VERIZON MOBILE WIRELESS FUN

I have a Verizon mobile wireless adapter built into my Dell Latitude D630. I pay sixty bucks a month so I can connect to a reasonably fast EVDO broadband connection from just about anywhere. It's becoming a standard accessory for business travellers who don't want to hassle with conventional wireless.

A few days ago, there was a lengthy delay when I clicked the Connect button - "wait while your equipment is updated," something like that.

It stopped working after that, although I didn't recognize the coincidence for a while. I just knew that this error message came up when I tried to connect.

Here we go again!

• I logged onto the Verizon Wireless web site and confirmed that the account was active and unchanged. The wireless modems have phone numbers associated with them for billing - in the Dell "Mobile Broadband Card Utility" software, click on File / Device Properties to see the phone number.
• Dell distributes the software on the Drivers page for its notebooks, under Communications. I downloaded an updated version and tried to install it. Nope - "the version on your computer is newer." Nuh uh! <sigh> Uninstall the existing software, restart, install the downloaded software, restart. No change.
• Could another change have killed things? I was testing some VPN software that made me suspicious. I had used System Restore to create a restore point just before I put on that VPN software, so let's roll back to that restore point, when the Verizon card was still working. Hmm. Now the Dell Mobile Broadband software is stuck thinking it's partially installed. Okay, one more time - uninstall the Dell software, restart, reinstall, restart.
• No change.
• Big sigh.

Finally, too late, I google "RAS Error 691" and "Error QA920." There are a few frustrated souls out there, with the longest discussion on this page, describing people's miserable experiences with Verizon technical support. It looks like Verizon needs to reset the account, which takes only a couple of minutes after a tech support rep becomes convinced it's necessary.

It's midnight, so tech support isn't answering, and frankly I'm none too excited by the prospect of that conversation.

One of the tips on that page catches my eye - a way to force the device to be re-activated in Verizon's system.

• Log back in to Verizon Wireless web site, go to the page for the device, and find "Activate Phone."
• On the next screen, click on "Activate Equipment."
• On the next screen, pick the phone number assigned to the line and type in a new ESN, one digit different than the correct one. (The ESN is the unique number assigned to the device. In the Dell software, it's also under File / Device Properties.)
• Wait ten minutes.
• Go back and put in the correct ESN. Wait ten minutes.

Push the Connect button and, Voila! Simple as that, the modem connects again.

If the guesses are right in the forum posts, the firmware upgrade kills the device for some people. I'm not aware of any way to avoid the "upgrades" - they seem to happen randomly when I try to connect.

What a pain!

Labels: broadband, computers, hardware, mobile, software, wireless

posted by bruceb at 8/15/2008 12:19:00 AM | permalink

VISTA FIREWALL - THE HOME/WORK MYSTERY

Vista's firewall is significantly beefed up from the firewall in Windows XP - it monitors outgoing traffic, it's able to adjust easily when a computer is moved from one network to another, and the settings are easier to find in Vista's Network and Sharing Center.

Firewalls have become far more important on individual computers as our lifestyles change. Many home users and most business users are behind a firewall when they sit at a computer in the home or office - the router or wireless access point controlling the Internet connection is acting as a simple but effective firewall. With the explosive growth in notebook computers, there's a lot of information on computers that are outside the edge of the network, away from the home or office, exposed to networks and Internet connections that are not necessarily trustworthy.

When a Vista computer connects to a network for the first time - an unfamiliar wireless network or a cable plugged in at a new location - Vista inquires whether the network is Home, Work, or Public.

If you are connecting directly to the Internet or in a location where you will not access any other nearby computers, choose Public. Vista will make your computer invisible on the network; it will turn off file and printer sharing; and it will lock down various services.

On the other hand, if you are safely behind a router or another firewall and you will be communicating with other computers - sharing files or using a shared printer, for example - choose Home or Work.

I found myself wondering - what is the difference between Home and Work? What different services and features would be enabled in one but not the other?

According to this article, they're identical. No difference at all. That leaves the interesting question of why they're presented as separate choices - but don't worry about that, just pick one when it's appropriate.

(If you're detail-minded, you should know that a computer joining a company domain won't be asked about network location. There's an additional set of policies for a domain and the Vista computer automatically adopts them.)

