How Google Collected Data From Wi-Fi Networks - Graphic - NYT
Notable:
- The bottom-left point about geolocating routers is fascinating, considering costs and speed but how ‘fixed’ are routers given their shoddy shelf-life?
- For those who don’t password-protect their wifi signals, I’m curious if there’s a change in content captured and if *google* would be curious about it (also, wouldn’t it be polluted by neighboring freeloaders?)
Lucius Fox
Chief Executive Officer of Wayne Enterprises
Reblogged from theatlantic|58 notes
Wi-Fi Hotspots Made of Homeless People: Not as Horrible as They Seem
The real failure of infrastructure here has actually very little to do with technology. It’s easy to mock Homeless Hotspots; it’s easy to disdain it; but, really, what would we prefer, the typical combination of ignoring and ignorance that we reserve for most of our dealings with the hundreds of thousands of people who are homeless in the U.S.? BBH is taking a bad situation — the fact that Austin has people who lack homes and jobs and who, given the choice, would prefer to have both — and trying to do something constructive with it. Yes, it’s gimmicky; yes, it’s weird; yes, it’s initially kind of offensive. It’s right that our gut reaction to Homeless Hotspots is disbelief and disgust; it’s right that we’re alarmed at the idea of turning people into platforms. It’s also right, though, that we take the next step to ask ourselves: What’s the alternative? That we go on ignoring homelessness? It’s nice to be reminded that Austin, even in March, is about more than serendipity apps and rooftop pool parties. […]
Yes, there are ironies to it. Yes, there are hypocrisies to it. But they’re ironies and hypocrisies that we should be talking about, rather than outrage-ing and indignation-ing and then moving on. If we’re appalled at the idea of Homeless Hotspots, great. But perhaps we should be directing our indignation at “homeless” rather than “hotspot.”
Read more. [Video: tech.li]
Reblogged from 8bitfuture|809 notes
New research could lead to 1,000x faster wireless data transfers.
Researchers at Pittsburgh University have found a way to modulate light in the terahertz bandwidth (THz, or 1 trillion cycles per second), with recorded frequencies of up to 15.6 THz.
With current generation wireless routers and networks working around speeds of 5 GHz (1 GHz = 1 billion cycles per second), the demonstration could one day lead to Wi-Fi networks well over a thousand times faster than current speeds.
To achieve the modulation, the team created a ‘frequency comb’ able to divide a single colour of light into a series of evenly spaced spectral lines spanning a more than 100 terahertz bandwidth by exciting a coherent collective of atomic motions in a semiconductor silicon crystal.
The team is already investigating the coherent oscillation of electrons, which could further extend the ability of harnessing light-matter interactions from the terahertz- to the petahertz-frequency range. Petahertz is another 1,000 times faster than terahertz.
With New Standard, Wi-Fi Could Become As Widespread As Cellular
Reblogged from infoneer-pulse|125 notes
In late 2010, Verizon rolled out its 4G LTE network, which offers data speeds 10 times as fast as 3G networks. But as mobile data traffic continues to grow—experts anticipate that it will increase 26-fold in the next three years—it’s unlikely that any network will be able to keep up. Fortunately, something else is set to happen over the next three years: Wi-Fi could become as ubiquitous and easy to access as cellular is now.
Wi-Fi is up to 15 times as fast as LTE, but at this point it’s an unrealistic substitute for cell service. Connecting is not a standard process. Users need to log into access points individually, enter passwords, and go through other credentialing rigmarole. And range is limited; once logged in, a user can’t wander more than a few hundred feet from an indoor router. But such limitations will soon be gone.
Later this year, the Wi-Fi Alliance, a consortium that oversees Wi-Fi certification and testing, will release the Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint standard to automate logins. Based on the IEEE 802.11u protocol, Passpoint will allow devices to identify preferred hotspots, connect to them, enter passwords, and authenticate security credentials—all automatically. Users may be able to add Passpoint access to their cellphone plans or sign up for standalone service through another provider, such as Boingo, a company that serves 400,000 hotspots at locations like malls and restaurants. When users with Passpoint walk into a coffee shop or arrive at an airport, their phones will automatically connect with the network.
» via Popular Science
Reblogged from sunfoundation|43 notes