moreover, instead of family members fighting over the usage of one common household line, since all members have their own mobile phone, they can make calls as they wish.

The mobility and convenience of having a mobile phone can be seen in having a mobile internet connection. While the 3G network provided smart phones with this mobility and reliability, its slower speeds ensured that this connection was not a competitor against traditional forms of internet access. The 3G network allowed people to surf the web and check their emails on their phone; however, the speeds were slower, you could not do everything that you would be able to on the cable or DSL connections that you enjoyed at home or at the office. Thus, you would not be able to replace the traditional broadband connection that you had at home.

However, with the 4G network, you are able to do everything that you are accustomed to doing on the connections you have at home. Its data transfer speed is much faster than the 3G network, and is thus, comparable to traditional broadband internet. You can now download and upload large files, stream videos, and even video chat. Moreover, this 4G network allows its users to access the worldwide web from both smart phones and laptop computers, rather than simply smart phones like the 3G network. Thus, with a simple mobile air card, you can log onto the internet on the laptop computer, making it a much more likely competitor with traditional broadband internet. Because it is comparable in speed and efficiency, why would you pay for two services when the mobile one sufficed? In 2009, cellular phones surpassed landlines as the dominant form of telecommunications. Perhaps, one day in the near future, the 4G mobile internet connection will similarly surpass traditional forms of internet.


Watching Movies Online With Wireless Internet

There used to be a time when you could only watch movies while sitting on your couch in the living room or in a crowded movie theatre. Now you can watch them virtually anywhere in your city when you stream them online with wireless Internet. You can watch movies that you have wanted to see for years while you're riding the bus to work in the morning or while you're sitting in a friend's living room - all you need is the Internet.

The Internet is slowly changing the way people do everything from communicate to watch television and movies. You used to have to call a friend to tell them what you're doing for dinner that night and now you can just quickly send them an e-mail. You used to have to buy tickets to movies at the movie theatre but now you can watch them on your computer with an Internet connection. The best part is that getting online is even getting easier. You can get online with WiMax from virtually anywhere in your city rather than being confined to your desk or house.

Not only can you watch all the movies you could image from your computer, but you can do it while you're out and about in the city rather than sitting in your house or office. You don't have to be sitting at a computer desk to stream your favorite movies when you have mobile wimax. You can get online and watch your favorite movies in the morning or afternoon while you're riding public transportation back and forth to and from work. You can even get online and watch movies while you're sitting in a business partner's office waiting for your important meeting to start. Watching a movie doesn't have to be a big affair that requires planning and good timing because you can do it anywhere that you have Internet - and now you can have that wireless Internet connection anywhere in your city!

You won't have to worry about stopping by the movie rental store on the way home from work when you can just download or stream the movie you want to watch online. You won't even have to go to the movie theatres and spend money when you spend just a little money to get WiMax technology connecting you to the Internet at all times and in all places. You might, however, want to invest in some headphones so the other people on the bus or in the office can't hear the movie you're watching. That way they'll just think you're working on an important business proposal rather than watching "Dumb and Dumber" on your computer.

You'll never have to set aside special time to watch movies again when you can watch them during your free time all over the city. All you need to do is get mobile wimax and learn about a few online sites that you can stream or download movies on and you'll be watching movies all over the city!


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Are We Actually Less Connected With Wireless Internet?

The Internet has opened access to information and people all over the world in a way unprecedented in human history. As a result, many people are spending more time online and less time physically with other people. Many people see these changes as having a negative impact on society. As mobile broadband technology such as 4G is only making the Internet more accessible and easier to use, we should examine the impact of the Internet on our social interactions.

Many of us who grew up in the age of video games remember being admonished by our parents to "go out and play." While they may have been thinking partly of the health benefits of sunlight and fresh air, implicit in this was also concern for our social development. People make connections by sharing common experiences, learning how different people react to different things, and developing senses of compassion and empathy. Humans are fundamentally social animals, and social interaction and development are absolutely crucial to becoming capable, healthy adults. It is important to make real, lasting personal connections not only for recreational or romantic purposes, but because social skills are also crucial in the workforce and therefore for financial stability and success.

