::: bisonium.com :::

I have had a long-time beef with Verizon (for reasons I won't go into here) and here is yet one more story that gives me reason not to ever even consider the thought of using them.  For those of you who have ever been to some kind of Photoshop conference (especially the NAPP ones), you most certainly probably know who Ben Willmore is.  Over the past year, Ben had decided to sell his home and live aboard a motor-home full-time.  Ben has been blogging his travels and experiences throughout the entire process and it's been fun to watch where he is going and what he's doing.  I can't help but feel green with envy at him being able to do something so cool! :-)

In any case, in these days we all need to be connected and Ben is no exception.  Ben decided to get his broadband fix by using Verizon's EVDO broadband service.  So apparently "unlimited" access is not really "unlimited" in today's corporate contracts or advertising.  This is actually not unusual, but it doesn't make it right.  Corporate America is fast and furious to take your money and hold you to ridiculous contracts when it is in their favor, but lord help you if you try to actually use the service you are paying for in any kind of "unlimited" capacity.

"I've been using a Verizon EVDO card since I started living on the bus. It seems that they don't like people who actually need to use the net for their daily business life. I just received notice that they will cut off service for my card starting on 9/6/2006 because I used 10 Gigabytes of bandwidth over the last 30 days. I guess they have no idea that some people actually have to upload/download high resolution photography and do business on the net. I guess getting the satellite dish has become a major priority right now."

This is just WRONG.  It's time that the public began to hold these corporations to their advertising.  If you don't really mean UNLIMITED, then dammit, DO NOT say it is and then cry wolf when someone attempts to actually use it for business.  If you are going to cut someone off, at least have the common courtesy to give them a warning before just canceling their contract.  So the funny thing is that I am sure there are many of you out there that signed up for that EVDO service with "unlimited" data, yet for some reason need to or want to cancel, but are afraid to get hit with the penalties for doing so.  Why not give Verizon a taste of their own medicine and start jamming that pipe?  ;-)  Now I am not advocating violating the terms of your service agreement, but surely they can't prevent you from say...uploading content via FTP to your server, or some other creative use of mega-sized files that need to be sent somewhere right?  Let Verizon cancel you and you just got out of your contract.  They like games?  Just play them right back people.

You can check out the rest of the story on Ben's site and while you are at it, go ahead and subscribe to his feed!  Let him know bisonium.com sent ya and you support him in the fight for what's right.

Technorati Tags: Clueless, EVDO, Mobility, Peripherals, Stupidity, Verizon, Wireless

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, I'm not talking about MY life online, this is SONY's latest and greatest geek gadget, mylo (My Life Online).  This is the device that many of us wanted Apple to announce at yesterday's WWDC Keynote, yet it took Sony to actually give us what we wanted.  This device has the potential to be another iPod with todays digital generation, but it's not quite there yet.

The mylo is a wireless broadband personal communicator.  Unlike it's closest messaging competitor, the T-Mobile Sidekick, this device works on WiFi rather than a cell providers signal.  That's good and bad.  Good, you can do things like instant message your buddies, surf the web, and even make phone calls via Skype for free.  The bad news, you can ONLY do it on WiFi.  No WiFi and you are out of luck.  From the initial looks of it, the mylo only supports messaging via Skype, Google Talk or Yahoo.  So where's the AIM support?  Got me, but you'd think that they would support one of the largest messaging networks on the planet.  They also seem to have forgotten about MSN (both chat and email).  That in itself is a major product-killer.

The mylo is also attempting to jump into the iPod space by providing you the ability to load up your music, photos and video.  Unfortunately it falls WAY short of the iPod in these areas.  The screen is smaller, it only plays a few music formats (Apple's AAC isn't one of them), and probably the single biggest drawback is Sony's insistence on utilizing their memory stick format, rather than a hard drive in the device.  By using the memory sticks, they once again fail to provide adequate storage space for things like music and video, which is one of the biggest downfalls of the PSP.  When will Sony learn?  And to add insult to injury, if you want to take full advantage of being able to xfer video to your device, you need to pay more money for Sony's Image Converter 2 software.  That's just about the most retarded move I have seen yet.

Another feature that just seems like a "Duh?" feature that is missing is a camera.  They went this far, why stop by failing to provide camera and video chat support?  The whole mylo concept seems great, and something that many of us would certainly want.  Unfortunately, it seems as if the product has been rushed to market.  It's missing apps and features that I think are essential to giving users that über geek device we are all seeking.  I think that with a little more thought and some feature and application enhancements, Sony could have a real winner on their hands.  If Sony's intent is to compete with the iPod, then they have some serious problems to overcome, formats and storage capacity for starters.  If Sony wants this to be taken seriously as a video device, they need to also think about bumping that screen size to at least PSP levels, and empowering users to do this by providing the software tools in the box.

