Everyone has heard about wireless networking and a significant proportion of homes and business are now using wireless networks. The value provided by these networks in terms of flexibility has been enormous but imagine if you are were also able to provide power without having to worry about power cables all over the place?  It would be another step change in usability and flexibility.

Intel amongst others have been doing a fair amount of research and development work recently exploring the possibility of developing wireless power delivered using something called magnetic induction. Using magnetic fields driven by a transmitting resonator an object would have a receiving resonator which is tuned to efficiently absorb energy at is natural frequency from the magnetic field.  Intel have demonstrated the technology powering light bulbs at  a distance of a few feet, the next steps are to make the resonators smaller suitable for being used in things like laptops. Obviously there is a long way to go but there is definitely hope for a wireless powered world as well as the network.

Well we can’t do wireless power yet. But what is available is wired and wireless networks through the power cables which in certain situations and buildings can be an effective way of ensuring an effective network throughout the building.  The Netgear WGXB102 Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender allows you to use the power wiring in your home to provide a second access point in a room that might be on the edge of your current wireless network.  I am thinking of trying this in Dubai where the concrete walls and floors mean that our wireless network is weak in certain rooms.

A lot of the postings on this blog recently have been a little technical, and this is likely to continue as we complete the series of posts looking at buying components to build your own PC. However it is definitely time for a bit of lighter relief.

The other day my wife showed me a short article in a magazine that she was reading that was all about a WiFi rabbit which goes by the name of a Nabaztag! A WiFi rabbit I kid you not! After investigating further I found that the name Nabaztag is apparently Armenian for rabbit, and that yes this is a WiFi enabled rabbit!  In fact it has been around for a while but this was the first I had heard of it. The Nabaztag is not a WiFi access point but a desktop gadget that uses WiFi to gather information from the Internet and then provide it back to you in various ways.  So you will have to have an already existing WiFi network.

The rabbit complete with revolving ears and mood lighting is able to do an impressive list of things, such as telling you the time, waking you up, reading the news, reading you messages from friends, reading RSS feeds, alerting you about new email, playing internet radio stations and telling you the local weather forecast.  It can be voice activated and is capable of detecting a persons presence in the room through an analysis of ambient noise levels and providing a suitable message, potentially scaring the wits out of any unsuspecting people.

My wife thought it would be a good way to enjoy the internet while ironing! I am not completely convinced interest would get past the initial novelty factor, but it is definitely different and as functionality is growing all the time perhaps the future is bright for this rabbit!

Have you got a Nabaztag? What do you think of it?

The big news from yesterday of course is the release by Apple of the next generation of the groundbreaking iPhone. So why should we be interested in the iPhone on a computing blog like Blogbytes? Well it is because of the growing importance of mobile computing and the convergence between the “normal” computing world and that of the mobile phone. The iPhone is a innovative computing platform that is leading this convergence and pulling all the established players with it. My feeling is that Apple do appear to have got it right this time around, answering the majority of criticisms of the initial version.

What’s new? 

So what is new? Well first off it is a 3G device which means that data download on mobile networks speeds will be significantly improved. The lack of 3G was probably the major criticism of the original model, after all how could you truly make use of all the innovative features of the platform if everything just crawled? Secondly there is built in GPS which will tie into the growing area of location services - providing information and services based on your actual location. Thirdly Apple is beginning to add features that will appeal to corporate users providing features that will provide syncing with Microsoft Exchange,  allowing it compete with the Blackberry.

The other major aspect which is new is the price. Apple announced that the new device will only cost $199 in the US and a similar price in all other countries. (UK prices are expected to be released tomorrow). This is a huge price drop compared to the original price and may leave early adopters feeling a little deflated. The new price appears to be a recognition by Apple that the price was the big blocker to a significant uptake by people who were interested in the device but didn’t actually go ahead and get one. There is likely also a recognition that the competition is only going to grow. All in all at this price the iPhone does seem to be a much more complete package with a price that is more sensible, moving it away from just being an expensive toy and broadening its appeal.

Now even with the new prices you still might find it a little out of reach. If you want access to the majority of the capabilities of the platform, but are perfectly happy with your six year old Nokia mobile phone then the iPod Touch is the way to go.

Do you think Apple have got things right this time?

