After accidentally being shown off a week ago by retail giant Costco, the Microsoft 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter is now available officially, via NewEgg, Costco and other online retailers.
The new adapter should provide much more bandwidth then the current line of 802.11g adapters and will use MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) and two antennas to provide a stronger signal and extended range. Microsoft says the new adapters will have double the range of the 802.11g adapters.
Electronista adds that the “adapter is also dual-band and can run on 5GHz to avoid interference as well as 2.4GHz for those with older 802.11n routers or who have to run a mixed-mode network to support legacy devices.”
The device sells for between $88-100 USD.
Result for: interference
Following the recent issue surrounding the deletion of George Orwell works (1984, Animal Farm) from users’ Kindle readers, anti-DRM activists Defective By Design has targeted the device with a new petition. The text of the petition reads…
We believe in a way of life based on the free exchange of ideas, in which books have and will continue to play a central role. Devices like Amazon’s are trying to determine how people will interact with books, but Amazon’s use of DRM to control and monitor users and their books constitutes a clear threat to the free exchange of ideas.
That is why we readers, authors, publishers, and librarians demand that Amazon remove all DRM, including any ability to control or access the user’s library, from the Kindle.
Amazon’s assurances that it will refrain from the worst abuses of this power do not address the problem. Amazon should not have this power in the first place. Until they give it up they will be tempted to use it, or they could be forced to by governments or narrow private interests. Whatever Amazon’s reasons for imposing this control may be, they are not as important as the public’s freedom to use books without interference or supervision.
The petition already has a few recognizable signatures listed on the right-hand side of the message. To sign the petition, visit it at defectivebydesign.org/amazon1984
Result for: interference
When Steve Jobs first demonstrated the iPhone 3G at last year’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference he bragged about the speed of its internet connection. Since then AT&T seems determined to stop people from using very much of that supposedly plentiful bandwidth for anything more than loading web pages or reading email.
Now AT&T officials find themselves on the defensive after the release of the iPhone SlingPlayer, which is only able to use the phone’s Wi-Fi connection.
AT&T spokesperson Mark Siegel told Macworld it would be a violation of the company’s terms of service for a program to stream video across their 3G network. He said “It’s about making sure all our customers have access to the wireless network,”
He claims it falls under the category of “redirecting television signals for viewing on Personal Computers” which is indeed prohibited under the TOS language, as is any use that causes “extreme network capacity issues and interference with the network.”
Siegel suggested that those who want to use the SlingPlayer for iPhone or any other mobile platform such as Symbian or Blackberry should take advantage of the company’s Wi-Fi hotspots instead.
