Forum on WiFi concerns
October 28, 2008
A FORUM to discuss health and safety concerns raised over the state government’s plan for free wireless Internet access throughout Penang will be held on Nov 8.
Chief Minister’s office chief of staff Jeff Ooi said the Wireless@Penang forum was the state’s initiative to discuss objections raised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the wireless broadband project.
He said the free forum was open to all and would be held at the Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome in Komtar from 2pm to 5pm.
Ooi, who is co-ordinator of Wireless@Penang, said there would be three to four speakers and a question and answer (Q&A) session for the public to voice their concerns “objectively, professionally and rationally, and with authority”.
“Come with your homework done, do not resort to hearsay and personal opinion,” he said, claiming that there have been many ‘cut-and-paste’ researchers on the subject who lack objectivity.
He said the forum aimed at clearing up issues on radio frequency radiation (RFR), electromagnetic field (EMF), electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and other concerns.
Ooi said the confirmed speakers were Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Infrastructure Development Division senior director Mohd Ali Hanafiah, Malaysian Nuclear Agency Radiation Safety and Health Division director Mohd Yusof Ali and Universiti Malaya radiology department professor of medical physics Dr Ng Kwan Hoong.
On the progress of the Wireless@Pe…
McDonald’s chooses earthwave to secure WiFi
October 28, 2008
McDonald’s has chosen earthwave to secure its ‘Family Friendly’ internet service in over 720 stores across Australia.
The internet service is available to McDonald’s 1.45 million daily customers through free WiFi hotspots.
earthwave’s Clean Pipes service will provide a common security framework to protect users from external and internal internet threats. It provides the iconic restaurant chain with measures and reporting aimed at highlighting and countering potential network security threats.
The Clean Pipes solution involved a multi-million dollar investment by earthwave to develop a defence in-depth security architecture made up of layers of security including firewalls, network intrusion prevention systems, distributed denial of service protection and various web protection mechanisms.
Carlo Minassian, earthwave CEO and founder, said, “It is critical that McDonald’s employs the best security available for its networks and any online information, so it can take advantage of the benefits of providing an internet service to its customers whilst maintaining the highest standards of privacy and security for both its customers and its employees and partners.”
T-Mobile G1 battery life solution; turn off everything!
October 28, 2008
I just posted some of my thoughts on the battery issues I have been experiencing and a reader sent me a link to this T-Mobile forums discussion where it seems the way to improve the battery life is to turn everything off. It is funny that someone actually had to post the details about this because it is obvious that turning off the 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and auto-syncing will conserve your battery. However, didn’t you just pay good money for a powerful mobile computer that lets you stay in touch and connected with the world at all times. If you bought the G1 to use primarily as a mobile phone, then I think there are some valid tips in this forum. However, why not just buy a rock solid Nokia phone that provides much better call quality if all you want is a mobile phone?
I actually rarely use GPS (it is inconvenient to dive through the menus to toggle the receiver) or WiFi and already have my brightness at less than 50% (it is plenty bright even at this setting). I need to add an AnyCut toggle for 3G though since the T-Mobile 3G network is still quite limited and only works for me at the office so I could save battery life here. I won’t turn off the AutoSync feature because that is the main reason for having a Google phone, but I will turn off the Contacts portion since I rarely change my contacts and that is something that needs autosyncing.
Do you have any other battery tips, other than returning the device for a power efficient device like my awesome Palm Treo…
Tiny clamshell PDA runs Linux
October 28, 2008
A startup called Imovio has announced a WiFi- and Bluetooth-enabled clamshell PDA that runs the Linux-based Qt Extended stack. Very similar to the Sharp Zaurus, the iKit is based on a Marvell PXA270 processor, with 128MB RAM, 64MB flash, and a 2.8 inch QVGA display.
Aimed at a teen audience, the iKit device is intended primarily for email, IM, web browsing, and personal information management (PIM). It can connect to the Internet via built-in WiFi, or via a Bluetooth connection to an Internet-enabled mobile phone. In addition, it offers a photo album, VoIP video chat, and music and video playback, says Imovio.
Something of a throwback in a mobile device world fixated on larger mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and PMDs (portable media devices) and smaller smartphones, the iKit hews to a petite version of the classic PDA clamshell form factor. Although at 3.7 x 2.6 x 0.6 inches, it is somewhat smaller than the Zaurus SL-C1000, the iKit offers the same PXA270 processor, clocked to 312MHz, and it offers similar memory specs.
