Glastonbury new-agers protest WiFi

The new-age residents of Glastonbury are up in arms about the council’s deployment of WiFi, claiming the wireless networks are interfering with their chakras and generally getting them down.

The news comes courtesy of The Telegraph, which reports local hippies are up in arms (well, placidly protesting) about the already-deployed network which they claim is interfering with local ley lines and damaging their health despite their deployment of Orgone-based generators: to absorb the negative energy obviously.

The network was deployed in May and cost the council £34,000 with the hope of helping business and encouraging tourism, but local new-agers are complaining of the usual headaches and hard-to-pin-down symptoms that are endemic where wireless technologies have received sufficient publicity - though strangely absent where publicity hasn’t been so forthcoming.

In a stunning display of ignorance a spokesman for anti-radio campaigners Powerwatch states: “Unlike the food and drink industry whose products have to go through extensive pre-market trials and testing, there is no safety net for wireless devices,” which comes as a shock to those of us who’ve crouched down salt mines trying to get electrical equipment though CE testing.

The council reckons the deployment meets all appropriate laws and regulations and will be reviewing the project in the new year, so the future of the deployment will depend on what proportion of Glastonbury’s 9,000 inhabitants feel threatened…

SlingPlayer Mobile available for BlackBerry

SlingMedia announced today that the public beta of their SlingPlayer Mobile software is available for download to the BlackBerry. The software is free while in public beta and when it goes on sale officially it will cost $29.99, the same as any other SlingPlayer Mobile client. However, all versions include a free, 30 day trial.

For those of us in the dark about this, the Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables users to remotely view their home’s cable, satellite, or personal video recorder programming from an internet enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. You can also read our review of the Slingbox PRO-HD for a bit more on how it works.

SlingPlayer Mobile will let users watch and control their home TV and DVR via your Slingbox on their BlackBerry smartphone. The company strongly recommends that when connecting to your Slingbox you use a 3G cellular or WiFi connection that meets their minimum network download speed requirements.

SlingMedia further goes on to recommend specific BlackBerry mobile phones in which the public beta will work on–and they all seem to be from AT&T and T-Mobile. That may not mean that Verizon users are totally out of the running though. The company says that if your BlackBerry smartphone is not listed to please keep checking the website and that they are working on supporting additional devices.

As technology keeps moving forward and CES 2009 approaches, it would be odd if we don’t see something coming to t…

Buyer’s Guide: Wi-Fi Routers

Once you’ve hooked up your most speed-critical devices via Ethernet, it’s time to think about what should connect wirelessly. The most obvious answer: anything that moves around the house, including laptops and iPhones. Additionally, anything that you can’t or don’t want to connect via wired Ethernet, such as Apple TV, can still connect wirelessly.

When You Need It

As we explained, just because something can be connected wirelessly doesn’t necessarily mean it should be. But in some cases, Wi-Fi is the best connection; other times, it’s just a good fallback solution.

Mobile Devices Most electronics that move—including your laptop, iPhone (or other Wi-Fi-ready smartphone), iPod Touch, and Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera (including those with Eye-Fi cards)—should connect wirelessly. While you may on occasion want to connect your laptop via wired Ethernet (such as when transferring large files or doing a big backup), for the most part Wi-Fi is more convenient.

Fixed Devices If you don’t transfer a lot of big files to or from your desktop Mac, or back up over the network, Wi-Fi is fine for less-demanding connectivity.

Networked Printers These don’t require much bandwidth and are good candidates for Wi-Fi, although setting things up may require printer sharing.

Game Consoles and Streaming Media Boxes Although it’s best to hook these up via Ethernet (as explained above), many of them (for example, Apple TV, PlayStation 3, Roku Netflix Player, Son…

Mobile Computer scans hard-to-reach bar codes.

Designed for mobile data collection, Dolphin® 7850 features water, dust, and shock resistant casing. It has upward angled screen, integrated pistol grip, and rugged chassis composed of internal magnesium alloy frame. High Performance, Long Range, and Advanced Long Range scanning options provide usability from 5-30 ft. With Shift-PLUS(TM) power management, 7850 can perform for 10 hr or more on single charge. Unit runs on Microsoft® Windows Mobile 5.0 and includes 802.11 b/g WiFi communication.

