‘A group in Santa Fe says the city is discriminating against them because they say that they’re allergic to the wireless Internet signal. And now they want Wi-Fi banned from public buildings.
Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to certain types of electric fields, including wireless Internet and cell phones.
“I get chest pain and it doesn’t go away right away,” he said.
Firstenberg and dozens of other electro-sensitive people in Santa Fe claim that putting up Wi-Fi in public places is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.’
‘Less than a week after losing in the latest U.S. spectrum auction, Google Inc. has started pitching its plan to use TV “white space” — unlicensed and unused airwaves — to provide wireless Internet.
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission released by Google on Monday, the Internet search giant pressed the government to open up the white space for unlicensed use in hopes of enabling more widespread, affordable Internet access over the airwaves.
“As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized,” Richard Whitt, Google’s Washington telecom and media lawyer, wrote in the letter. “Unlike other natural resources, there is no benefit to allowing this spectrum to lie fallow.”
Google said the white space, located between channels 2 and 51 on TV sets that aren’t hooked up to satellite or cable services, offer a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans.”
In addition, opening up the spectrum would “enable much-needed competition to the incumbent broadband service providers,” Whitt wrote.’
‘American researchers have proven it’s possible to maliciously turn off individuals’ heart monitors through a wireless hacking attack.
Many thousands of people across the world have the monitors, medically known as implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), installed to help their hearts beat regularly.
ICDs treat abnormal heart conditions; more recent models also incorporate the abilities of a Pacemaker. Their function is to speed up a heartbeat which is too slow, or to deliver an electrical shock to a heart which is beating too quickly.
According to the research (pdf) by the Medical Device Security Center – which is backed by the Harvard Medical School among others – hackers would be able to intercept medical information on the patient, turn off the device, or, even worse, deliver an unnecessary electrical shock to the patient.
The hack takes advantage of the fact the ICD possesses a radio which is designed to allow reprogramming by a hospital doctor. The ICD’s radio signals are not encrypted, the Security Center said.’
‘Rufus Terrill has had it with the drug dealers, petty thieves and vandals he says roam the streets outside his downtown Atlanta bar, O’Terrills.
But instead of calling the police or hiring private security guards, Terrill reached for his toolbox.
He mounted an old meat smoker atop a three-wheel scooter and attached a spotlight, an infrared camera, water cannon and a loudspeaker. He covered the contraption with impact-resistant rubber and painted the whole thing jet black.
And so was born what surely must be Atlanta’s first remote-controlled, robotic vigilante. [..]
He flashes the robot’s spotlight and grabs a walkie-talkie, which he uses to boom his disembodied voice over the robot’s sound system.
“I tell them they are trespassing, it’s private property, and they have to leave,” he said. “They throw bottles and cans at it. That’s when I shoot the water cannon. They just scatter like roaches.” [..]
Terrill insists he’s not a kook, that he’s serious about using his robot to fight crime.’
‘Australian scientists have developed a computer chip that promises to remove the wires from your home entertainment system.
The chip was developed by National Information Computer Technology Australia (NICTA) at the University of Melbourne, and could appear in a range of electronic devices including laptops, televisions and home entertainment systems.
NICTA chief executive officer Dr David Skellern said the team had to overcome significant challenges in developing the chip. [..]
The chip uses the unlicensed 57-64 gigahertz frequency band to transmit and receive data.
It can transfer data at speeds of up to five gigabits per second within a range of 10 metres. This would allow the wireless transfer of the entire contents of a DVD in less than five seconds, 20 times faster than the current Wi-Fi standard.’
‘Vasectomies could be a thing of the past thanks to a remotecontrolled implant that can stop the flow of sperm.
The valve-like device can be opened and shut at the press of a button, using the same technology that locks a car using a key fob.
Scientists who invented the implant say it could be used as a form of male contraception.
Men who change their minds about having children would then simply point the remote handset at their testicles and press a button to open up the valve. [..]
Once the handset is pressed, it sends a coded radio signal through the skin to the implant, which contains a tiny antenna. The antenna picks up the signal and converts it into sound waves that “ripple” through the valve.
Since the valve itself is soft and flexible, the sound waves make it flap open – allowing sperm to pass through. As with cars, each device would have its own unique code so it could not be opened by anyone else.’
‘A new hi-tech toothbrush has been launched with built-in “satnav”.