The question is whether this social development necessarily has to take place in person. To be sure, there are certainly some limitations to the Internet as a communications medium. Although this is less true these days due to increases in bandwidth and the development of video chat services, there is certainly something lost in social interaction if you cannot see the facial expressions and general demeanor of the person with whom you are talking. However, one only has to think of people who consider themselves outcasts in their current social environments, for example gay and lesbian teenagers in small towns, who have used the Internet to connect with others in similar situations when there was no opportunity to develop this part of their identity in person. Thus, there do exist opportunities for Internet communication to facilitate, rather than hurt, social development.

Like most things, however, it is largely when taken to extremes that the use of the Internet as a social medium becomes a problem. There have been horror stories of people that have basically "lost" themselves in online multiplayer role playing games, spending days on end immersed in these virtual worlds without eating, sleeping, or other social interaction. However, it is easy to think of ways in which Internet use can actually facilitate social interaction. It is easier to keep in touch with someone you meet on a short trip abroad, or with far-flung family members using Internet services and social networking sites. If you had to make an international or long-distance call every time you wanted to communicate with one of these contacts, as was the case years ago, your motivation might be reduced. Another argument is that with the development of services such as mobile WiMax which allow you to access the Internet on the road, one no longer has to choose between making social connections in person and making them on the Internet. You can share coffees with a friend in person at a cafe while talking with a mutual friend over video chat, using wireless service.


Giving You the Conveniences of the Internet With 4G Wireless

In today's fast paced society, people are always on the move, attending work meetings, running errands, meeting friends, and taking care of family. It can be difficult to find the time to pursue the things that you want, given your pursuit of productivity. However, with a reliable wireless internet connection on your smart phone, you have access to all the tools and resources of the internet readily available in the palm of your hands. This way, you can retrieve and share information almost instantly and you remain connected to your loved ones easily.

Having a wireless internet connection makes your life infinitely more convenient, even with the 3G network. The 3G network provides a reliable connection for smart phone users; however, the speed at which it runs is much slower than traditional broadband connections that you are used to at the office or at home. Thus, while you can surf the web, email friends, and message your network on Facebook or Twitter, functions that require a faster data transfer speed would not be possible. The 4G network, which runs on a faster connection, enables users to access these other functions, such as uploading and downloading large files, video chatting, and streaming videos.

Moreover, whereas the 3G network only provides smart phones this wireless internet access, the 4G connection gives both smart phone and laptop computers a mobile connection so that you can access the worldwide web no matter where in the city you may be. This allows for more extensive usage of this wireless connection so that you can be productive for work or for school even while you are not at home or at the office. Instead of searching for a wireless connection at a caf? or internet hotspot, you can simply insert the mobile air card into your laptop computer and instantly enjoy a powerful internet connection-even while you are at the park enjoying the weather, even while you are on a long bus commute, or even while you are waiting at the doctor's office.

Moreover, by having this wireless connection readily available in the palm of your hands through your smart phone, you can better communicate with all those in your life, from your family to friends to colleagues. You can choose from a variety of ways to get in touch with these figures in your life, whether it is through email, through social media networks, through video chatting, or through a basic phone call. Mobile video chatting is one of the most exciting new features of this mobile internet technology as it allows you to communicate with your loved ones face-to-face, no matter where you may be. No longer do you need to set up a time to sit down in front of the computer to video chat with a family or friend. You can now simply send a video chat request from your phone so video chatting becomes as easy as making a phone call to a loved one.