Am I being a little harsh on Sony?  You betcha.  As an early-adopter and super geek, this is what I want.  I already have the iPod, a Treo, PSP and a Laptop.  How much more crap do you think I am going to carry Sony?  If you can develop the ultimate device that can replace the iPod, Treo and PSP and give me all of that in one device, you have hit the jackpot.  Combine these features into a UX-180 with a phat hard drive, and you hit total geek nirvana.  Until then, I guess we are all stuck wishing for the non-existant.  For a more opinions and a first look video, check out Gizmodo and Engadget.

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, Mobility, Portable Audio, Portable Devices

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have never really understood Bellsouth.  Having worked there doesn't help clarify some of the things they do either.  Great news that they are deploying more WiMax areas, but who exactly is determining where these deployments will take place?  For anyone who doesn't know where DeLand is, it's just west of Daytona Beach, basically in the middle of BFE.  Another place Bellsouth deployed access to is Palatka, FL.  If you think DeLand is in the boonies, Palatka makes DeLand look like NYC.  So why deploy a service where like 3 people will actually subscribe, instead of a major city like Miami, where people will sign up in droves and extremely tech savvy users will put it to the test?  I don't get it....

[ via PR Newswire ]

ATLANTA, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In its sixth launch of wireless broadband service in six months, BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) announced today that BellSouth(R) Wireless Broadband Service is now available in DeLand, Fla.

BellSouth's wireless broadband service offers residential and business customers high-speed Internet access, with downstream speeds up to 1.5Mbps and no phone line needed. The system transmits signals between local radio towers and a small non-line-of-sight desktop subscriber modem and utilizes BellSouth
licensed WCS 2.3GHz spectrum.

"BellSouth Wireless Broadband Service aids in our efforts to continuously extend the reach of our broadband service," said Marshall Criser, president of BellSouth Florida. "The deployment of this exciting new service in DeLand is just another example of how BellSouth is paving the way in wireless broadband."

BellSouth was the first major telecom provider to commercially launch wireless broadband using pre-WIMAX technology. The company initially deployed the service last August in Athens, Ga., and has since deployed in Palatka, Fla.; New Orleans, La.; Gulfport, Miss.; Biloxi, Miss.; and now DeLand, Fla. BellSouth plans to expand the service to additional cities throughout 2006.

"For many people, wireless broadband may be their first opportunity to experience high-speed Internet," continued Criser. "BellSouth Wireless Broadband Service can offer those and other customers a high-speed Internet solution with the flexibility they want, the simplicity and security they need and the affordability they have come to expect from BellSouth."

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In TidBITS today, I present the problem and solutions to dealing with AirPort Express's single Ethernet port. The new base station will ship any day now from Apple, and it includes streaming music, USB printer sharing, and but one Ethernet port. That port can't do double duty to share your... [Apple AirPort Weblog]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:32 AM | Permalink

Boeing has developed a special system that protects airplane avionics from interference from passengers' WiFI devices using a special 'money shield.' By offering airline passengers its unlimited internet access 'Connexion' at rates between $9.95 and $29.95, Boeing is able to generate a 'Profit/Safety Phase Array,' suspending the effects of any... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:18 AM | Permalink

Barnes & Noble bookstores will be fully unwired as hotspots by Sept. 2004 via Cometa: Remember how we noted the lack of news since fall from Cometa a few days ago? This doesn't quite qualify as the kind of news that Cometa wants publicized. The Barnes & Noble deal has been well known since early 2003. For some reason, however, the execution has been severely delayed while Barnes & Noble's leading competitor Borders was fully hotspotted by T-Mobile's network. So while this adds a significant number of locations to Cometa (pushing them to nearly 1,000 publicly committed or unwired locations), it's more of a confirmation of how long it takes to move from a deal starting to actually executing. Barnes & Noble has 647 stores nationwide, and hasn't quite regained the momentum it lost by trying to compete head to head against Amazon.com. Their online venture has done extremely poorly, never achieving more than a fraction of Amazon's book sales. This move to add Wi-Fi is certainly an attempt to bring savvier users in. One factor I've wondered if Borders and Barnes & Noble have considered: as David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times pointed out in a story a couple of years ago, the big box booksellers have moved from discounting many titles to just heavily discounting a few. This means that the kinds of users likely to use the Wi-Fi service might also be likely to price compare. They browse the book in the store and then order it online for free shipping and 30 percent less. (My site, isbn.nu, offers book price comparisons by title or ISBN, for instance, among several of its ilk.) There's an egregious statement in the press release that I must explicate: Unlike other public Wi-Fi networks, where customers have only one choice of service provider, the Cometa Hotspot(sm) network at all Barnes & Noble stores will be open to multiple providers. Customers can choose which provider they want. This isn't about the customer, it's about the network. If you want to resell Cometa hotspots as a wireless ISP to your customers, you have to arrange a deal with Cometa in which you agree to pay their wholesale fees. And in many hotspot locations, customers actually already have a choice: the native network (Surf and Sip, for instance), a roaming partner (FatPort, for instance), or several aggregators (iPass, Boingo, GRIC). Further, there are... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:54 AM | Permalink