I see notebooks frequently that have multiple network connections - a Verizon/Sprint connection, say, along with an 802.11 connection and a network cable. I've learned from experience that Vista examines all available network connections and chooses the most restrictive firewall policy. If there is any Public connection anywhere on a network, the Vista computers are going to lock themselves down. I've added that to my troubleshooting when I can't print to a shared printer or reach a shared folder.

Labels: Internet, mobile, network, security, Vista, wireless

posted by bruceb at 5/07/2008 01:18:00 AM | permalink

FREE PUBLIC WI-FI!

If you have a wireless notebook, there's yet another way the bad guys can get past your defenses.

When you connect to a wireless access point, normally you're in "infrastructure" mode. Network traffic to all the computers using the wireless network passes through a wireless access point. In a public place - an airport or hotel, say - you can reasonably hope the access point has some built-in security to keep each connected computer separated from each other.

Windows computers are also able to connect directly to each other wirelessly in "ad hoc" mode - no access point required. I can imagine sophisticated arguments about what that might enable people to do but here in the real world I've never ever seen anyone use that capability.

A computer in ad hoc mode is broadcasting a wireless SSID, a name that other nearby computers can see and connect to. Once the second computer joins the ad hoc network, it also broadcasts that name - and might continue to do that even after it gets to a different location. (Windows is designed to remember those settings by default. It's a feature, not a bug.)

If one of the computers in the ad hoc network also has an Internet connection, all the connected computers can use that Internet connection to get to the outside world.

Enter the bad guys. You flip open your notebook at the airport and see a wireless network named "Free Public Wi-Fi" or "Free Internet" or "US Airways Free WiFi" or something else tempting; you highlight it and click Connect, and you're able to get online. Great!

Unknowingly, you have joined an ad hoc network and every bit of data to and from your computer is going through the bad guy's computer at the next table. Your login names and passwords, your email messages, your online accounts - the bad guy is logging it all, analyzing it, and preparing to clean out your bank accounts and mortgage your house. If you've set up your computer for file sharing, he's rummaging through your files. If your security isn't up to date, he's installing software to send spam or let him control your computer at his leisure later.

This isn't a new problem but a recent study found that 10% of all the wireless users it scanned across all airports were broadcasting at least one of these viral SSIDs, and in some airports, the percentage was much higher. I've seen "Free Public Wi-Fi" in downtown Santa Rosa - maybe a bad guy, maybe a laptop user who didn't know his computer was broadcasting the fake name.

PREVENTION

Don't connect to ad hoc networks.

In Windows XP, the icon for an ad hoc network is different than a conventional wireless network, and it's described as a "computer-to-computer network."

In Windows Vista, the only indication of an ad hoc network is the appearance of the icon!

There are settings in Windows to prevent your computer from suggesting ad hoc networks at all. In Windows XP, advanced wireless network settings include the screen below, which can be set to force connections only to access point networks.

If you've done a lot of traveling and used wireless networks freely on the road, you may want to visit your computer's list of recognized wireless networks and clean out anything unfamiliar - especially a suspicious name like "Free Airport WiFi" or anything else on the list in this article.

There are more details in this article about how this works and steps to take to prevent being a victim.

And here's a scary story where a traveler learned that it was possible to access anything in any folder on his computer - from two rows away on an airplane.

I'll tell you more about how your security works and what you need to know, but as always, your best defense is your common sense. Don't click on anything without thinking long and hard - especially anything free! Be careful out there!

Labels: broadband, computers, Internet, mobile, network, security, wireless

posted by bruceb at 5/06/2008 12:23:00 AM | permalink

WIRELESS NETWORKING DEMYSTIFIED

Although the technology is widespread and mature, 802.11 wireless networking is confusing for many people - and frustrating for nearly everyone. It hasn't helped that the next generation of 802.11n networking equipment seems to be stuck in an endless development cycle, resulting in hundreds of routers and access points and adapters on the market that are not quite compatible with each other.

SmallBusinessComputing.com has written an introduction to wireless networking that covers all the basics in a plain, straightforward way. If you want to catch up, this article will bring you up to speed on the acronyms, the options to extend the range of a wireless network, and the choices for securing the network.

If you go shopping, I've had consistently good luck with Netgear's Rangemax products, built on technology licensed from Ruckus Wireless. Try the WPN824 router or WPN802 access point, matched with the WPN111 USB adapter. Setup is well-designed and the range and reliability are as good as anything I've ever tried.