Original Press Release

Honeywell’s Mobile Computer Goes the Distance to Scan Hard-to-Reach Bar Codes

New long-range laser scanning in the latest Dolphin® 7850 Mobile Computer

Skaneateles Falls, NY - December 12, 2008 - Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced the latest release of its popular Dolphin 7850 Mobile Computer. Designed to be the ultimate scanning solution for in-premise mobile data collection, the Dolphin 7850 features a water, dust and shock resistant casing, power management, and now three new long-range laser scanning options that bring distant or hard-to-reach bar codes into user’s hands.

The 7850 is developed for high performance, high endurance, and easy ergonomic operation. Similar mobile computers on the market are typically larger, flat PDA-style devices retrofitted with an add-on grip handle underneath. In contrast, the compact and lightweight 7850 has an upward angled screen for convenient viewing and a comfortable integrated pistol grip that is easy…

Next Generation Network in Manama

Continuing towards country wide next generation telecommunications services, BatelcoBatelcoLoading…, the Kingdom’s leading integrated telecommunications provider has announced that their NGN (Next Generation Network) services will be implemented in the Salmaniya, Manama and Ras Ruman area on Sunday 4th January 2009.

The migration from the old network to the new state-of-the-art NGN will take place between the hours of 2am and 5am to ensure the least disturbance to customers.

NGN services facilitate triple play (Voice, Data & Video) on a single line which traditionally only carried voice telephone services. The service will allow new customers to connect to BatelcoBatelcoLoading… Broadband Internet within one day, from a process that usually took two weeks prior to migration.

“BatelcoBatelcoLoading…’s NGN will deliver our promise to bring affordable broadband access to all of Bahrain’s households and enable an e-lifestyle for all residents sharing information, education and entertainment,” said BatelcoBatelcoLoading… General Manager Media & Government Relations Ahmed Al Janahi.

Following the migration, customers will notice a different dial tone on their landline phone. Additionally, some StarDial services may need to be reset and some internet equipment may need to be rebooted. For any further assistance please phone 17881188 for internet related issues, 121 for fixed line or technical issues or 196 for general enquiries.

BatelcoBatelcoLoading…..

The best of 2008 at Mobile Handset DesignLine

Several tutorials as well as articles on Femtocells are at the top of the Mobile Handset DesignLine chart for 2008. These were the most widely read articles on the site during 2008 as evidenced by the number of page views. Thank you to all who contributed articles and naturally, to all who found them informative.

1–An Introduction to Wireless Systems–A Tutorial–Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI
Here is a multi-part series excerpted from ‘Introduction to Wireless Systems.’ Chapter 4 concentrates on Radio Frequency Coverage: Systems Engineering and Design. Introduction to Wireless Systems brings together the theoretical and practical knowledge readers need to participate effectively in the planning, design, or implementation of virtually any wireless system.

2–The Nuts and Bolts of WiMAX–Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII
For all engineers involved in WiMAX technology, here is reliable information from the Fundamentals of WiMAX. Chapter 2, is an overview of WiMAX, and this, the first of multiple segments, is an introduction to the basics.

3–Get enlightened about camera phone flash units–compare Xenon to high-current LEDs
Today’s camera phones struggle to provide enough flash power in low light conditions. Here are results showing how supercaps can improve the power of your flash.

4–Integrate Femtocells with existing wireless infrastructure
Unlike UMA, f…

Virtual World Research: A Place to Experiment

Universities and government agencies are conducting all kinds of research, both scientific and sociological, in virtual worlds — but is this merely a newfangled boondoggle or is the research really real?

“My general perspective is that virtual worlds are at least as real as many parts of the so-called real world,” William Sims Bainbridge, program director in human-centered computing at the National Science Foundation (NSF), told LinuxInsider. “Is religion ‘real?’ Is music ‘real?’ Is the stock market ‘real?’ These institutions are real only because many people take them seriously. They are socially and culturally constructed, rather than being innately real.”
In the Heat of the Meet

To bring his point to a fine head, Bainbridge recently conducted a scientific conference in a game world to discuss research in game worlds. Certainly it was the ultimate of demonstrations, virtually speaking. The conference was the first ever held in “World of Warcraft” (”WoW”) and it had its upsides: None of the scientists had to physically travel and none had to buy any additional hardware. But it also had its downsides: Not everyone was familiar with the game; newbie levels limited access to key meeting places in the game world; in-game chat communications require a minimum typing speed of 50wpm; and, newbies are the natural diet for any number of monsters in the game.

Several attendees met their deaths, as in plural, on the way to the various conference dinners, events and meeting p…

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