Wi-Fi Article Round-Up: CES Edition

A recap of interesting Wi-Fi and IT industry articles from around the interwebs. For those living in isolation, CES is this week, so much of the news will relate to the show.

Note - I will not be covering CES news surrounding tablets or smartphones. Wi-Fi within those devices are well understood and not really new.

Wi-Fi Articles:


Wireless display technologies will fight to enter the market in 2012 and compete with Apple AirPlay. I don't think they'll gain much traction in 2012, but Marvell and the Wi-Fi Alliance have a better long-term shot than Intel WiDi, as I wrote about earlier this week.

Marvell to Showcase Wi-Fi Display Technology Implemented Across Avastar Family of Wireless Products: "The Wi-Fi Display specification is the basis for an exciting new Wi-Fi Alliance certification program, scheduled for launch in mid-2012. Devices certified under this program can provide a rich audio/video experience between Wi-Fi devices anywhere, at any time, without cables or a connection to an existing Wi-Fi network--all with the multi-vendor interoperability expected from Wi-Fi CERTIFIED."

This standards-based solution has already been adopted by Qualcomm Atheros as well (press release), proving just how important the Wi-Fi Alliance and interoperable standards are in the Wi-Fi industry (hint - we live by interoperability!)

New Wi-Fi Alliance growth predictions:

Wi-Fi Alliance's Wireless Predictions and Projects for 2012: "Recent research data shows that shipment of wi-fi devices is expected to double by 2015. Growth in home wireless networking devices—including TVs, media players and gaming consoles is anticipated to reach 35 percent from 2011 to 2016. Other predictions:
- Wi-Fi is expected to grow 109 percent between 2011-2016 in automotive applications such as infotainment systems, navigation, and traffic monitoring.
- Wi-Fi is expected to grow 39 percent between 2011-2016 in health, fitness, and medical applications.
- Wi-Fi is expected to grow 25 percent between 2011-2016 in smart meters and automation products."

White space Wi-Fi could get faster if Microsoft has anything to say. They have proposed Wi-Fi over Narrow Channels (Wi-Fi NC), which essentially bonds non-contiguous narrowband frequencies into a single Wi-Fi channel that increases available spectrum and therefore bandwidth for white space Wi-Fi.

WiFi-NC : WiFi Over Narrow Channels - Microsoft Research: "We propose WiFi-NC, a novel PHY-MAC design that allows radios to use WiFi over multiple narrow channels simultaneously. To enable WiFi-NC, we have developed the compound radio, a single wideband radio that exposes the abstraction of multiple narrow channel radios, each with independent transmission, reception and carrier sensing capabilities."

Hotspot 2.0 will a recurring theme throughout 2012 (and 2013 for that matter). The ability to provide Wi-Fi hotspot security, ease of use, service and provider transparency, and allow carrier data offload, while doing so with a viable business model for telecom carriers, independent hotspot operators, as well as authentication providers (which, BTW, is not limited to carriers), will be a major milestone for the Wi-Fi industry. Marcus breaks most of this down in his blog post on the subject!

Hotspot 2.0 and the Next Generation Hotspot: "Hotspot 2.0 and the Next Generation Hotspot initiatives are possibly the most exciting areas of wireless progress occurring in 2012. For starters, these developments have a worldwide scope of influence. The technologies that come to market as a result of these programs will directly affect a large portion of the world’s population. If brought to market with extensibility, they could revolutionize the hotspot ease-of-use and security landscapes. These programs deserve the spotlight."

While you're at it, be sure to sign up to learn about Hotspot 2.0 at the upcoming Wi-Fi Mobility Symposium and Wireless Field Day 2 events being held Jan. 25-27th.

Want details of the recent WPS vulnerability affecting Wi-Fi routers? Look no further than the No Strings Attached Show podcast - Episode 02 - Wi-Fi Protected Setup, Battered or Broken?

How about making Eye-Fi, the SD cards that connects to Wi-Fi for automatic picture upload, into an industry standard? Enter the SD Association and the Wireless LAN SD standard!

Wireless LAN SD standard aims to give every SD card that Eye-Fi flair: "The Wireless LAN SD standard announced today is the SD Association's first wireless SD memory card standard combining storage and wireless capabilities. Consumers will be able to transfer pictures, videos and other content wirelessly from most existing digital cameras and digital video cameras to web-based cloud services and between SD devices over home networks."

We've also seen manufacturers embedding Wi-Fi capabilities directly into cameras (Samsung, Kodak), and camcorders too (JVC, Gobandit Live). Watch out Eye-Fi, time to shift into new territory to keep the sales flowing! Also, check out this Toshiba FlashAir wireless LAN SD hands-on video!

Toshiba FlashAir Wireless LAN SD Card

Or how about embedding an Android phone into a true point-and-shoot camera, with this interesting twist on the merger of the two capabilities in the Polaroid SC1630.

Polaroid's Frankenstein Camera / Android Phone, the SC1630

Okay, I will throw one smartphone news item at you... how about more and more phones supporting dual-band Wi-Fi. There have been others prior, I'd just like to highlight the growing trend. 5GHz phones - "Make it so!"