Labels: network, wireless

posted by bruceb at 1/29/2008 09:11:00 AM | permalink

SPEAKING GEEK

The Wall Street Journal's site All Things Digital has a useful article that translates some geek jargon into English. It's a nicely written collection of common-sense explanations of terms used to describe digital cameras, mobile devices, televisions, and more. Sample:

"DIGITAL CAMERAS - Megapixels: This term describes the highest resolution photo a camera can take. Often mistaken as the most important factor in a digital camera, a high megapixel count - such as 10MP or more - isn't necessary for the average user unless he or she plans on heavily editing or enlarging photos. Most new digicams offer between five and eight megapixels, which is usually more than enough."

Labels: audio, mobile, phone, photos, video, wireless

posted by bruceb at 1/10/2008 01:05:00 AM | permalink

VERIZON'S OPEN NETWORK

Verizon's announcement that it would open up its network next year to devices not sold in Verizon stores made headlines and generated lots of online buzz. It is a welcome development from a notoriously closed company and Verizon deserves kudos for stepping forward. Verizon might just be trying to polish up its image before the important 700Mhz spectrum auction coming soon, which looks like a battle between Verizon and Google after other major players decided not to bid. Or perhaps it genuinely wants to do the right thing in America, which lags badly in innovation, features, and prices compared to the regulated market in Europe. (The European cell phone market is one of several examples of regulated markets that are far more robust than the purportedly "free" market in the US, where the benefits of competition and innovation are all too often sacrificed to corporate greed and excess.)

It's worth keeping in mind that the Verizon announcement may be less significant than it appears. David Pogue details some of the reasons to be skeptical in this column:

• Verizon's network only supports a proprietary protocol, CDMA, and not the GSM protocol that's used by other carriers in the US and almost exclusively in Europe. Most devices designed to Verizon's standards won't be able to be used with any other carrier.
• Verizon will only allow use of phones it has approved, a rather glaring loophole that gives it tremendous control over the process - perhaps by requiring manufacturers to omit features (like VOIP calls) that would permit you to lower your Verizon bill.
• And most importantly, Verizon made no promises about the rates it will charge for network access by non-Verizon phones.

There are, however, a couple of reasons to be optimistic. One is another, less celebrated announcement by Verizon last week - in the long run, it intends to move to the industry-standard next-generation platform known as "LTE" ("Long Term Evolution"), supported by the other GSM carriers. This points to a true global standard that might avoid some of the equipment incompatibility that plagues us now.

The other is the possibility that Verizon's move will inspire other carriers to open up their own networks. Maybe we'd even see a little of that much-vaunted "competition" and the carriers will feel compelled to give us relatively free choices of equipment for our cell phone service.

Labels: business, Google, mobile, phone, wireless

posted by bruceb at 12/04/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

THE WIRELESS FUTURE
Wireless technology is a blur of confusing acronyms and frequent frustration, but we are making progress and there continues to be hope that more and more wires will disappear in the future.

Wireless Internet connections for our computers are slowly becoming more comprehensible and easier to manage, although the word "wireless" is still used for too many different things. Wireless keyboards and mouses are far more dependable than they used to be, and battery life has been significantly extended.

One company just announced new technology for setting up wireless connections to speakers and headphones. Previous attempts to beam sound across the room have performed badly and this announcement is just a press release, but we can hope for the best.

Another development: IBM announced a plan to develop ultra high speed chips to transmit wireless high-definition video between computers, televisions and handheld devices. One of many hurdles that stops people from hooking the living room into a home computer network is the difficulty of getting video working smoothly over a wireless connection; this might help get past that bottleneck. (Another difficulty is that most people can't make heads or tails of the technology required; there's nothing on the horizon to change that, despite a flood of announcements of "media center extenders" and the like.)

Labels: audio, network, video, wireless

posted by bruceb at 10/26/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

SONIC OPEN WIFI PROJECT
Sonic is demonstrating again that it has its heart in the right place.

Now that Earthlink has officially killed its plan to deliver free wireless Internet access to San Francisco, Sonic has stepped up with a more modest plan for the city of San Francisco and downtown Santa Rosa. Here's Sonic's page about the Open WiFi Project.

As I understand it, the plan depends on the generosity of individuals. Sonic DSL subscribers are encouraged to buy an inexpensive wireless router at a subsidized price. When the router is plugged into the DSL line, it automatically broadcasts a free wireless connection, using 500K of the DSL bandwidth. Anyone within range can use the wireless network, with small ads appearing at the top of web pages coming through the wireless router.

