[ILHam] NS9RC 2/12 Meeting WiFi

[Jacob Fishman]

Hello Friends,
  =20
  Please see the following:
  =20
      1.  Announcement for the 12 FEB 02 meeting of the
           North Shore Radio Club where we will demonstrate new Wi-Fi =
technology.
           All are welcome.
  =20
      2. 04 FEB 02 Wall Street Journal article on spread of  Wi-Fi =
technology.
  =20
  Please come to the meeting and post this message in your business, =
school or office.
  =20
  Thank You,
  =20
  Shel Epstein, Shel@k9ape.com
  Vice-President
  North Shore Radio Club

  =20

         NORTH SHORE RADIO CLUB 12 FEB 02 MEETING ON WI-FI =
COMMUNICATIONS

  The North Shore Radio Club's February meeting topic is Wi-Fi =
communications - wireless networking of
  corporate and home computer systems. Wi-Fi is another name for the =
IEEE Specification 802.11(b), which
  describes a digital communications protocol operating at 2.4 GHz using =
FCC Part 15 transceivers.

  Computer hobbyists are now experimenting with Wi-Fi hardware to build =
both Local and Wide Area
  Networks. For example, one group in Seattle, WA now provides itinerant =
coverage for a good portion of the
  city. Wi-Fi is currently in use in some industrial where convention =
broadband via telephone and cable
  facilities is not available. One such location is the Centex =
Industrial Park where and ISP is offering to
  subscribers.

  Our speaker - Mike DiMichele of Ace Computers in Arlington Heights - =
will describe and demonstrate some
  of the latest Wi-Fi hardware and software. Mike is an INTEL Certified =
Wireless System Designer. Mike can
  be heard every Wednesday night on WGN Radio (720 KHz AM) taking =
trouble calls from 23:30 to 0:300 and
  helping people solve their computer problems. Come prepared to =
experiment and ask questions about the role
  that Amateur Radio can play in the development of this new and =
exciting communications technology.

  The North Shore Radio meets at 19:30 the second Tuesday in every month =
(except January and October) at
  the Karger Recreation Center in Highland Park, which is northeast of =
Green Bay & Central
  Roads (See www.ns9rc.org for a map and directions). Meetings are open =
to all and there is no admission
  charge. The February meeting will be held on 12 FEB 02.

   Please contact Shel Epstein, Vice-President at Shel@k9ape.com for =
more information or check the Club's
  www.ns9rc.org website for details.

                                                        =
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
  =20

  Wireless Internet Services Rely On Smart Bottom-Up Growth=20

  =20

   E-WORLD
  By TOM WEBER - Wall St. Journal 04 FEB 02

  If you want an easy way to get high-speed Internet access, forget your =
local phone or cable company and head
  to a coffee shop or an airport. Seriously. The reason: wireless Net =
access, which is showing up in more and
  more public places.

  Somehow, the people developing wireless technology have figured out =
how to make getting online at
  broadband speeds relatively painless. And they're getting better at it =
all the time. That stands in sharp contrast
  to the tribulations so often experienced by consumers who sign up for =
cable-modem or DSL service.

  Whether this cool technology will sustain businesses and produce =
profits is still far from clear. Wireless
  Internet access has already endured some bumps, and more are surely on =
the way. But among technology
  devotees, wireless -- especially the system known as Wi-Fi, or 802.11 =
-- is generating the kind of excitement
  that marked the early years of the World Wide Web.

  Why is it so exhilarating? Partly because the pace of innovation is so =
hectic, and partly because the technology
  isn't dominated by cable or telephone monopolies. But most of all, =
it's because wireless expands the
  possibilities of the Internet. Amid all the anxiety over the future of =
broadband, these are all good reasons to
  encourage wireless whenever possible.