Notice support for 5GHz standards (11a/n) with a 1x1:1 configuration
capable of up to 150Mbps if it support 40Mhz wide channels (not verified)

Indoor location services - Google is trumpeting their indoor location and navigation technology in Google Maps 6.0. I first heard of this being deployed in my neck of the woods, at the Mall of America, and now it's at CES.

Google Maps indoor navigation: yeah, it works at CES: "Google Maps 6.0 brought a promise of indoor navigation back in November of last year, but outside of a few dozen airports, transit hubs and retail outlets, we had no idea where it was or wasn't implemented. Turns out, Google (smartly) mapped out lots of Las Vegas before the annual Consumer Electronics Show"

I'm concerned with the hype surrounding this service as over-zealous media analysts predict this will revolutionize indoor navigation and appear at most retail stores. Sure, one-off venues likes malls make sense, but an inordinate amount of time goes into mapping the venue. Don't expect large retail chains to be spending the labor and money to map each and every one of their thousands of stores anytime soon! Indoor location just ain't THAT easy :)

Home automation solutions continue to keep plugging away, hoping to find a place in consumer's hearts. Right now most of them are standalone solutions, lacking whole-home automation at an affordable price for the masses.

Belkin announces WeMo home automation system; controls electrical outlets with your smartphone, motion: "WeMo works with a home's existing electrical system and requires only a Wi-Fi® network and free smartphone app to set up and control. Simply plug the WeMo Home Control Switch into any electrical outlet and then plug in any device, such as a lamp, into the WeMo Home Control Switch. Through the free smartphone app, the item then can be turned on or off remotely or scheduled to turn on and off at set times." 

Also check out the Motorola Connected Home Gateway (tour and video).

Belkin WeMo Electrical Outlets

Wi-Fi video surveillance and baby cameras are also quite popular (see Dropcam, Samsung). Smart appliances are also back at CES this year, same as last year (see LG, Samsung). While we're at it, let's make it Siri voice-activated too! Oh, and don't forget this weird Withings Wi-Fi connected baby scale!

Samsung SmartHome Wi-Fi Washer, Dryer, and Mobile Application 

IT Industry Articles:


NFC built into MicroSD cards could bring faster consumer adoption, for uses including information retrieval (such as Google Places or Sony SmartTags), information exchange, and contactless payment (mobile wallets).

Moneto NFC microSD to bring contactless features to any Android phone: "DeviceFidelity and Spring Card Systems have teamed up on a NFC-capable microSD card that will hopefully forgo the need of buying specific mobile handsets for the privilege of contactless payments. "

Also check out this Cirque Glidepoint NFC-enabled laptop trackpad. I'm not sure how this would be of practical use, but it's interesting, that's for sure.

NFC MicroSD Card

Home networking could be made easier with higher-speed powerline networks. I think consumers will still prefer Wi-Fi, but powerline could be an attractive option for older homes with thick construction material that hinders RF propagation. Given powerline's checkered performance history and problems with power strips, filters, and surge protectors, I think it still faces challenges with consumer adoption.

HomePlug Alliance AV2 specification promises gigabit class networking over electrical wires: "With MIMO functionality (multiple-input and multiple-output) at its core, the new specification features gigabit class speeds and comes from a decade of field tests. What's more, the new standard promises to bring greater in-home coverage beyond WiFi capabilities while maintaining compatibility with existing HomePlug AV / IEEE 1901 products."

Comic for the Week:

Don't Kitchen Sink Me, Dude!

Cheers (and happy reading)!
Andrew

Wi-Fi Article Round-Up: 2012-Jan-04

A recap of interesting Wi-Fi and IT industry articles from around the interwebs.

Wi-Fi Articles:
Check out the brand new No Strings Attached Show (NSAShow) podcast for Wi-Fi professionals! It's an independent podcast created to focus on Wi-Fi industry topics. We  hope you enjoy it!

E01 – How to Become an RF Whisperer: "Welcome to episode 1 of the NSA Show Podcast! In this episode we take a look at some of the software tools used by some of the top Wireless engineers on a day to day basis."

WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) is severely compromised due to weaknesses in protocol design.

Researchers publish open-source tool for hacking WiFi Protected Setup: "On December 27, the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team issued a warning about a vulnerability in wireless routers that use WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) to allow new devices to be connected to them. Within a day of the discovery, researchers at a Maryland-based computer security firm developed a tool that exploits that vulnerability, and has made a version available as open source."

This impacts SOHO and consumer use and should not be of concern for most enterprises. I'm baffled why WPS would be used instead of a standard WPA Pre-Shared Key (PSK); the only reason I can conjure is that WPS doesn't require router setup of any kind by the user, which is probably simpler for some technically illiterate users. There is some raw data on the scope of potential impact (26.3% estimated) based on public wardriving data collected by Dan Kaminsky and WIGLE. An exploit tool is in the wild, having been quietly worked on by Tactical Network Solutions for over a year. WPS PINs can be cracked in 4-10 hours folks!
Also read the detailed paper submitted to CERT. Home users should disable WPS if possible. A demo is available by Dan over at NCI.

White-space Wi-Fi, now approved (in one city, at least)!