We have talked a few times on this blog about wireless networks and some of the ways to make you network more secure. But I thought I would write yet another post on wireless as I was recently asked by a very confused friend, what was the difference between all the different flavours of WiFi that you see on the market. What is all this 11b, 11g and 11n and what does it all mean, and what should I look out for when buying an access point? Well it is a good question and I will give it a go. All these refer to various standards that have been agreed for WiFi equipment. In fact the original standard was 802.11a, but this was soon replaced by the other standards each one following on from the other. The changes essentially relate to a changes in the provided bandwidth or range of the wireless signal.

802.11b

Created in 1999 802.11b can be considered to be the lowest or a base standard nowadays and supports bandwidth up to 11 Mbps. The majority of access devices on the market will still support this standard.

802.11g

In 2003 the newer standard 802.11g appeared which increases the bandwidth of the signal to 54 Mbps, with similar or only slightly less of a range.

802.11n

802.11n is the newest standard (although still in draft and not finalised) and is now fairly common in newer devices. It provides significant increases in signal range and bandwidth. The signal is also more resistant to interference from other devices. The standard is backward compatible with both 802.11g and 802.11b though you will be limited to the bandwidth of the earlier standards.

What to look for when buying

When buying an access device, due to generally good backward compatibility you should generally look for a device that supports the newer 802.11n standard. Something like the Buffalo AirStation Nfiniti WZR-G300N Wireless-N Router. All your existing devices should be able to connect even if they are based on earlier standards and newer devices will be able to take full advantage of the new standard’s benefits.

Wireless networks are great, but you need to take some precautions to ensure the security of your network. In this post we are finishing our look at the seven important steps you can take to better ensure the security of your WiFi network. In this post we will cover steps you can take that do not involve administration of the router itself. These steps are not nearly as important as steps 1, 2 and 3 which I recommend as a minimum but they do add some additional layers of security.

Step 5 - Router positioning

If you have some flexibility in terms of where you can place your router or access point within your home, then choose a position that minimises the leakage of your wireless signal outside of your house. This will reduce the likely hood of your signal being picked up by somebody who might be tempted to try and connect.

Step 6 - Use your router’s firewall

The vast majority of routers and access points, like the Linksys WRT54GL Wireless G Router for example, provide an internal firewall. Make sure that this is activated. I would still recommend that you use individual software firewalls on any computers running on your network

Step 7 - Turn off when not required

The last step you should take is to turn off your wireless access point when it is not required. This has to be practical of course so there is probably little point in turning off the wireless network every night, but if you are going to be away for a few days then it would probably make sense.

Summary

So just to recap the most important steps to take to secure your network are steps 1, 2 and 3 and I would advise these in all cases. The remaining steps are worthwhile and provide additional layers of security.

For the previous posts see;

7 steps to increase wireless network security: Part 1
7 steps to increase wireless network security: Part 2

Wireless networks are great, but you need to take some precautions to ensure the security of your network. In this post we are continuing our look at the seven important steps you can take to ensure the security of your WiFi network. All these steps can be done either during initial setup or using the administration tools of any wireless router such as the D-Link DKT-710 Wireless G ADSL2 router.

Step 2 - Change the default SSID and don’t broadcast

All manufactures provide their access points and routers with a default network name called the SSID (which stands for Service Set Identifier). The default SSID is usually the same for all of a manufacturer’s products. It is a good idea to change this name to something that is meaningful to you only and will make it difficult for someone to identify your specific device. A default SSID is more likely to attract unwanted attention. The majority of setup wizards will prompt you to change the default SSID so do so. You should also turn off SSID broadcast which is not really useful for a home wireless network, this will again minimise the attraction of unwanted attention.

Step 3 - Enable secure encryption

All wireless access points and routers support a number of different variations of wireless encryption. You should always enable encryption during the initial setup or if you didn’t so go and do it right now! You should use the strongest form of encryption that your device supports. For home networks using modern equipment this is likely to be WPA Personal (PSK) the PSK stands for “Pre-Shared Key” which is essentially a pass phrase. Any device that connects to your network will need to know this pass phrase.

