I was working on a school project with a friend a couple weeks ago and we were out getting supplies. However, once we were on the road and reached our first destination, we realized they did not have what we needed. We were out of options and needed internet access. We would have gone to Krystals and used their free WiFi services, but we were not close to a Krystals. Instead, we drove in between a hotel and apartment complex to see if we could pick up internet. Sure enough, we saw about 6 unsecured connections. I would imagine if someone can get up a wireless network they should surely be able to secure it. However, driving around that disproved my beliefs.
Even though network security is an option built into every router, a lot of people don't take advantage of that feature. Even though the router security features can be hacked, it is better to have some security than none at all. With no security, any random person within the area can have access to an unsecured network.
There needs to be more awareness about wireless security, especially with the increase in the number of wireless devices. Some people might as well hand out their personal information because they are unsecured. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer or retailer and the customer to inform and be informed about wireless security. It is also the responsibility of the owner of a wireless network to ensure it is safe.
A good site to get yourself familiar with wireless security and how you can secure yourself is http://techdir.rutgers.edu/wireless.html.
Make sure your wireless network is secure and you are not exposing information about yourself when you are out and about!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Losing Jobs
Many people are psyched about all these new wireless devices and services coming out to make their lives more convenient and entertaining. However, there are those that are not so happy about these devices and services. Some people are or will be losing their job over these wireless services.
Instead of waiting in line to cash your paycheck, a person can now just take a picture of their paycheck and pass it off to the bank via a secure connection. As convenient as this is, this system potentially threatens the jobs of bankers. The only thing that will keep people going to banks is the fact that they might need to deposit cash.
There are also personal scanners found at certain grocery stores that people use to scan their food. Once you walk in the store, there is a row of scanner guns and a customer takes one. They take a gun and scan each product and can bag it immediately. After scanning a product, it is loaded in the scanner's memory. Once a person is finished shopping, all the items will be in the scanner's memory and they just go to the checkout aisle. The scanner and cash register wireless communicate and it automatically loads all the items that the customer scanned onto the cash register. The customer then pays for their items and does not have to wait for the cashier to scan every item. While this is very convenient, the cashier plays a less of a role with these hand held scanners. Eventually, I'm sure a system will be set up in which a cashier plays no role at all.
While all these services provide convenience to us, they also have detrimental affects on other people.
Instead of waiting in line to cash your paycheck, a person can now just take a picture of their paycheck and pass it off to the bank via a secure connection. As convenient as this is, this system potentially threatens the jobs of bankers. The only thing that will keep people going to banks is the fact that they might need to deposit cash.
There are also personal scanners found at certain grocery stores that people use to scan their food. Once you walk in the store, there is a row of scanner guns and a customer takes one. They take a gun and scan each product and can bag it immediately. After scanning a product, it is loaded in the scanner's memory. Once a person is finished shopping, all the items will be in the scanner's memory and they just go to the checkout aisle. The scanner and cash register wireless communicate and it automatically loads all the items that the customer scanned onto the cash register. The customer then pays for their items and does not have to wait for the cashier to scan every item. While this is very convenient, the cashier plays a less of a role with these hand held scanners. Eventually, I'm sure a system will be set up in which a cashier plays no role at all.
While all these services provide convenience to us, they also have detrimental affects on other people.
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is where all the scientists and engineers are looking to now for the future. Going from large integrated circuits with super computers that was the size of an entire building to micron level circuitry that is located from mobile phones to personal computer only means that nanotechnology is the next logical step. We are trying to make things smaller, cheaper, and faster. How does nanotechnology impact wireless technologies though?
Researchers at Purdue University have made a nanotechnology device that converts very fast laser pulses into bursts of radio-frequency signals (http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2010/100303QiMicrorings.html). This kind of technology could enable all communications such as high definition television broadcasts to computer connections in a single base station (from the Purdue link posted previously). Initially, this technology will only be used for one way traffic such as receiving HD television broadcasts, sending information to printers, anything that requires a display. Eventually, it will be integrated in devices that require two-way traffic such as hard drives and computers. This research is so inviting and useful because the radio frequencies generated are in the 60GHz range, which is in the unlicensed band (57-64GHz) and is permitted globally.
This technology is closer than people think and, according to Minghao Qi of Purdue Univesity, this technology is "at least five years away from being ready for commercialization." Bulky and expensive electronic products will be replaced by small and inexpensive electronic products.