  If you haven't tried it yet, here's what all the fuss is about. I can =
walk into my neighborhood Starbucks, take
  out my laptop, pop in my Wi-Fi card ($72, but some new laptops have =
them built in), and turn on the
  computer. When it boots up, I crank up my Internet Explorer browser, =
which automatically goes to a login
  screen for wireless-provider MobileStar (www.mobilestar.com1). Then I =
type in a login name and password,
  and I'm online, able to read and send e-mail, chat with colleagues and =
friends via instant messages, call up
  Web pages and even listen to music. Best of all, I have fresh coffee.

  Signing up for this service required no visits by technicians, lengthy =
waits on hold or any other of the
  all-too-frequent broadband hassles. I signed up for the service online =
in about five minutes' time, in a process
  that's about as simple as ordering a book from Amazon.com.

  There are a few flaws in this picture, and they aren't trivial. First, =
the cost. I signed up for two hours of
  access, and that cost $20. (A new promotion offers unlimited use in a =
single metropolitan area for $29.95 a
  month.) The bigger problem is that MobileStar was forced to file for =
bankruptcy protection, though the
  service continues to operate.

  But the point here isn't MobileStar's business model, or even whether =
people really need to surf the Web
  from coffee shops. What's important is how easy it is to use this =
technology, how well it works and how
  quickly companies like MobileStar were able to roll out service in =
hundreds of locations. Sooner or later,
  someone will get this right.

  Sky Dayton, the founder of Internet-service provider EarthLink, hopes =
to be one of those people. His new
  company, called Boingo Wireless, offers broadband wireless service in =
hundreds of locations -- airports, hotel
  lobbies, coffee shops and other public spaces. Mr. Dayton thinks he =
knows where MobileStar went wrong.
  Trying to build a wireless network, market to users and cater to =
customers is too complicated, he says.

  Boingo (www.boingo.com2) will focus on the customer part of the =
equation and leave the construction and
  operation of networks to partner companies. It gives members access to =
a variety of wireless providers with a
  single account. Users install a piece of software that "sniffs" for a =
Wi-Fi connection, then logs them on.

  Will Boingo succeed? Beats me. But there's something very encouraging =
about Mr. Dayton's bottom-up
  approach, in which small providers are assembled into a network. It =
parallels the early growth of consumer
  Internet access, when mom-and-pop service providers sprang up all =
over.

  That could happen then because of regulations that ensured that =
everyone had access to consumers' phone lines
  even though those lines were controlled by the Bell monopolies. And =
it's one reason why many worry about
  the control that cable companies and the Bells exert over high-speed =
Net access.

  Mr. Dayton argues that wireless access -- and his Boingo network -- =
will continue to grow because it's so easy
  to set up a "hot spot" for customers to tap. It can be done with a =
relatively small amount of equipment and a
  dedicated T1 line. In fact, I could start a small "community" node =
myself -- as many others have done -- using
  my DSL connection and some inexpensive wireless gear in my apartment.

  This technology makes the cable and telephone companies very nervous. =
After all, my neighbors and I could
  use wireless access to share a single broadband connection and split =
the cost. There are already indications that
  cable companies want to try to crack down on shared connections, =
charging you extra for every computer on
  your home network, just as they now charge for extra cable boxes and =
Ma Bell used to charge for extra
  phones.

  Last week I cautioned that lawmakers and regulators should be wary of =
appeals for more broadband
  investment until slow demand for growth is addressed. Wireless is the =
exception, because wireless has the
  potential to spur demand and spark new ways of using the Internet. For =
those looking for ways to nurture
  broadband, thwarting any attempts to stifle the growth of wireless =
should become a high priority.

          URL for this article:
          =
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1012774610559377800.djm,00.html

          Hyperlinks in this Article:
          (1) http://www.mobilestar.com/=20
          (2) http://www.boingo.com/=20
          (3) mailto:tweber@wsj.com=20
          (4) http://online.wsj.com/setup/email_center=20


  Updated February 4, 2002 12:01 a.m. EST