While a Wi-Fi map is indeed a map of a geographical area showing the location of wireless access points or “hotspots,” this article discusses the “WiFi Map” app available from Google Play and iTunes. It’s intended for use with Android … Continue reading
Make the Most of Your Wi-Fi with the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 Wireless Router
In recent years you, gentle reader, likely have ramped up your home internet speeds with an upgrade from your cable company aka multiple system operator (MSO). You’ve “cut the cord” by replacing cable programming with a media player, added a … Continue reading
Use Wi-Fi Instead of Cellular to Drastically Save or Eliminate Data Roaming Charges
Back in the day when we talked on cell phones (not smartphones) and used voice (not data), the term “roaming” had a limited impact. It generally referred to accessing a different network carrier for voice calls when outside the geographical … Continue reading
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Wi-Fi Baby Monitors
Parents have always wanted to keep a close watch over their new little bundle of joy, from the moment they bring that baby home. Surprisingly, baby monitors have been around since the 1930s. They started out as a simple radio … Continue reading
Simplifying Your WLAN with Wi-Fi Direct
Unless you’ve spent the past few years under a rock you’ve no doubt heard of Wi-Fi. You may even be aware that Wi-Fi is the familiarized name for the IEE 802.11 standard. But have you heard of Wi-Fi Direct? Also … Continue reading
Wi-Fi Assist: Learn How to Use It Wisely
If you recently upgraded to iOS 9 or bought a new iPhone, then you have a new feature on it called Wi-Fi Assist. This feature essentially ensures that your phone will automatically switch to your mobile data plan if you … Continue reading
Netgear Orbi—When You Need More Coverage
Sometimes a regular Wi-Fi router just isn’t enough to do the job, especially when you have a large home or business. You get those areas where there just isn’t any coverage. These blind spots are more than just frustrating—considering you … Continue reading
Are You Ready for the Internet of Moving Things? Veniam Is
Heard of the technology startup company Veniam? If you haven’t before, you’re likely to hear a lot more about them in the near future. They’re industry leaders in the field of connected transportation, a technology receiving lots of interest from … Continue reading
Should Your Business Use Managed Wi-Fi Services?
One of the buzzwords often heard in our 21st century service economy is “outsourcing.” Outsourcing — contracting with an outside vendor to provide goods or services instead of utilizing an internal source — happens in all sorts of businesses, including … Continue reading
Who’s On My WiFi Helps Secure Your Computer
Your Wi-Fi generally just cruises along, but what if all of a sudden it slowed down? What if loading web pages started taking a long time or it was taking a long time to download something from Dropbox or from … Continue reading
No More Dead Spots with Home Wi-Fi Mesh Networking
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
Project Fi: The New Wireless World Order?
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
The Next Generation of Wi-Fi Routers and Extenders—the Amplifi Mesh System
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
The Global Wi-Fi Footprint of iPass
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
Welcome to the Matrix—Wireless Access Points Will Soon Be Everywhere
Back in 2014, ipass predicted that by 2018 there would be one public hotspot for every 20 people on earth. That’s a lot, especially when considering that there’s still developing countries where Wi-Fi penetration is mostly limited to a few … Continue reading
Have Confidence and Assurance in Official Wi-Fi Certified Products
Although “Wi-Fi” has become a more or less generic term for wireless transmission, it in fact is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, a registered trademark, is only allowed to describe products that have “undergone rigorous testing by … Continue reading
From Megs to Gigs: The Progression of WiFi 802.11
From laptops to smartphones to digital cameras to video game consoles and beyond, the 802.11 family of media access controls (MAC) and physical layer specifications (PHY) determine how wireless local area networks (WLANs) function. Commonly called WiFi, the original specifications … Continue reading
Save Money with Wi-Fi Calling
Wondering what to do about pricey cell phone calls? Struggling with data caps and throttling? Mired in an area with patchy cellular service? Consider Wi-Fi calling, available for both Android and iOS Smartphones. It’s a free service over a Wi-Fi … Continue reading
Give an Inch, Take a Mile: Wi-Fi v. Cellular
Wi-Fi and Cellular: at first blush, most of us consider them both wireless technologies — i.e., radio — but share little else in common. So how different are they? Turns out, not much at all. Both use transmitters and receivers. … Continue reading
You Say “MIMO,” I Say “MIMO,” We Say “Must-Have Radio Technology”
Whether one calls it “My-Moh” or “Me-Moh,” multiple input – multiple output (MIMO) technology is an integral part of today’s wireless communication standards. By deploying multiple antennas at the source and destination to transmit and receive data, MIMO manipulates multipath … Continue reading