Researchers at Purdue University have made a nanotechnology device that converts very fast laser pulses into bursts of radio-frequency signals (http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2010/100303QiMicrorings.html). This kind of technology could enable all communications such as high definition television broadcasts to computer connections in a single base station (from the Purdue link posted previously). Initially, this technology will only be used for one way traffic such as receiving HD television broadcasts, sending information to printers, anything that requires a display. Eventually, it will be integrated in devices that require two-way traffic such as hard drives and computers. This research is so inviting and useful because the radio frequencies generated are in the 60GHz range, which is in the unlicensed band (57-64GHz) and is permitted globally.
This technology is closer than people think and, according to Minghao Qi of Purdue Univesity, this technology is "at least five years away from being ready for commercialization." Bulky and expensive electronic products will be replaced by small and inexpensive electronic products.
Millimeter Wave
Sony is working on a new millimeter wave based technology that will offer high speeds within electronic products. Essentially, large integrated circuits will be reduced in size with this new technology. Instead of having a large network of wires and physical connections, electronic products will be able to communicate through wireless millimeter waves internally. This will reduce the size of the circuitry and, as a direct impact, the cost as well.
The speed at which electronic components receive, process, and send data is increasing. As a result, more complicated circuitry is required to keep up with this massive change in speed. The millimeter wave technology is based on electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of 1-10mm and with a frequency of 30GHz-300GHz. This small wave allows for very small antennas to be used and the high frequency will allow for high data speeds. Sony has actually implemented this technology and obtained a speed of 11Gbps over a distance of 14mm using a 1mm antenna (http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201002/10-017E/index.html)
This wireless technology will increase the efficiency of the components, decrease the cost, and increase the speed. This technology will surely be implemented in many future electronic products.
The speed at which electronic components receive, process, and send data is increasing. As a result, more complicated circuitry is required to keep up with this massive change in speed. The millimeter wave technology is based on electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of 1-10mm and with a frequency of 30GHz-300GHz. This small wave allows for very small antennas to be used and the high frequency will allow for high data speeds. Sony has actually implemented this technology and obtained a speed of 11Gbps over a distance of 14mm using a 1mm antenna (http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201002/10-017E/index.html)
This wireless technology will increase the efficiency of the components, decrease the cost, and increase the speed. This technology will surely be implemented in many future electronic products.
HTC Evo 4G
Sprint will be releasing the HTC Evo 4G in the summer. You might be thinking, 4G really? Well, according to Spring their 4G service has speeds up to 6Mbps which is 10x faster than the current 3G network. As exciting as an increase in speed is, 4G will only be offered in limited cities (http://now.sprint.com/nownetwork/4G/?ECID=vanity:4g). Sprint is making the push for 4G and creating competition. We will see how the service really is once it is launched.
The 4G aspect of the HTC Evo is not the only interesting about the phone. The HTC Evo will be running the Android platform. The phone will have some killer features on it that we can expect to see on future phones. According to PCWorld.com, the 5 killer features of the HTC Evo are the following: 4.3" touch screen, two cameras, "Leap" to multitask, kickstand, and 4G. The largest Android platform based phone right now has a 3.7" touch screen, the Droid. Why two cameras? One is 1.35 megapixel camera for video conferencing and will allow the user to look at the person they are video conferencing while they communicate and the other is a 8 megapixel for high quality pictures. It seems that cell phones will be replacing dedicated digital cameras at this rate. The "Leap" to multitask allows users to see all open programs with a simple pinch on the home screen. The kickstand is such a simple and great idea, when you are watching a movie just flip the kickstand so you don't have to hold the phone or rest it against anything. The use of the 4G network was discussed earlier. Also, the phone will have HDMI output capability. You can hook it directly to your HDTV or HD projector and watch HD quality movies.
This phone is definitely setting a new standard and implementing some great ideas. This phone has great features that customers have been wanting. Sprint will definitely be gaining some new customers because of this phone.
The 4G aspect of the HTC Evo is not the only interesting about the phone. The HTC Evo will be running the Android platform. The phone will have some killer features on it that we can expect to see on future phones. According to PCWorld.com, the 5 killer features of the HTC Evo are the following: 4.3" touch screen, two cameras, "Leap" to multitask, kickstand, and 4G. The largest Android platform based phone right now has a 3.7" touch screen, the Droid. Why two cameras? One is 1.35 megapixel camera for video conferencing and will allow the user to look at the person they are video conferencing while they communicate and the other is a 8 megapixel for high quality pictures. It seems that cell phones will be replacing dedicated digital cameras at this rate. The "Leap" to multitask allows users to see all open programs with a simple pinch on the home screen. The kickstand is such a simple and great idea, when you are watching a movie just flip the kickstand so you don't have to hold the phone or rest it against anything. The use of the 4G network was discussed earlier. Also, the phone will have HDMI output capability. You can hook it directly to your HDTV or HD projector and watch HD quality movies.
