10 Questions About Cellular Phones
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- What's the difference between analog and digital
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- What is a Dual Band Phone?
- What type of battery has the longest life?
- What's the difference between the Stand-by time
and Talk time?
- What is a roaming charge?
- What are peak and off peak hours?
- What are anytime minutes?
- Do I pay for the call when someone calls me?
- Should I buy a cell phone or look for a free cellular
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- What to do if you want to upgrade/downgrade or cancel
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Cell Phone News - WI-FI
Wi-Fi Is Out There and Spreading Fast
by Anton Komarov
As this new wireless technology spreads to every corner
of the world, it's time that someone ask the burning questions
that are surely on everyone's mind: "How does Wi-Fi
work, and can it mess up the molecular structure of my
brain?" Experts say not to break out the aluminum
hats quite yet. But I would keep them handy because no
one's 100 percent sure the low-intensity microwave radio
waves aren't zapping our brains.
The chalkboard at the local Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in
Woodland Hills has sported a cryptic message in recent
weeks. Under all the usual promos for double no-foam strawberry-mint
Ice Blendeds was this: "Wi-Fi coming March 7."
Wilfred Finnegan, live in performance?
No. For those of you still clacking away on a Commodore
64, "Wi-Fi" stands for wireless Latest News
about wireless fidelity. It's the technology that allows
people to surf the Internet with no annoying plug-in phone
lines - at much faster speeds.
There's a quiet Wi-Fi Latest News about Wi-Fi revolution
going on in Los Angeles, and across the country. The only
indication for those not in the know are these small signs
popping up at coffeehouses, public libraries, universities,
airports and hotel rooms and even open public spaces advertising
"Wi-Fi available."
You may even live in a private Wi-Fi zone, as I do, thanks
to an unknowingly generous neighbor who hasn't secured
his or her Wi-Fi network.
Even the city is getting into the game with a six-month
trial of a free Wi-Fi zone at the Van Nuys Civic Center
around the Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent
Services Center, or the MBSFVCSC, in conjunction with
Woodland Hills company Aiirmesh Communications. More city-sponsoredhot
spots Latest News about hot spot are planned downtown
at Pershing Square and Little Tokyo.
Los Angeles itself may become one big hot spot one day
soon. A panel of telecommunications experts is expected
to report this spring on the feasibility of the city leading
the creation of a citywide Wi-Fi community network that
every citizen in the city could use for cheap or free.
It's already happening in Philadelphia, which is launching
the largest municipal hot spot in a few weeks, and Chicago
is toying with the Wi-Fi network idea as well.
As this new wireless technology spreads to every corner
of the world, it's time that someone ask the burning questions
that are surely on everyone's mind: "How does Wi-Fi
work, and can it mess up the molecular structure of my
brain?"
Experts say not to break out the aluminum hats quite yet.
But I would keep them handy because no one's 100 percent
sure the low-intensity microwave radio waves used by Wi-Fi
networks aren't zapping our brains.
If the Wi-Fi technology does turn out to scramble our
memories or make us stupid, then we are already doomed.
Most of us are surrounded every day by things that use
the same technology, most notablycell phones Latest News
about cell phones, cordless phones and medical devices.
As an Angeleno who lives with real threats like smog,
gang warfare, earthquakes, wildfires, landslides and rush-hour
traffic, I decided to fully embrace the Wi-Fi movement.
I wanted to be one of those happy people plucking away
on laptops at Starbucks Latest News about Starbucks or
Borders in between sips of cafe Americanos.
So I called up Terry Halberg, telecommunications planner
for the city of Los Angeles, to get me started with a
personal tour of the Van Nuys community Wi-Fi zone. To
prepare, I bought the cheapest wireless modem card I could
find for mylaptop Latest News about laptop - $20 at Fry's.
The city's free Wi-Fi network itself is not much to look
at. It's as visual as radio. There's not much to see other
than the Wi-Fi routers placed strategically inside meeting
rooms and out on utility polls on the streets surrounding
the MBSFVCSC. The routers are no bigger than a hardback
Jackie Collins novel, with two antennas on top and two
on the bottom.
"It looks like a little robot guy," Halberg
said. They beam the signal all around the area and into
the computers of anyone who wants to access it.
Anyone with a laptop or PDA Latest News about PDAs with
wireless capability (such as my $20 card) can plop down
anywhere around the Van Nuys Civic Center/ Courthouse
complex and log on for free to the community network.
Because the city is providing the service, users must
start at a registration page and agree not to use the
network to do illegal things such as download child porn
or sell unregistered firearms to Third World countries,
and not to sue if you get hacked while online.
Logging into the Wi-Fi Community Network hooks users up
not just to the network but with anyone else using it.
This brings up more disturbing questions such as, if my
computer can pick up data from these Wi-Fi waves, can
data be sucked out of it the same way?
Yes, it can.
According to the nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance's Web site:
"If your transmissions are not secure, you take the
risk of others intercepting your business e-mails, examining
your corporate files and records, and using your network
and Internet connection to distribute their own messages
and communications."
In other words, people can peek on what you're looking
at online as if they were looking over your shoulder.
That might not bother Net surfers who limit their online
travels to sites such as Howtoknit.com or Allaboutmarsupials.net,
but most people want their Internet experiences to be
private. If that's the case, dial-up may still be the
way to go until there's improved security Latest News
about Security for Wi-Fi networks. That probably won't
be too long. This revolution is spreading in months, not
years. And though it may not be televised, it is definitely
coming to a screen near you.
About the Author
A cisco certified engineer. Working in Wi-Fi area in Russia.
Chief master of http://www.greezle.com wi-fi resourse. |
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