Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Pocket Wi-Fi sniffers end missing hotspot misery

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 03:40:01 -0400

Pocket Wi-Fi sniffers end missing hotspot misery
By Jan Libbenga
Posted: 18/08/2003 at 10:10 GMT

Road warriors know the frustration: you're in a foreign city and want
to find a Wi-Fi access point. Normally that means looking on the
Internet for site directories that can tell you where the nearest
hotspots are located, such as WiFinder or WiFiMaps. Most of the
time, it's trial and error.

Now, there is a much easier solution. US peripherals maker
Kensington has introduced worlds first: a detector that will locate
Wi-Fi networks. No more booting up your notebook to find a Wi-Fi
signal.

The small device detects 802.11b
and 802.11g signals from up to 200
feet away and filters out other wireless
signals, including cordless phones,
microwave ovens and Bluetooth
networks. Three lights indicate signal
strength. For $29.95 that's seems a
bargain.

However, Wi-Fi Finder is not perfect.
There is no display information on the
owner of the network or whether the
hotspot is commercial, free or private; nor is there any information
about the level of security provided (WEP or WPA, for example).

Another US company, WiFisense, based in New York City, has a
different approach altogether. Its wearable scanner not only detects
the networks' signal strength, it will also indicate if they the hotspot is
password protected or not. It then uses patterns of light and sound to
announce its availability, quality and accessibility.

But it doesn't stop there: the technology can easily fit in any
wearable, everyday object: laptop bags, jackets, belts and the like.
Currently the WiFisense is a handbag.

"A haaaandbaaaag?" as Lady Bracknell might exclaim.

There are 64 LEDs embedded in the front of the handbag, which
light up to acknowledge Wi-Fi presence at various signal strength. If
there isn't any Wi-Fi activity in the vicinity, the LEDs look just like
some beads on the bag's surface. Isn't that neat?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/32374.html

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