Fast Wireless Internet Options Facilitate Better Communication

These days nearly every new technology that is highly successful is closely related to communication. Americans are all incredibly interested in their smartphones, tablet computers and laptops because they want to be able to utilize the latest technology trends in order to communicate as quickly as possible. With the latest gadgets and the latest forms of social networking, people can get connected online, but of course they also have to have great wireless internet access to. Fortunately, faster gadgets and Wi-Fi service are becoming readily available all over the country, which makes it much easier for Americans to communicate with people they care about. Here are a few of the ways that people are using their reliable and fast wireless internet access to communicate:

3. Facebook is one of the biggest ways that people stay in touch with one another. The website is incredibly popular for numerous reasons, but primarily, the website's success is due to the fact that it makes it simplifies communicating. By simply signing in, you can update all kinds of information about yourself, which is then easily accessible for your Facebook friends to see. You can create short status updates that explain what you've been up to, upload photos or videos from recent things you've done, invite your friends to different events you create, and publish other information you want to share with your friends. Many people also enjoy Facebook because it enables them to reconnect with their old friends that they may have lost contact with.

2. Twitter is an even newer and faster online communication form. Twitter limits the number of characters you can use to communicate with, which naturally forces people who use it to communicate quickly. With wireless internet access, you can instantly get connected to Twitter to leave short messages for your friends to see. It's a great networking opportunity that can connect you to many more people beyond your immediate friends and family, and many people are finding that they can even make network to create great employment opportunities for themselves. To fully utilize all of the benefits of Twitter, make sure you can easily access the website with a fast Wi-Fi connection.

1. If you like to shoot videos, then a great way to share them with your friends, family members and the rest of the world is through YouTube. Many people find that they can best communicate with others through art, and YouTube provides people with the means to do that. Yet, if you're going to try to upload videos to any website, then you've got to have a fast Wi-Fi connection. These days, the fastest wireless connection you can get is fourth generation Wi-Fi, which is four times faster than other Wi-Fi options. Because 4G internet service is so fast, you don't have to worry about running into any problems uploading your videos. If your wireless internet service is too slow, then your internet connections may time out and the websites will stop working. Similarly, in order to fully enjoy your friends' and family members' YouTube videos, you've got to have fast Wi-Fi access as well.


Choosing the Right Wireless Internet Provider in Your City

Everyone wants to go wireless these days, and why not? You don't really need wires anymore, especially when all they do is get in the way and limit your mobility. Wireless technologies have advanced so much lately that they're no longer at a disadvantage when it comes to speed and reliability. They're also more affordable than they've ever been before as well. You may already be sold on the fact that you could benefit greatly from a wireless internet connection, but which provider should you choose? You've actually got a few options to choose from, though only one is going to make sense.

An example of a wireless option that doesn't make sense for most people is satellite internet. The one thing that it does have going for it is that it's a broadband connection you can sign up for no matter where you happen to live, which makes it a great replacement for dial-up where cable and DSL are not available. Other than that, because it's somewhat slow, cannot be used in a mobile capacity, and a bit expensive, it's not a good wireless internet solution for most people.

Sometimes Wi-Fi is advertised as being a wireless connection that people can use throughout their city, but that's a bit misleading. Wi-Fi was first designed to allow computers in a home to connect to each other without wires. Its range was and has always been limited to a few hundred feet at the very most and under ideal conditions. If there are obstacles in the way such as walls or even trees, you can expect the signal to weaken significantly. Since most cities have a lot of buildings scattered around and because most also span a distance much greater than a few hundred feet, one Wi-Fi router is not going to be enough to provide a complete wireless internet solution. In order to do that, numerous routers have to be spread out over the entire city. Thus, you're likely to end up being disconnected a lot as you move around over long distances,which ultimately makes Wi-Fi an undesirable solution.

The only thing left to consider is a cellular internet connection, and this is where you can expect to find what you're looking for. This technology has advanced a lot lately from the somewhat lackluster 3G network to the fast, reliable and affordable 4G network. At the current time though, there are a number of different standards competing against each other. As far as performance goes, there really isn't a big difference between them, contrary to what their marketing campaigns might lead to you to believe. They're all going to be plenty fast for most people. The only difference arises from coverage areas.

Although it's best to look up coverage maps online, you're probably going to discover that Wimax has all the others beat, which is due in large part to the fact that it has been around a lot longer than the others. Because of this, it should be your choice for wireless connectivity.