This phone is definitely setting a new standard and implementing some great ideas. This phone has great features that customers have been wanting. Sprint will definitely be gaining some new customers because of this phone.
Wireless in the home
Wireless devices in the house used to be limited to radios, tv remotes, and televisions (over the air signals). However, now it has expanded to a myriad of devices. Common devices seen in people's home now are routers, house monitoring devices, entertainment centers, gaming consoles, and many others. Four technologies that help drive all these devices are radio frequency, infrared, WiFi and bluetooth.
Routers are just as common in people's houses as refrigerators. People connect their laptops, mobile phones, and other mobile devices to their routers to be connected to other people. A company that supplies a lot of house monitor devices is Smarthome - http://www.smarthome.com/_/index.aspx. They offer various wireless devices to ensure home security. One product they offer is called the Sensaphone. It's essentially a phone that monitors things such as temperature, noise, power failure, and environmental changes and alerts the user via telephone call if something changes. They also supply applications on mobile devices (primarily iphone) that has the same functionality except through WiFi as long as you have the appropriate hardware set up.
Some new things that are becoming big are the Powermat and gaming consoles. The powermat allows the user to wirelessly charge a device by just placing it on the mat with the appropriate receiver. They have one version that allows up to 3 devices to be placed on for charging. The product is limited though in the devices they can charge because of the receivers that they currently offer. Only a handful of devices are supported currently, but in the future we can expect a lot more devices to be supported. This idea is also being expanded to replace entire kitchen counters and work desks. You will be able to put your laptop, mobile phone, mobile device, clock, and various other devices down on the desk and have them all powered without them being plugged into a wall outlet.
New generation gaming consoles all have wireless controllers. The Nintendo Wii even allows the user to physically interact with their games more so than any other console currently. However, that is about to change. Sony is Playstation Move, which functions the same way as the Wii controllers, but allows for finer movement. The user holds onto two controllers and can interact the same way as the Wii. Microsoft is making the user the controller in their upcoming Project Natal. No controller is required!!! The person uses gestures and motions to control their characters in the games. Natal is set to launch holiday season this year.
Overall, the wireless devices in the home are increasing and the functionality of these devices are increasing as well. The level of security wireless security systems offer is increasing and the level of entertainment gaming consoles are increasing as well. There is some interesting research being done on wireless appliances in the kitchen such as refrigerators, toasters, and others. However, their usefulness is still being determined.
Routers are just as common in people's houses as refrigerators. People connect their laptops, mobile phones, and other mobile devices to their routers to be connected to other people. A company that supplies a lot of house monitor devices is Smarthome - http://www.smarthome.com/_/index.aspx. They offer various wireless devices to ensure home security. One product they offer is called the Sensaphone. It's essentially a phone that monitors things such as temperature, noise, power failure, and environmental changes and alerts the user via telephone call if something changes. They also supply applications on mobile devices (primarily iphone) that has the same functionality except through WiFi as long as you have the appropriate hardware set up.
Some new things that are becoming big are the Powermat and gaming consoles. The powermat allows the user to wirelessly charge a device by just placing it on the mat with the appropriate receiver. They have one version that allows up to 3 devices to be placed on for charging. The product is limited though in the devices they can charge because of the receivers that they currently offer. Only a handful of devices are supported currently, but in the future we can expect a lot more devices to be supported. This idea is also being expanded to replace entire kitchen counters and work desks. You will be able to put your laptop, mobile phone, mobile device, clock, and various other devices down on the desk and have them all powered without them being plugged into a wall outlet.
New generation gaming consoles all have wireless controllers. The Nintendo Wii even allows the user to physically interact with their games more so than any other console currently. However, that is about to change. Sony is Playstation Move, which functions the same way as the Wii controllers, but allows for finer movement. The user holds onto two controllers and can interact the same way as the Wii. Microsoft is making the user the controller in their upcoming Project Natal. No controller is required!!! The person uses gestures and motions to control their characters in the games. Natal is set to launch holiday season this year.
Overall, the wireless devices in the home are increasing and the functionality of these devices are increasing as well. The level of security wireless security systems offer is increasing and the level of entertainment gaming consoles are increasing as well. There is some interesting research being done on wireless appliances in the kitchen such as refrigerators, toasters, and others. However, their usefulness is still being determined.
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