Maker Oral B claim that as you clean your teeth it transmits information by radio to a separate miniature display screen, telling you where you should clean.
It also tells you how long you should brush for and if you’re brushing too hard or not hard enough, reports the Daily Mail.
The manufacturers are hoping their new gizmo – called Triumph with SmartGuide – is going to be this year’s Christmas must-have in the bathroom.
It comes with a wireless LCD display which can be stuck on to the shaving mirror.’
‘More than 300 high definition CCTV cameras have been placed in potential terrorist targets in the lead-up to Sydney’s APEC Summit, acting Premier John Watkins says.
The new cameras bring to 6400 the total number of cameras watching people using buses, trains and ferries.
The cameras, 200 of which use cutting-edge facial recognition technology, have been installed across the city in buses, ferry and train stations.
“The technology which includes live streaming to large LCD displays will also prove a strong deterrent to common criminals and thugs,” Mr Watkins told reporters today.’
‘A clean-cut vision of a future freed from the rat’s nest of cables needed to power today’s electronic gadgets has come one step closer to reality.
US researchers have successfully tested an experimental system to deliver power to devices without the need for wires.
The setup, reported in the journal Science, made a 60W light bulb glow from a distance of 2m (7ft).
WiTricity, as it is called, exploits simple physics and could be adapted to charge other devices such as laptops. [..]
Measurements showed that the setup could transfer energy with 40% efficiency across the gap.’
‘American cell phones can already check e-mail, surf the Internet and store music, but they could have a new set of features in coming years: the Department of Homeland Security wants them to sense biological, chemical and radioactive material.
Putting hazardous material sensors in commercial cell phones has been discussed in scientific circles for years, according to researchers in the field. More recently, the idea gained support among government agencies, and DHS said publicly in May that it wants businesses to start coming up with proposals. [..]
S&T spokesman Christopher Kelly said the theoretical system’s strength would lie in the sheer number of sensors. The cell phone sensors might be less sophisticated than highly advanced ones some developers are fitting into hand-held models, but they would make up for it in what Kelly called “ubiquitous detection.”’
‘Manitoba First Nations are seeking compensation from Manitoba Telecom Services for every cellphone signal that passes through First Nations land, saying the airspace should be considered a resource like land and water.
At a recent economic development summit, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs resolved to negotiate revenue sharing with MTS for transmissions signals that cross the land, water and air space of their reserves and traditional territories.
“[The request is] based on the understanding that we do have some fundamental rights as indigenous people to land, water and airspace,” said Chief Ovide Mercredi of the Grand Rapids First Nation.
“When it comes to using airspace, it’s like using our water and simply because there’s no precedent doesn’t mean that it’s not the right thing to do,” he said.’
‘The technological explosion is even bigger than the mobile phone explosion that preceded it. And, as with mobiles, it is being followed by fears about its effect on health – particularly the health of children. Recent research, which suggests that the worst fears about mobiles are proving to be justified, only heightens concern about the electronic soup in which we are increasingly spending our lives.
Now, as we report today, Sir William Stewart (pictured below right), the man who has issued the most authoritative British warnings about the hazards of mobiles, is becoming worried about the spread of Wi-Fi. The chairman of the Health Protection Agency – and a former chief scientific adviser to the Government – is privately pressing for an official investigation of the risks it may pose.’
‘Neighbours in Redditch, Worcestershire, contacted police on Saturday after seeing a man inside a car using a laptop while parked outside a house. [..]
BBC Midlands Today correspondent Dr David Gregory said the cases are among the first of their kind.
He added that if people were using someone else’s network to enter illegal porn sites, for example, it would be very difficult to trace them.
The man arrested at the weekend was cautioned for dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services with intent to avoid payment.
He attracted attention from neighbours in the early morning, as he had put up cardboard around his car windows but the light from his computer could be seen through the back window.’
‘Why pay $20,000 for a commercial link to run your television station when a $10 kitchen wok from the Warehouse is just as effective?
This is exactly how North Otago’s newest television station 45 South is transmitting its signal from its studio to the top of Cape Wanbrow, in a bid to keep costs down.
45 South volunteer Ken Jones designed the wok transmitter in his spare time last year when he wanted to provide wireless broadband to his Ardgowan home.’
`The CSIRO ICT Centre today announced that it has achieved over six gigabits per second over a point to point wireless connection with the highest efficiency (2.4bits/s/Hz) ever achieved for such a system. [..]