Some analysts are predicting the demise of the Internet cafe with the advent of Wi-Fi: In the U.K., an Internet cafe chain called Easyinternetcafe, has changed its model from building standalone Internet cafes to adding Internet cafe capabilities to existing venues. The phenomena of Internet cafes vs. hotspots is really a complete reversal, according to one analyst. People don't have to find a new place to get Internet access which happens to also sell coffee, like they did with the Internet cafe. Now they go to the same place they got coffee, which happens to have Internet access via Wi-Fi. Internet cafes never became super popular in the U.S. Still, I think they'll survive around the globe, especially where tourists hang out. Internet cafes have been a blessing to me in remote places where I wouldn't dream of phoning my friends, because the cost would be outrageous, but sending emails with tales of travel has been ideal. Internet cafes will always be ideal in places where it's likely that people won't have their own laptops. On an interesting side note, the head of The Cloud comments in this article about how expensive Wi-Fi access is. He said that The Cloud is signing up some big name companies that plan to sell access for far less than the going rate. He also predicts that within 18 months most bars, restaurants, and cafes will be giving Wi-Fi away as a tool to attract customers. [link via Gigaom]... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:46 AM | Permalink

By William Hungerford

In the next few weeks, I'll be spending a week in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona while on business. Whenever I travel, I make sure to stay at hotels that offer high-speed wireless Internet access. If that's not available, I look for nearby hotspots like coffee shops, libraries, etc. Here are a few resources to find those local hot-spots next time you're on the road!

Wi-Fi HotSpotList.com: Do a quick and easy search based on location. A great and comprehensive site.

EZGoal.com: A great site because you can search not only by location, but also by network. Currently over 11,000 hotspot listings.

WiFi411.com: This is an extremely comprehensive Wi-Fi hotspot site. Beside lookups by location and by network, this site has tutorials and a great FAQ. If you're looking to learn more about Wi-Fi, this is a great place to start.

WiFinder.com: This site lists Wi-Fi spots around the world. Lets you search by locations offering free or paid service, which is a nice feature.

Boingo.com: This page has a search of all the Wi-Fi locations on the Boingo network. They also have software you can download that will allow you to search for Wi-Fi hotspots on the Boingo network.

SpeedyHotels.com: This site gives listing of hotels with Wi-Fi in a quick and easy lookup. Requires free registration.

WiFiFreeSpot.com: What's better than free Wi-Fi access? Free Wi-Fi hotspots listed by state, that's what! You'll want to bookmark this page.

Wi-FiZone.org: Another site that offers a comprehensive search for Wi-Fi hotspots.

Airports on the Internet: This is a general listing of worldwide airports with a website. A great resource to see if the airport you're traveling through has Wi-Fi Access.

Courtyard by Marriott: Courtyard offers free high speed access in all their rooms in the US. Bet you can guess where I stay when on the road.

Starbucks: If your hotel doesn't have Wi-Fi, why not slip over to a local Starbucks for a little Web surfing?

McD Wireless: How about a burger and some Wi-Fi? A listing of worldwide McDonald's locations that offer Wi-Fi.

