airport

Have Mac, need wireless access point

This week in London I remembered one of the remarkable things that Mac OS X and the Apple hardware provide: wireless access.

By this I'm not referring to the ability to access the Internet through the Mac's WiFi hardware, but rather, the ability to provide wireless access to others using one's Mac. I used it this week to get WiFi access on my iPhone while in my hotel room, so that I'd only have to pay for Internet access once (through my laptop), and avoid Apple's/AT&T's substantial roaming data charges.

For … Read more

Review: Apple Airport Extreme Base Station wireless router

I finally got a chance to review Apple's first true dual-band Wireless-N router, the new Airport Extreme Base Station.

The new router, like the previous model, makes a great home router for novice and especially Mac users. It incorporates MobileMe for remote access and administration, offers fast wireless speeds, and has a very good range.

Savvy and Windows users, however, will find a lot of networking features missing, including the very popular Wi-Fi Protected Setup, the capability to filter Web sites, and access to manage the router's setting via a Web browser.

The Airport Extreme Base Station's … Read more

Apple's networking products get dual-band with Guest Zone

Updated at 10:05 a.m. on Wednesday: Apple confirmed that the new devices are true dual-band, meaning both bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and both networks (primary and Guest) offer 802.11n.

Without much ado, Apple has just rather silently upgraded its networking products, including the Time Capsule and the Airport Extreme, with two significant features: dual-band wireless-N and guest networking.

At its Web site, Apple states that its new simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi allows for maximum range and compatibility, as the AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule work simultaneously on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

However, … Read more

iFlyz grips your gadgets while uFlyz

The iFlyz will most likely get you flagged going through airport security, but once you're on the plane, it could help you sit back and distract yourself from the overly loquacious dude sitting next to you enjoy the flight.

The "in-flight personal media solution" secures mobile electronics for travelers who want to watch a movie, surf through music, or read online without having to hold a gadget in their hands or create a makeshift balancing apparatus out of a pillow or another passenger's head.

To use the iFlyz, you attach your phone or media player to … Read more

Boarding helps you find other stranded travelers

If you're going to be traveling solo in a few weeks for round two of the holiday season, worth checking out is the Boarding Project. It's a social service that uses Twitter to helps you meet up with others at the same airport. To use it you simply tweet #boarding along with your airport code. It'll send you a reply with a link to the other Twitter users who you can message directly to meet up with.

What's neat is that Boarding Project's system does not require users to sign up for anything. It also … Read more

Even more charging stations from Samsung

If you're planning to do a lot of flying next week for Thanksgiving, you may be in luck. Well, depending on where you're actually traveling that is. Last August Samsung Mobile announced the availability of 50 free charging stations at Newark Liberty International Airport. On Thursday, the company announced that they will be adding 115 new stations to that number.

Samsung Mobile says that it is opening new free stations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Miami International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

With the new additions Samsung claims that is has installed charging stations in … Read more

The 404 229: Where there's no one here to pick on Wilson

With Jeff on vacation and Justin dying of stomach herpes, Wilson is left alone to hold down The 404 fort. Mark Licea and Joey Kaminski join him today to talk about Quantum of Solace, Obama's BlackBerry, and ordering pizza from your TiVo.

Unfortunately, Wilson doesn't have the writing prowess of a one Justin Yu, but he'll do his best today to sum up what was a relatively disaster free show. First of all, he actually did pay attention to the chat room. So all you haters out there, Wilson can read. We also wish our second favorite Asian, J-Yu, a speedy recovery. We know we shouldn't have let him go home with that woman. Mark Licea joins the show to talk a bit about the latest Bond-movie and how kick ass it was. Mr. Kaminski chimes in on President-elect Barack Obama's BlackBerry addiction and its threat to national security. People keep on getting lazier, with cell phone airport check-in and ordering pizza from their TiVos. This, in turn, brings up memories of My Half-ton Dad on TLC. (Seriously people when you hit 400 lbs. put down the cheeseburger and see a doctor!)

Finally, the latest trailer for the new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek comes out today. So for all your Trekkies out there, check your pants. It's already an order of magnitude more exciting than the craptastic Star Trek: Nemesis we got a few years ago. And we pay our respects to ValleyWag and Total Request Live. Only the former deserves our respect.

EPISODE 229 Download today's podcast … Read more

Featured Freeware: AirRadar

AirRadar is a free utility that can help you scan for, track information on, and join wireless networks. Like similar apps, AirRadar provides much more information than you'd otherwise get through the Mac OS Airport status menu.

Whether you're testing your signal strength at home or trying to find free Wi-Fi on the road, AirRadar will list all open and closed networks in range, along with information such as signal strength (current, average, and max), type of encryption, MAC address, and channel. AirRadar can keep scanning at any interval you set, automatically join the best open network (or … Read more

No dead air: Samsung installs airport charging stations

Samsung Mobile on Monday announced that it had installed 50 free charging stations at Newark Liberty International Airport in Terminals A, B, and C.

Each charging station includes four outlets that allow several normal travelers or a huge geek of one to recharge their electronic devices simultaneously. The stations are built to charge devices designed for U.S. voltage--120 volts--and come with a small shelf to hold the gear. Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) of New Jersey is providing electricity for all 50 charging stations at the airport.

Samsung Mobile has already recently installed free charging … Read more

Best Buy kiosks, coming to an airport near you

Electronics retailer Best Buy is picking up on the trend of installing vending machine-like kiosks in airports, in order to appeal to stressed travelers who left their cell phone charger at home or need a last-minute gift to appease cranky relatives.

Called Best Buy Express, the kiosks will show up at a total of 12 airports as part of a "pilot program." (Ha, ha.) They are already installed around Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis (MSP), and San Francisco (SFO). The rest of them are expected to be in … Read more