The concept rests on the router's ability to pass on its bandwidth to other similar routers within range, eventually creating a "mesh" network. Imagine ripples spreading out from each router; there's a seamless wireless network when the ripples overlap.

Although there are vague references to small rebates, there's only one incentive for Sonic subscribers to help out with this vision, and that's because it's the right thing to do. It represents everything good about working together locally to accomplish something that big companies have failed to do. At a time when cynicism comes all too easily, Sonic deserves praise for believing in a project that can only be built on optimism and volunteerism. Call them if you're a DSL customer in Santa Rosa!

UPDATE 09/09/07: Sonic updated its coverage map to make it clear that its initial effort is focused on a square mile near Santa Rosa JC. The Press Democrat's article today adds an interesting detail - the mesh network also depends on repeaters installed in high places outside, typically on light poles. An ambitious project but Sonic is required to think big if it's going to survive. Support your local ISP!

Labels: broadband, wireless

posted by bruceb at 9/05/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

SF FREE WIRELESS, R.I.P.
In January, Google and Earthlink signed a contract to set up free high-speed wireless Internet access for the entire city of San Francisco. The deal provided that EarthLink would pay the city $2 million for the right to build, install and run a free Wi-Fi network that would be supported through advertising from Google; Earthlink would also offer a paid subscription that would offer higher speeds and fewer advertisements.

Last week Earthlink announced that it is pulling out of the San Francisco project. Earthlink is going through a financial meltdown and just laid off half its employees. In the last two years Earthlink had entered into a number of contracts for municipal wireless; it's dissolving or breaking the contracts everywhere, even if that means paying huge penalties, like the $5 million it agreed to pay to Houston as a penalty last week. Here's an article about the end of the San Francisco project.

Labels: broadband, business, wireless

posted by bruceb at 9/04/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

WIRELESS HEADACHES
The Wall Street Journal wrote an article last month about wireless networks, expressing a sentiment many of you have probably felt - namely, they're a pain in the neck. It doesn't help that the vocabulary has gotten muddled. There are now four basic types of networks covered by the term "wireless":

• 802.11g Wi-Fi, wireless networks covering small areas. This is what most people understand by the term "wireless"; this is what fills the shelves for consumers at CompUSA and Best Buy.
• 802.11n Wi-Fi, the "next generation" of local wireless technology, promising faster speeds and coverage of larger areas. Since this standard has not been finalized and approved, the shelves are filling up with "pre-N" technology - routers and PC adapters from one manufacturer that might not work with another manufacturer's "pre-N" devices, and that might not work with devices built after the final 802.11n specs are approved.
• Wi-Max, ground-based wireless networks covering large areas - the technology proposed to cover the entire city of San Francisco by Earthlink and Google, for example. It's great technology and lots of cities are discussing it, but so far projects have been remarkably slow to come to fruition. It doesn't help that the telecommunications companies hate the idea and are frantically trying to pass local and state laws prohibiting such projects, as well as trying to block legislation that would overturn those local laws. (Yesterday the Google/Earthlink project in San Francisco was put on hold yet again, amid signs that the whole idea might collapse.)
• Wireless broadband from cell carriers - Verizon, Sprint, AT&T - covering large areas and using existing cell phone towers.

Wi-Fi was supposed to simplify things but instead too often turns into a blur of unstable and dropped connections, poorly-understood security settings, lack of management tools for network administrators, frequent interference, and frustratingly small coverage areas.

There are signs of progress and equipment is appearing that promises to alleviate some of the headaches. Ruckus Wireless has drawn some attention recently for its architecture of 802.11g equipment that reportedly extends range and speeds and - more importantly - makes connections more stable. It is telling that the Ruckus CEO delivers this crucial point in her sales pitch: "We don't aim for the best average throughput… we make the worst case suck less."

In a few years, perhaps these issues will be behind us and wireless technology will be mature and stable. For home users and small businesses considering their networking options today, though, I still have the same advice: people relying on wireless networks call me for help; people with wires don't.

Labels: broadband, network, wireless

posted by bruceb at 8/06/2007 12:05:00 AM | permalink

GOOGLE AND WIRELESS BROADBAND
In 2009, new frequencies will become available in the US for handling voice and data. The frequencies are currently being used for analog television, but the FCC decided years ago that analog television would no longer be supported after 2009; the frequencies are being reclaimed and resold in an FCC auction.