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Wireless High Speed Broadband: How It Works

Wireless broadband is surely an Internet technology which includes high-speed internet connections over the atmosphere. Wireless broadband internet units work on radio ways to send out information over the air, actually without depending on some kind of actual physical network. By using wireless high-speed, you are able to gain access to the net minus the utilization of traditional cable wires. It could be employed by individuals and businesses which expend a lot of time period on the run journeying via one fixed site to one more. Additionally it is helpful for people living in countryside and somewhat remote locations.

The principle technique wireless broadband internet network may be for linking LAN towards internet which allows for any connection of services just like data, voice, and video, over the exact same tube. Besides linking to the device via a mesh of wire connections, the pc accumulates transported data from radio wave towers. These devices obtains the data and then these details is altered into a radio signal which can be received by a Wi-Fi adapter found within the computer. This support is being widely used by outsourcing software development providers for connecting global.

This type of wireless networks normally work at frequencies lower than SIX GHz and internet connection speeds from 256 kbps to various megabits per second. In just offshore program improvement company, wireless broadband networks have many base stations which provide a specific location with network connectivity. As opposed to traditional wire or ADSL high-speed broadband which purposes a phone line, a wireless broadband offers Internet having access to your PC through a wireless link by utilizing towers over areas that the company hosts. With wireless broadband connections, the modem carries a built-in antenna that can get in touch your computer very easily to several towers. With this type of technologies, you'll be able to carry your pc and still access the Internet as long as the service provider still covers your location you'll be planning. This type of wireless networks normally work at frequencies lower than SIX GHz and internet connection speeds from 256 kbps to various megabits per second. In just offshore program improvement company, wireless broadband networks have many base stations which provide a specific location with network connectivity. As opposed to traditional wire or ADSL high-speed broadband which purposes a phone line, a wireless broadband offers Internet having access to your PC through a wireless link by utilizing towers over areas that the company hosts. With wireless broadband connections, the modem carries a built-in antenna that can get in touch your computer very easily to several towers. With this type of technologies, you'll be able to carry your PC and still access the Internet as long as the service provider still covers your location you'll be planning.

One more thing which can make broadband a quick connection is due to its frequency range. A bigger frequency range only shows that a lot more information may be placed in a specific channel in contrast to using baseband lines. Going back to the road lane analogy, which means that on one lane there may be more vehicles that will fit at the same time and, which, of course, result to reduced traffic and faster internet connection.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Stay In Touch With Distant Friends Using Wireless Internet

In this day and age there are a large number of people who are friends with other people who live far away. Given the rise of the internet and social networking sites this makes a lot of sense. In order to be able to stay in touch it will take a concerted effort. Long distance relationships, whether friendships or otherwise are tricky because there are folks who are in one time zone where it does not necessarily match up with the other time zone. Consequentially, in order to maintain relationships it is important to make sure that you are participating in scheduled internet communications. In order to pull this off, the best way to go about doing it is to invest in a stronger wireless internet connection.

One great way to stay in touch with folks is through social networking. There are many different platforms that exist out there that allow different folks to stay in touch with each other based on mutual agreement. One of the features that social networking has is that it allows folks to chat with one another in real time. Should you and your friends happen to be logged on at the same time you will be able to see and you will have the ability to chat with each other. All it takes is a mobile broadband connection and you are well on your way to reconnecting with friends.

If you are hoping to actually see the other person in question, then the best option for you is to use a video chat. With video chat you will be able to see the other person as he or she is talking to you. It is like a phone call, but even better because you get to see images of the other person at the same time. In order to be able to pull off a successful video chat it is a good idea to make sure that you have a speedy internet connection. Without 4G speeds it would be quite complicated to get the speed that you need in order to have a video chat without multiple cut offs.

It is great to be able to visit now and again. If you are able to get a cheap plane ticket then you might want to bop over to where your friends are in order to be able to visit them in person. If this is the case, then you will want to make sure that everyone knows. If you have a few minutes, then you can use your mobile broadband connection to send a mass email out to your friends. Once they get it you can start planning how you will be able to spend time together during the trip that you will be making.

To stay in touch in this modern and connected world it is important to have the right tools. With a wireless internet connection you will be able to stay in touch with all of your friends, no matter where they may be.