802.11

Apple joins the 802.11n revolution

We saw this news over on Crunchgear this morning, and sure enough, the Apple Store has a download enabling 802.11n wireless networking on the majority of its current desktops and laptops. It'll cost you $1.99 (nickel and dime much, Apple?) but for that affordable price you can upgrade an Airport Extreme-equipped Mac Pro and every Core 2 Duo-based MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac (minus the 17-inch, 1.83GHz model). We're disappointed the MacMini didn't make the cut, but then it still uses Core Duo (note the missing "2"). Perhaps when/if the little … Read more

News Roundup

-- IE 7 reaches 100 million users. Even with all those users, it still comes in second to Internet Explorer 6, which makes sense considering IE6 is the default browser on nearly every single PC. (News.com)

-- Google plugs account hijack holes. The vulnerabilities in question affected both Google Documents and GMail, giving hackers full access to your e-mail and spreadsheets. (News.com)

-- Report: Apple to charge some Mac users for wireless technologies. 802.11n, the next-generation wireless protocol, has secretly been shipping in Apple's computers for the past several months, but that functionality hasn't been … Read more

wiDock: Why not?

Silex Technology America's new wiDock is a pretty hip iPod dock that lets you sync your iPod wirelessly (if you just can't wait for that feature to show up in the iPod itself) via a built-in 802.11b/g module. Its 3.5mm stereo audio and S-Video outputs let you use the wiDock with your home stereo and television set, as well. The dock also has an IR sensor on it that lets you control playback with a standard Apple Remote. Not a bad product at around $120, though maybe not as cool as one with wireless USB, … Read more

Apple AirPort Extreme base station supports Draft N spec

Amid all the exciting phone and TV announcements that Steve Jobs made at today's Macworld keynote address was an aside that probably deserved a little more attention: the latest iteration of the AirPort Extreme base station supports the Draft N standard. The new base station not only supports the current version of the standard, but it's also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g, so it operates in both the 5GHz and the 2.4GHz bands. While backward-compatibility with 802.11b/g is common, compatibility with 11a is less so. Having 802.11a support is great because you can … Read more

Buffalo unveils dual-band Draft N router

At CES 2007, Buffalo Technology announced a Draft N dual-band wireless router, the AirStation Wireless-N Nfiniti Dual Band Router & AP (WZR-AG300NH), which supports all current Wi-Fi standards (802.11a/b/g) as well as the Draft N spec. Buffalo deviated from its vertical design with a flat-sitting base unit and a separate (cable-attached) three-antenna unit. The three antennae are arranged in a circle, and the unit resembles a small toy helicopter.

The benefit of including 802.11a support is stability when streaming voice packets or high-def video, because 802.11a operates in the 5GHz band. Common household devices such … Read more