A few days ago Google bid $4.6 billion dollars, the reserve price, for the 700Mhz band frequencies. Google's bid included a request that the FCC put conditions on any bid that might be successful:

'Google "requested that the Commission should extend to all CMRS-type spectrum licensees clearly delineated, explicitly enforceable, and unwavering obligations to provide (1) open applications, (2) open devices, (3) open wholesale services, and (4) open network access." For those of us who don't regularly hang with the FCC these proposed conditions mean: 1) users should be able to download software from anywhere and use it on their communication devices without restriction; 2) users should be able to use any communication device that meets the technical requirements for connecting to the network no matter who made the device; 3) third-party resellers should be able to buy wholesale bandwidth from auction winners, and; 4) other networks should be able to connect to the 700-MHz network.'

Although the major telcos and cable companies have made noises about supporting these goals, the reality is that they will never allow anything like this to become possible. US voice and broadband availability, speed, and pricing is built on the greed and selfishness of the telcos and cable companies, who have thrived on long-term contracts, closed networks, proprietary devices - every conceivable trick to restrict our choices and lock us in to a particular company. It would be a much different world if we could buy cell phones freely and activate them with any carrier, for example (ask the iPhone users stuck with Cingular). Or if VOIP - using the Internet to carry voice phone calls - was fully integrated into our devices, instead of being restricted from most mobile networks. Or if wide-area wireless Internet coverage was made available by cities, reducing the need for expensive DSL or cable connections.

This article discusses the Google bid and makes an interesting point. The telcos and cable companies can issue all the press releases they like about their support of Google's proposal, but there are two fundamental truths in the universe: (1) they will never allow those proposals to be realized, and (2) they will never allow Google to purchase these frequencies, no matter what they have to spend.

There is ample evidence from the last hundred years in this country that the telcos and cable companies are mean and spiteful. "The telcos and cable companies are far more skilled and cunning when it comes to lobbying and controlling politicians than Google can ever hope to be. The telcos have spent more than a century at this game and Google hasn't even been in it for a decade. And Google's pockets are no deeper than those of the other potential bidders."

The columnist even speculates that they have ways of getting their revenge at Google for having the audacity to suggest that there be open competition. The ISPs have many means at their disposal to direct traffic away from Google; the most obvious is to change the defaults in the software distributed to new subscribers.

This will be an interesting battle to watch, but it's hard to be optimistic that the result will change anything for the better in this country.

Labels: broadband, business, Google, mobile, phone, wireless

posted by bruceb at 7/27/2007 11:00:00 AM | permalink

VERIZON BROADBAND FOR THE HOME
Broadband coverage is stalled. If you don't have access already to DSL service or cable Internet service, there's no reason to think it will be available tomorrow, or next year, or ever. Paul Krugman recently summarized the statistics - broadband coverage in the US lags far behind many other parts of the world, and broadband speeds are frequently less than those readily available in much of Europe and Asia. (We pay more, too.) (Krugman's article is here, but you might not be able to see it without a NY Times subscription. The Press Democrat printed it a couple of days ago, if you have your old papers handy.)

Verizon offers broadband service ("EVDO Rev A," or "BroadbandAccess" in marketing-speak) almost everywhere in its nationwide cell phone service area. If you live in an area with a strong Verizon signal but no cable or DSL service, you can now get a broadband connection. (Sprint is rolling out similar service with different acronyms; Cingular is lagging behind.)

The Verizon service comes with a hefty price tag - typically sixty bucks a month, plus the cost of the required hardware. New York Times columnist David Pogue just wrote a column complaining about the high price tag, but Verizon shows no sign of backing down.

Verizon sells several devices to process its broadband Internet signal. At first it was only marketed to people with notebook computers, so the devices were in the "PC Card" format - the one that's the size of a credit card. More recently they released a USB device, making the service available to any computer.

For billing purposes the device is actually assigned a phone number, and Verizon's service is locked to a particular device. You can move the device from one computer to another, but only one computer can use it at a time.

That's fine for a traveler with a notebook, using the Verizon service to have a persistent connection on the road. It's less appealing for a home with multiple computers. At the moment, Verizon is quietly discouraging the manufacturers from filling that need, but one device has appeared that allows a Verizon broadband connection to be shared.