Dr Jay Guo, Director of the Wireless Technologies Laboratory at CSIRO said that this breakthrough is just a first stage towards direct connections of up to 12 gigabits per second. [..]
The system operates at 85GHz in the millimetre-wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum (above 55 GHz) which offers the potential for these enormous speeds and is not yet congested by other uses.’
`My neighbours are stealing my wireless internet access. I could encrypt it or alternately I could have fun. [..]
Suddenly everything is kittens! It’s kitten net. [..]
For the uninitiated, this redirects all traffic to kittenwar.
For more fun, we set iptables to forward everything to a transparent squid proxy running on port 80 on the machine. [..]
That machine runs squid with a trivial redirector that downloads images, uses mogrify to turn them upside down and serves them out of it’s local webserver.’
`Piggybacking, the usually unauthorized tapping into someone else’s wireless Internet connection, is no longer the exclusive domain of pilfering computer geeks or shady hackers cruising for unguarded networks. Ordinarily upstanding people are tapping in. As they do, new sets of Internet behaviors are creeping into America’s popular culture.
“I don’t think it’s stealing,” said Edwin Caroso, a 21-year-old student at Miami Dade College, echoing an often-heard sentiment.
“I always find people out there who aren’t protecting their connection, so I just feel free to go ahead and use it,” Mr. Caroso said. He added that he tapped into a stranger’s network mainly for Web surfing, keeping up with e-mail, text chatting with friends in foreign countries and doing homework.’
Makes me think I should buy a wireless card to go with my 13dB antenna that’s been sitting around for years. It’d give me an excuse to learn all about packet shaping and whatnot, and I could afford to let 10% or so of my bandwidth float out the window. [shrug] Why not? 🙂
Just so long as I don’t end up some sorta anonymous gay porn proxy or something. Hmm. 🙂
`Atop each of the Trump towers in New York City, there’s a new type of wireless transmitter and receiver that can send and receive data at rates of more than one gigabit per second — fast enough to stream 90 minutes of video from one tower to the next, more than one mile apart, in less than six seconds. By comparison, the same video sent over a DSL or cable Internet connection would take almost an hour to download. [..]
Blasting beams of data through free space is not a new idea. LightPointe and Proxim Wireless also provide such services. What makes GigaBeam’s technology different is that it exploits a different part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Their systems use a region of the spectrum near visible light, at terahertz frequencies. Because of this, weather conditions in which visibility is limited, such as fog or light rain, can hamper data transmission.
GigaBeam, however, transmits at 71-76, 81-86, and 92-95 gigahertz frequencies, where these conditions generally do not cause problems. Additionally, by using this region of the spectrum, GigaBeam can outpace traditional wireless data delivery used for most wireless networks.’
`Wi-Spy is the world’s smallest 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer*. Wi-Spy is perfect for troubleshooting interference from the following devices:
* Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
* Microwave Ovens
* Cordless Phones
* Baby Monitors
* Bluetooth’
Kinda cool little toy. Another thing I want for no real reason. 🙂
`Scientists at IBM Corp. have developed a chipset that they claim is capable of allowing wireless devices to operate more than 10 times faster than today’s advanced Wi-Fi networks.
The chipset, using silicon germanium, is designed to operate in the 60GHz band, an unlicensed portion of the radio spectrum that can be used to transport data-intensive formats such as HDTV (high definition television), IBM said Monday.’
`The industry is honing in on a compromise proposal for the contentious IEEE 802.11n next generation WLAN standard, and a deal could be struck next week at the task groups meeting in Hawaii. [..]
802.11n is predicated on MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) techniques, and much of the technology developed by Airgo Networks, to boost bandwidth by an order of magnitude above the standard of today’s Wi-Fi networks. The technique makes use of “multi-path” interference that might once have been minimised to drive up the network’s range.’
Some guy called Bruce loses his mind over an argument in an internet forum. Shoots two people who insulted him then goes on the run. Keeps posting on the forum with wireless net access whilst on the run.
More on the internet murders here.
` Make 2.4GHz parabolic mesh dishes from cheap but sturdy Chinese cookware scoops & a USB WiFi adaptor ! The largest (300mm diam)shows 15-18dB gain (enough for a LOS range extension to 3-5km), costs ~US$5 & comes with a user friendly bamboo handle that suits WLAN fieldwork- if you can handle the curious stares!’
`And how to keep the neighbors from stealing yours.’
