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Software Turns Mobiles Into Wi-Fi Hotspots

Here’s a cool use for a phone that has both cellular broadband and Wi-Fi: Turn it into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot so your friends can surf the Internet on their laptops.

A couple startups have created and made available software like this in the last year. But a more established software maker said Wednesday that it has created a package for carriers to offer their customers.

TapRoot Systems Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said it was talking with carriers about providing their customers with the software, which would let up to five Wi-Fi users connect to a phone.

A possible free trial version would let only one Wi-Fi user connect to the phone at a time.

The software works on phones with Windows Mobile or Symbian S60 software. Windows phones are common in the U.S., while Symbian is championed by Nokia Corp. and more common in Europe. There already is an independent program called WMWifirouter that turns Windows phones into hotspots, and there’s one called JoikuSpot for Nokia phones.

Capacity is limited on third-generation cellular broadband networks, and carriers are somewhat restrictive of the applications they allow, for fear their networks will be overwhelmed.

[via msnbc]

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Posted in Software, Innovative, Smart Phone, Networking, Laptop, Ideas, Research, Mobiles, Gadgets, Trends, Internet, Nokia, Computers | 1 Comment »

Modu Mini Phone: Worlds Lightest And Smallest Phone

Everyday there is a new mobile phone model is being released in to the market. Some are trendy, some are smart and well designed and loaded with hundreds of features.

Did you ever wanted to have a phone that’s just a phone. Here comes the lightest and smallest phone: Modu Mini phone. You can think of Modu as an expanded SIM card. It can make a call, send text messages, and hold a contact list—the bare minimum required to be a mobile phone. That is why it is so small—about the size of an iPod Nano.

This Modu Mini Phone is a modular phone, that can be slipped into different device jackets —like an MP3 player, a GPS device, a bigger cell phone, car stereo, or a digital camera. (Although, it will initially only support GPRS, which is slow. Another drawback—there is no WiFi.) In a camera, for instance, Modu can be used to send pictures over the wireless network. (Although, it will initially only support GPRS, which is slow. Another drawback—there is no WiFi.)

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Posted in Telecoms, Smart Phone, Networking, Future, Innovative, Ideas, Gadgets, Mobiles, Embedded, Digital Camera, First | No Comments »

Internet Access Disrupted Due To Cable Cuts

Internet services and voice traffic have been disrupted in large parts of the Middle East and India following damage to two undersea cables in the Mediterranean.
One cable was damaged near Alexandria, Egypt, and the other in the waters off Marseille, France, telecommunications operators said. The two cables, which are separately managed and operated, were damaged within hours of each other. Damage to undersea cables, while rare, can result from movement of geologic faults or possibly from the dragging anchor of a ship.

Industry experts said it could take up to one week to repair the damaged cables and resume full service. International telephone calls, which have also been affected, are being rerouted to work around the problem.

Most Impacted Countries are shown in the red in the map below:

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Posted in Networking, Telecoms, Internet, Computers | No Comments »

Internet Capacity To Be Exceeded By 2010 : A Study Claims

A study by the Nemertes Research Group is predicting that the Internet could run out of capacity by 2010 if backbone providers don’t invest in new infrastructure. It says the backbone needs an estimated $42 to $55 billion invested in capacity in the next 3-5 years to keep up with the ever growing net. The increasing demand for music and video streaming and peer to peer networks is to blame.

Our findings indicate that although core fiber and switching/routing resources will scale nicely to support virtually any conceivable user demand, Internet access infrastructure, specifically in North America, will likely cease to be adequate for supporting demand within the next three to five years. We estimate the financial investment required by access providers to bridge the gap between demand and capacity ranges from $42 billion to $55 billion, or roughly 60%-70% more than service providers currently plan to invest.

And, lets hope this doesn’t become reality and that IPv6 also will be widely used so that we don’t run out of IP addresses also.

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Posted in Networking, Internet, Computers | No Comments »

100 Gbps Over Copper Possible!

Penn State University engineers say that a transmission rate of 100 G bps is obtainable over in-expensive Category 7 copper cables, but only on a length of 100 meters or less.

This research has been done by a team including two graduate students in electrical engineering, Ali Enteshari and Jarir Fadlullah. The team was supervised by Mohsen Kavehrad, professor of electrical engineering. Working with NEXANS, the company that manufactures the cable, they have examined the possibility of sending digital data at a rate of 100 gigabits per second over 100 meters of Category-7 copper cable.

Using information on specifications and characteristics of the cables from NEXANS, the researchers modeled the cable with all its attributes including modeling crosstalk. They then designed a transmitter/receiver equipped with an interference canceller that could transfer up to 100 gigabits using error correcting and equalizing approaches.

Ethernet cable like the Category 7 is made up of four pairs of twisted wires shielded to reduce crosstalk. Category 7 is heavier weight wire with better shielding than Category 5 cable. Kavehrad’s group did similar analysis on the Category 5 cables in 2003.

“A rate of 100 gigabit over 70 meters is definitely possible, and we are working on extending that to 100 meters, or about 328 feet,” said Enteshari. “However, the design of a 100 gigabit modem might not be physically realizable at this time as it is technology limited. We are providing a roadmap to design a high speed modem for 100 gigabits.”

The researchers believe that two or three generations in the future, the technology of chip circuitry will allow these modem designs to be built. Currently, chip design is at about 65 nanometers, but they expect in the next two generations to get to what is required, said Kavehrad.

The amount of data encompassed by 100 gigabits is amazing. The entire Encyclopedia Britannica contains 1 gigabyte of information. A byte is equivalent to 8 bits, so 1 Gigabyte is equal to 8 gigabits. A rate of 100 gigabits per second over 100 meters is the transmission of 12.5 Encyclopedia Britannica sets per second.

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Posted in Research, Networking, Internet, Trends, Computers, Technology | No Comments »