Step 4 - Use Mac Address filtering

A more advanced step is to use MAC address filtering. MAC stands for “Media Access Control”. Each device that has a networking capability will have a MAC address. The majority of wireless access points and routers support MAC Address filtering. To set this up you need to publish on your router a list of all the MAC address of the devices that will connect to your network. The router will then not allow a connection from any device that does not have a MAC address on the list.

We will finish with steps 5, 6 and 7 in the next post.

Wireless networks are great, but you need to take some precautions to ensure the security of your network. In a series of posts we are going to look at the most important steps you can take to ensure the security of your WiFi network.

Wireless networks enhance Internet access

In a number of previous posts we have had a look at the equipment you might need to set up a WiFi wireless network in your own home. See Wireless Networking Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 if you are interested in a quick refresher. One of the key messages of these posts is that having a wireless network will generally change and certainly enhance the way the whole family can access and use the Internet.

Secure the network

As the network is wireless this means that you effectively have the potential to access the Internet from anywhere in the house, but this freedom does mean you have to take a few extra steps to secure your network. These steps are especially important when setting up a wireless router such as the Netgear 54mbps wireless ADSL firewall router for the first time. All manufacturers will provide web based tools and setup wizards which allow a user to administer their device and apply the following suggested steps.

Step 1 - Change the default administrator login

A very important first step is to change the initial default and very simple administrator user name and password that is provided by the manufacture (these defaults are all well known and documented on the Internet), this is so that only you can login to the administration tools of your WiFi router.

More to follow in the next post ..

I have been on a visit to the UK from Dubai for the past week. One thing that I have done while in the UK is to get back into the swing of using Skype again. Skype is officially not available in the U.A.E although it will work occasionally it is not reliable and as such I avoid using it. So being back in the UK and with access to decent broadband I was once again amazed by both the quality of the sound and the game changing usefulness of the Voice over IP (VOIP) technology.

For a lot of people I know, Skype or similar VOIP technologies have become the way they communicate and do business. The way that most people actually do this is by using their computer and a good set of headphones combined with a microphone. But sometimes when sitting at home, the office or the local cafe, it would nice to be able to use Skype on a standard handset, rather than having to wip out the laptop.

So I have had a quick look at WiFi phones and was quite interested by the Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype which does not need a PC and can log on to any WiFi signal that doesn’t require a web based logon. The phone includes the Skype software allowing you to just call up anyone on your contact list.

Do you use Skype? How do you access the service?

I have recently just spent a weekend at my parents house where I was engaged as an IT consultant as I usually am when visiting friends and family. So I was presently surprised to find that they had recently invested in a nice new wireless mouse. It so happens that as part of my project to reduce the number of wires hanging around my desktop I am in the market for a wireless mouse, and I was able to get a good test drive of the Logitech MX revolution.

Easy to drive

First of all I was impressed by how nicely it fits into the hand and how easy it was to use. There is the now standard thumb wheel and just above that that are very handy forward and back buttons for browsing. Other buttons included an interesting search button which enables you to select a word or text and press the button to instantly search the Internet using Yahoo or Google.

No Batteries

One of the best things about this mouse is that it comes with a charging stand so no more running out of batteries just when you need it most, one of the things that normally really bugs me about wireless mice. The only problem with this of course is that this adds a new wire, but I think the value of the charger makes it worth it.

So if you are in the market for new wireless mouse then you could do worse than take the Logitech MX revolution for a spin!

I don’t know about you but my family and I now seem to have collected a vast array of gadgets and computer equipment that all require some sort of USB connection. USB drives, external hard drives, printers, MP3 players, mobile phones, digital cameras etc. The list seems almost endless and there never seems to be enough USB ports available, so some members of the family always end up annoying other members when trying to borrow access time to USB ports on people’s laptops.

I have been looking at actually organising and designing the computer system at home, rather than continue with the rather organic and haphazard growth pattern that presently exists. One idea that I am looking at it to centralise a number of the key aspects, such as storage, and access to printing. One other aspect that may well be worth applying this approach  to is the provision of centralised access to USB ports. This would enable anyone who wanted access to MP3 files to transfer to their player or mobile phone could just use a USB hub that was somewhere publicly available and did not require entering the forbidden zone of someone else’s bedroom!

The Belkin Network USB Hub looks like just the sort of thing that could do the job on my WiFi network, allowing 5 USB devices to be connected at one time.

How do you solve your USB port access problem?