Of course, there are more hotels and resources that offer Wi-Fi access out there, but I hope this gives you a starting point for that next business trip or vacation.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:29 AM | Permalink

Partners in Free Wi-Fi, Austin Wireless, and Less Networks are offering free music to hotspots users in Austin: The groups have been working together to help local venues build free hotspots. The offering starts today and will extend through the end of SXSW 2004, the music festival. Hotspot users, who don't pay for access, will be able to listen to more than 500 songs for free. Users must have the iTunes player and the songs are available through Apple iTunes music share. Less Networks sees this as a one-up on an earlier Starbucks offering where visitors could listen to a CD for free. The groups have built 25 locations in Austin since September and have 3,600 registered users. Around 100 people log on to the networks every day. Workers don't charge venues for the help in setting up the networks or the software, which lets venues manage the hotspot.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:05 PM | Permalink

Schlotzsky's reports 40 percent of customers consider Wi-Fi and Web browsing as factor in visiting: As the chain has expanded to 38 company-owned and franchise stores mostly in the South that offer in-store free computer access and Wi-Fi, their latest market research shows a significant uptick in awareness. The company reported that 40 percent of customers surveyed considered Wi-Fi and computer access a factor in their decision to come to Schlotzsky's, while 6 percent said Wi-Fi access alone was why they were there. Schlotzsky's a franchise chain, so in order for the firm to expand this offering beyond company-owned stores, it needed to convince franchise holders of the financial efficacy of offering free access to computers and Wi-Fi in the stores. These latest numbers seem to prove it. I've met the CEO and the marketing director when I invited the CEO to speak at a panel I moderated at Wi-Fi Planet last year, and the most interesting aspect of the Wi-Fi is that they're not excited about the technology but its uses. There's a financial aspect to this, of course: the average purchase price of a Schlotzsky's customer is about $7. But the CEO wasn't a geek; he liked seeing entire families or sports teams or groups of parents and kids come in and spent time using the high-speed connection. It's important to recall that a small but significant minority of Internet users have broadband; for the rest, Schlotzsky's offering is a profound (and free) pleasure.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:45 PM | Permalink

This is a thorough Wall Street Journal article that aptly describes how Wi-Fi is affecting the cellular market: The crowded cellular market already has plenty of pressure but Wi-Fi poses a threat from a voice and data competition perspective. The article cites Dartmouth College, which has offered students Wi-Fi phones, eliminating the need for students to use cell phones on campus. Hotspots are also threatening cellular operators' plans for delivering wireless data services. Apparently Nextel has confirmed that it is interested in dual-mode phones that would operate on cellular and Wi-Fi networks. I'll be very interested to watch how cellular operators approach the idea as I still think it will be difficult for them to rationalize handing off calls onto Wi-Fi networks that they don't own.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:37 PM | Permalink

The North Miami Beach Police Department is building a Wi-Fi network using Tropos gear: The police had used a CDPD network to access data but the operator is shutting down its CDPD network. The department expects to save a bundle by not having to pay an operator a monthly fee for using the network. The Wi-Fi network currently only covers a few square blocks but plans call for it to stretch five square miles. That's not a very big area so I wonder what the cops will do outside of that area.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:41 PM | Permalink

Buffalo Technology is coming out with a souped-up 802.11g wireless router that can go as fast as 125Mbps. Apparently Linksys and Belkin are working on... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:19 PM | Permalink

Cafe.com snags Denny's Restaurants: The NetNearU reseller will immediately deploy hotspots at 40 restaurants; Denny's has 1,700 locations across the U.S. See, now, I can see the motivation for Denny's: they have booths, they're open 24 hours a day, they're near freeways, and business travelers already use them in the a.m., late at night, and for dinner on the road. Flipping open a laptop while waiting for your meal is a logical extension.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:07 AM | Permalink

JetBlue Airways is offering free Wi-Fi to folks hanging out in its departure gates in Terminal 6 in New York's JFK Airport: The airline also offers the free Wi-Fi in its hub, the LA/Long Beach airport. If more airlines start doing this, it will be interesting to watch what happens to the companies that are already offering fee-based services in airports. That seems to be a big business, with hotspot providers signing exclusive deals with airports. I wonder what sort of rights airlines have to build Wi-Fi networks in the gates they often use. Glenn has heard from some folks in the industry that airports are starting to assert rights to spectrum that they previously left alone, or encoding these rights in new contracts as airline leases expire.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:22 AM | Permalink

In a routine new-store article, free Wi-Fi gets play: It's a news event in this New Hampshire town when a 5,400-square-foot Panera opens, partly because it represents a success for a local franchisee expanding operations. But note that the free Wi-Fi gets a couple of grafs. The cost of a couple of grafs that bring more people in to a Panera initially and as permanent lifetime customers is probably tens of thousands of dollars. The cost of free Wi-Fi? Hundreds.... [802.11b Networking News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 6:36 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:54 AM | Permalink

Wireless should be the standard for safe driving [The Register]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:41 AM | Permalink