In 1967 counterculture writer Richard Brautigan published a poem called “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” which in its quirky way foresaw the coming tech revolution of the 21st century, namely the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine … Continue reading
Everyone wants a smart home, right? Well, perhaps most people do. But what exactly is a smart home? Well, think of being able to communicate with your home and every electronic device and appliance within it via your personal mobile … Continue reading
Perhaps you remember those halcyon days of a decade or so ago when SmartPhones were attempting to gain market penetration and cellular carriers (Mobile Network Operators or MNOs) like AT&T were offering “lifetime unlimited” data when they had plenty of … Continue reading
Faithful readers of this space will recall from several weeks ago our previous article on AmpliFi, one of the better so-called “mesh” home Wi-Fi systems available. Today we take a closer look at some of AmpliFi’s more celebrated competitors and … Continue reading
Ever considered how communications travels overseas and around the world? There’s essentially two choices: submarine fiber optic cables or earth-to-satellite transmission. By far — as in 99% — of all international data traverses submarine communication cables. According to author David … Continue reading
Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) sounds like something extremely complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. An MVNO is simply a carrier that operates on a virtual network, meaning that they rent their data and coverage from one of the Big … Continue reading
Fixed wireless services have long been a staple of communications in lesser-developed countries (LDCs), particularly those with little wireline infrastructure. Rather than plow scarce resources into increasingly obsolete wireline technologies, LDCs opted instead for wireless technologies with their cheaper construction … Continue reading
Smart electric meters are taking the world by storm. Nations across the globe are mandating their installation — by 2020, every home in Britain is mandated to have one. Demand for electric meters is particularly strong in Asia; in 2015 … Continue reading
Faithful readers of this space may recall that in September mention was made of “the next stop in a long journey” — 5G. Don’t look now but in a mere few months equipment manufacturers will begin delivering the latest and … Continue reading
The days of loudspeakers looking like, well, speakers is so 20th century. No more rectangular wooden boxes taking up too much space on bookshelves or tables. And increasingly, no more wires either. The amazing Amazon Echo is but one of … Continue reading
The familiarized name for the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, ZigBee is an open global specification applying to high-level communication protocols for wireless personal area networks (WPANs), home area networks (HANs) and machine-to-machine (M2M) networks using small, low-power radios. Overseen by the … Continue reading
The folks who bring you Google Fiber, Google Chrome, Google Glass and many other tech innovations have come up with Project Fi. Unveiled in April 2015, it’s the first serious go at unifying the world’s wireless networks — and service … Continue reading
Wi-MAX: sounds like bigger and better Wi-Fi. Indeed it is, and people all over the world use this IP-based platform to access the Internet. (Unless you’re a Sprint customer; more on that below.) WiMAX is an acronym for Worldwide Interoperability … Continue reading
Similar to the triple play bundles offered by Verizon’s FiOs and AT&T’s U-Verse, CenturyLink’s Internet-based Prism TV is delivered via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), Fiber-to-the-node/curb/building (FTTX), hybrid fiber coax (HFC), VDSL2 or ADSL2 technologies. Consumers can choose from four Prism® packages — … Continue reading
No, channel bonding (CB) is not a viewer’s love for a television network. Used in multiple communication technologies, it essentially doubles the data stream by joining two adjacent bandwidths together to form one bidirectional pipe. With the use of computing … Continue reading
An emerging brand from upstart San Jose-based Ubiquiti Networks, Amplifi (pronounced “amp-lye-fye“) currently offers three top-shelf Wi-Fi router/extenders for home and office use. Amplifi™ is known as a Wi-Fi “mesh” system where a router and bridge extenders (“mesh points”) stretch … Continue reading
Once again, marketers have muddied the tech waters by misleading consumers with less-than-truthful descriptions of their products. Like “4G Smartphones.” Or “4K TVs.” Here, AT&T has gone beyond the pale with their ‘MicroCell’ offering, which is actually a femtocell. It’s … Continue reading
In business since 1996, California-based iPass today is a multi-national global Wi-Fi service provider (GSP) with a truly worldwide Wi-Fi footprint. Thanks to a number of key acquisitions over the years — including Safe3w and Mobile Automation, both in 2004, … Continue reading
On the high tech frontier of the 21st century where the borders of reality and fantasy blur, gamers and other consumers are obliged to wade through concepts such as virtual reality (VR) and today’s topic, augmented reality (AR) aka artificial … Continue reading
You’ve probably heard your local cable provider (Multiple Service Operator or MSO, as they’re called) trumpet claims that cable has “blazing” fast Internet speeds compared to clunky ol’ telephone company DSL. True, legacy DSL (with speeds up to 3 Mbps, … Continue reading