The iKit also shares with the Zaurus its 2.4-series Linux kernel, and Qt Extended mobile Linux stack and GUI from Nokia’s Qt Software (formerly Trolltech). Other similar Linux-based devices that come to mind when looking at the iKit include the Zipit Wireless Messenger (also PXA270-based), and the Sony Mylo, which shares the same Qt foundation.
Hardware features include 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, a 0.3-megapixel camera, a mini-USB port, a QWERTY/AZER…
Wireless Carriers Up Opposition to Free WiFi
October 28, 2008
A plan to offer consumers free Wi-Fi by the Federal Communications Commission is being drowned out by wireless carriers’ calls of unfair practices.
AT&T (NYSE: T), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), T-Mobile, and multiple wireless-industry heavyweights filed a complaint earlier this week in opposition to the FCC’s plan that would provide free wireless broadband.
Earlier this year, the FCC moved forward with the idea of auctioning off the Advanced Wireless Service-3 spectrum, which operates in the 2,155-2,180 MHz band, with the winner dedicating 25% of the spectrum to creating a free, nationwide wireless broadband network. This network could use advertising to recoup costs, and the wireless network would have to be able to filter out “obscene” material.
This plan was opposed by incumbent telecoms, and T-Mobile in particular was concerned that this wireless broadband could interfere with the Advanced Wireless Services-1 spectrum it recently licensed for more than $4 billion. Startup M2Z Networks is a major proponent of the FCC’s plan and said the incumbents are being anti-competitive.
The FCC recently conducted tests in Seattle, and a report by its Office of Engineering and Technology said the concerns over interference were overblown.
But the telecoms, along with the CTIA, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), and U.S. Cellular, said the government agency erred in its analysis. The filing said there are incorrect estimates of overload interfere…
Finally Truphone for Blackberry Is Ready
October 28, 2008
Truphone, the service that allows you to make cheap long distance phone calls using VoIP technology on a mobile phone, is now available to users of BlackBerry devices as a beta offering. This product is called Truphone Anywhere for Blackberry.
London-based Truphone’s service, which typically uses Wi-Fi connections for VoIP calls, has so far been available on the Symbian OS-based Nokia devices and Apple’s iPhone. The service doesn’t support Windows Mobile for now.
I downloaded early versions of the software on two WiFi-enabled BlackBerry devices — the 8801 and T-Mobile Curve — and it worked fine on both the devices. It was fairly easy to download the Truphone software using Blackberry’s built-in browser, and I installed it without many problems. Upon installation, it asked me if my device had Wi-Fi or not. (In case of non WiFi-enabled devices, Truphone behaves like any other callback service. )
As part of the sign-up process, I tried to use my existing Truphone account, but I ran into trouble, since it was tied to my Nokia device. So rather than jumping through hoops, I opted for a new account. The lack of seamless switching between devices and accounts is Truphone’s Achilles heel, in my opinion. When I tried the service on iPhone I had to sign up fora new account, as well. I think, as a company, Truphone needs to make an effort to reduce the number of steps between the download and setting up the service.
If you get past the minor setup hurdles, Trup…
Qik video streaming for BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, and Bold
October 27, 2008
I have used several mobile video streaming applications on my S60 devices and keep coming back to Qik as my default client. Qik now has clients for S60, Windows Mobile, Java-based devices, and jailbroken iPhones with more clients coming. Last night they announced an alpha release for select BlackBerry devices, including the Pearl 8120/8130, BlackBerry Curve 8320/8330 and BlackBerry Bold. Support for the Flip is coming soon too. The BlackBerry you want to run this on must have BlackBerry OS 4.5 or above.
Most BlackBerry devices on T-Mobile and AT&T are just EDGE-enabled data devices so I would be interested in hearing people’s experiences with it on these networks. Since they just updated their press release by stating they have support for the Curve, I will try this out on my Curve. My T-Mobile Curve also supports WiFi so I can test both EDGE and WiFi networks out to see how well it works with both. The BlackBerry Bold, with 3G support, is looking like a great new device that I might just not be able to resist. Make sure to read the directions for the Qik BlackBerry client since they are a bit different than the controls on other devices.