Wireless CCIE, here I come!: White Spaces - new wireless space launched: "KTS Wireless is the first manufacturer of a wireless device to take advantage of the white spaces spectrum re-allocation for wireless communications. They have participated in city wide trials of white space usage in Claudeville, VA and Wilmington, NC."

More info is available over at Ars Technica and Engadget.

There are so many Wi-Fi predictions for 2012, but I like this one the best!

Ruckus Wireless Wi-Fi predictions for 2012: "Wi-Fi capacity will become just as important an issue as Wi-Fi coverage in 2012 and service providers will have to deploy Wi-Fi networks with the bandwidth to cope with highly populated and dense environments"

Also check out these Wi-Fi predictions by PC Magazine (consumer focused), and inversely a list of things in tech that won't change in 2012 by GigaOm (I personally like #10 - The MacBook Air is what you get, and you'll like it!).

Wi-Fi offload will be most successful with user-controlled Wi-Fi offload preferences (not carrier controlled)!

Kineto looks to broaden potential of Wi-Fi off-load: "The potentially more compelling new feature is Smart Offload,which allows carriers and end users to choose and prioritize traffic to be off-loaded to Wi-Fi according to the whether the hotspot they are off-loading to is public or private. That feature could help carriers and users avoid the off-loading of especially sensitive traffic to public hotspots where inconsistent performance may be encountered,while letting them automatically off-load all of their traffic when logged on to a reliable private hotspot."

Most of the discussion about carrier offload focuses on data traffic and so-called "seamless" offload which implies automatic connection control by the carrier. I think that is the wrong approach, as most Wi-Fi networks are private and connections should be visible and controlled by the end-user while maintaining ease of use through persistent preference settings in the device. Offload of voice, messaging, and RCS services could also provide a more compelling offload proposition for users, especially where cellular coverage is spotty even for voice calls.

DHCP has bigger implications on the performance and security of wireless LANs than you might expect. Find out why by reading this great blog post by Marcus Burton over at CWNP.

DHCP for Wireless LAN Clients: "poor DHCP planning for your network could have a significant impact on WLAN service availability. For that reason, and for troubleshooting problems that will inevitably arise, any WLAN engineer should know the three primary ways to manage DHCP in a WLAN: bridging, relay, and proxy. We spend a lot of time and energy improving our RF environments; it would be a real shame to let DHCP ruin client connectivity."

This has to be a first of some sort! Kuala-Lumpur is mandating Wi-Fi access in some city food courts. Operators must comply by April!

Eateries to offer Wi-Fi service in April: "THE requirement for restaurants and eateries in the city centre to be Wi-Fi ready will be enforced by City Hall as early as April."

Also in the "weird news" category, Japanese vending machines now offer free Wi-Fi hotspots. Japan always takes gadget-craze to a whole new level!

Japanese vending machine doubles as WiFi hotspot -- no purchase required: "Japanese company Asahi has just unveiled an advanced dispenser that's capable of doubling as a WiFi hotspot, so good luck getting through the mobs of leechers just to buy a soda. The machine sends out the internet waves free of charge and covers about 164 feet around it"

IT Industry Articles:
What should a healthy partnership between a vendor and a VAR look like? Here's one VAR perspective on the challenges and some potential solutions by Matthew Norwood.

You Never Mentioned Me To The Client: "How bad do you want people to sell your product? If you put all of the load on the partner or distributor, with minimal contribution from the vendor side, don’t expect to get mentioned to clients. That’s not a partnership. It’s a pyramid scheme."

A true look at spectrum holdings by the major U.S. cellular carriers is eye-opening! Verizon has a definitive advantage over AT&T. Clearwire is also in a good position if it can bring a solid solution to market.

Meet the spectrum bosses: "While AT&T was distracted trying to buy T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless quietly negotiated deals with the cable providers to buy up their unused SpectrumCo 4G licenses. The Yankee Group has prepared a nifty graphic that details the current spectrum holdings of the big boys in the top 10 markets as well as what Verizon could gain by buying up the cable operators licenses"

Michael Mace at Mobile Opportunity explains the real reason why WebOS failed: lack of a killer feature. Sure there were performance problems and some bugs, but that's normal for new operating system. It needed more time and patience to work out those bugs. But HP jumped ship too soon, and Palm never gave consumers enough reason to pick up the platform in the first place.

Mobile Opportunity: Why Web OS Really Failed, and What it Means for the Rest of Us: "Palm was not rich enough and HP was not patient enough to keep investing after the first versions showed a lot of flaws.  And more importantly, there was nothing compelling enough about either product to make people buy it despite those flaws."

Other Articles:
On the personal improvement, self-actualization front, read this list of 30 things you should STOP doing. There are so many good points in this article, that I won't call out any in particular. Just go read it!

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself: "As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back."

On the lighter side, I absolutely LOVE this!

John Lennon’s Imagine – WiFi Version
"Imagine there’s no interference
Clients with neg 60 RSSI
No wireless baby cameras
No end users with MiFi
Imagine all the mobile devices, supporting 11a"

Comic for the Week:
Siri strikes again!

Cheers (and happy reading)!
Andrew