The Kyocera KR-1 router has been available for a while, and my experiences with it so far have been good. It has a slot for a PC Card device as well as a place to plug in a USB device. The service has to be activated on the device before plugging it into the Kyocera router; once the device is activated, the router opens the connection and holds it open for anything plugged into it, just like any other router. (If you buy one, make sure it is running the 1.010 firmware, required for newer Verizon cards, USB devices, and faster speeds.) There's more information on this page.

Sprint realized that consumers would inevitably want to share their broadband connection among multiple computers, so it partnered with Linksys to release a similar router, reportedly a bit more buggy than the Kyocera router and not supporting as many devices. (Although Sprint markets it as the "Sprint Mobile Broadband Router," it's not limited to Sprint service, as near as I can tell - the important question is whether it supports the kind of device plugged into it.)

Labels: broadband, mobile, network, wireless

posted by bruceb at 7/26/2007 11:52:00 AM | permalink

GOOGLE ANNOUNCES FREE WIRELESS BROADBAND
A potentially world-changing announcement from Google today - the launch of Google TiSP, a free in-home wireless broadband service that delivers online connectivity via users' plumbing systems. A simple fiber-optic cable running through any toilet on a municipal sewage system can be used to make the connection with a TiSP Access Node.

Google intends to continue development on a high-performance version of TiSP tailored to small and medium-sized businesses, including 24-hour, on-site technical support in the event of backup problems, brownouts, and data wipes.

Complete details and installation instructions are on this page.

If you have a minute, you might want to look at the link provided for details about professional installations, and follow some of the links on that page as well.

Labels: broadband, Google, humor, wireless

posted by bruceb at 4/01/2007 11:07:00 AM | permalink

KYOCERA EVDO WIRELESS ROUTER
Verizon's EVDO wireless access is heavenly for some travelers. For a hefty monthly fee - $60-80/month - Verizon provides a reasonably fast Internet connection anywhere in its cell phone system. Some new notebooks have the hardware built in to support the EVDO connection, or cards can be connected to the laptop via USB or PCMCIA.

Here's an interesting alternative piece of hardware - the Kyocera KR1 Mobile EV-DO Router. Plug it in and it instantly connects to the Verizon network and sets up Internet access for any nearby computer, acting as an 802.11g wireless access point with all the usual options for WPA/WEP security, plus four ports for network cables. Not for everybody, but the concept is beautiful and there are a few people who will wonder how they ever lived without it. (No personal experience - your mileage may vary.)

Labels: broadband, mobile, network, wireless

posted by bruceb at 7/03/2006 12:22:00 AM | permalink

3G WIRELESS NETWORKS
There's new wireless technology that might represent a true step forward for some people - with a hefty price tag attached, of course.

The cell phone carriers are rolling out their third-generation ("3G") equipment to support high-speed Internet connections over the cell phone networks. Verizon and Sprint are first with their version named EvDO, followed closely by Cingular's HSDPA. T-Mobile and the others will be available soon.

If you have existing cell phone service with one of those carriers, you can add an unlimited data plan and use a 3G device. Verizon's data plan is currently $69.99/month with a two-year commitment, for example - and remember, that's on top of your voice plan.

The reward is an Internet connection that is available anywhere in the Verizon or Cingular networks. (Well, maybe. They're still building it out. At the moment it's not clear that the broadband connection is available everywhere on the carriers' voice networks, but they're expanding it quickly.) Speeds vary but the promise is that 3G supports true high-speed connections, beginning at 300k and potentially much faster.

Current wireless technology is based on the 802.11x protocol; it's generated by a transmitter with a range of 300 feet or less and tends to be tricky for many people to configure as they move from one place to another. Charges for 802.11x wireless connections can add up - a daily charge at the hotel, an hourly charge at Starbucks, or the like. A consistent connection through the cell phone networks could save a lot of headaches.

There are PCMCIA cards that can pick up this signal, so any notebook computer can be set up to use this service. A better solution will come with notebook computers with the required adapter built in. Dell just introduced the Latitude D620 and D820 notebooks, which can be ordered with an adapter for either Verizon or Cingular; Dell will then facilitate turning on the service. EvDO- and HSDPA-ready notebooks will flood the market later this year.

This article from PC World has background on the technology and anecdotal evidence of what it's like in the real world. The results are mostly positive (a bit erratic - speeds varied, the signal sometimes dropped out); the magazine concludes that the new services represent a big step forward for mobile computing.

Labels: broadband, mobile, wireless

posted by bruceb at 5/03/2006 01:12:00 PM | permalink