MiFi, the new WiFi.

June 18, 2009 · Filed Under Tech · 2 Comments 

Novatel MiFi













I ran into some new products lately including something from Verizon which was called MiFi. I was a bit confused at first thinking that they got WiFi wrong but as soon as I started reading I realized about this whole new idea called MiFi. The basic idea behind MiFi technology is to take the 3G Network and convert it to WiFi network and possible making it a hot spot for you and others. The benefit of this is that you could easily get a 3G signal than some WiFi Hotspot that is available for you. Novatel seems to be the company behind this technology and already releasing a version in Spain for Telefonica. Besides providing a HotSpot it can also serve as a “server” for software since it brings a small storage capacity. At the moment only Verizon and Sprint are the ones that have this in the U.S. but you can expect it to go big through out the year if it is successful. Note to mention, the speed on these isn’t great and depending on how many people are you sharing the network with it could be even slower. None the less you could expect to hear more of this soon.

Update: A new product from Huawei, check it out.

Yasser

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Steal This Wi-Fi by Bruce Schneier.

January 10, 2008 · Filed Under Security, Tech · 3 Comments 

The security expert Bruce Schneier has recently written an article on Wired.com about using Wi-Fi networks that don’t have password protections. His position on this topic is, use it. His own wireless network is not protected so others can use it. The way he sees it is that other people benefit from it. This might come from the same ideology of hackers that everything in the internet should be free and everyone should have access to these. He is not worried about his security because he knows how to secure his computer no matter what network is he on. This is a great article to debate on whether you believe in using your neighbors unprotected WiFi and if you should allow your neighbors use your unprotected wireless network.

Similarly, I appreciate an open network when I am otherwise without bandwidth. If someone were using my network to the point that it affected my own traffic or if some neighbor kid was dinking around, I might want to do something about it; but as long as we’re all polite, why should this concern me? Pay it forward, I say.

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