sooner rather than later

802.11n sooner, not later

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 20:01:37 -0400

The next great standard in wireless local-area networks is 802.11n, bringing potential speeds greater than wired networking to many installations. Still in draft form, with a final spec not expected for at least a year, is 802.11n something you should be looking at today? Some consultants say no, but at least one says absolutely yes. In this article, Craig Mathias presents all the reasons you should make the leap sooner rather than later. Mathias says a large increase in speed and a small chance of future incompatibility means your network needs 802.11n--now.

For more on the reasons to deploy 802.11n soon:
Read the consultant's analysis at ComputerWorld

Google your mobile

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Google wants your phone. Maybe not your PDA, but definitely your phone. That's the word of a Google exec when he tells a mobile phone and data conference that Google tools for mobile devices are coming sooner, rather than later. Google has already announced some services, but Deep Nishar says that ads and pay-based services are on the way from the large search-engine provider. The exact form that Google's foray into the wireless realm takes may be up in the air, but there's no doubt that the biggest search engine is coming to the smallest devices. Get ready.

For more on Google mobile:
- read the news story at NetworkWorld

Wireless devices, a Security Plus

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

It's easy to get hung up on the problems with technology. Wireless is no exception--there have been scores of articles written about all the ways that a wireless device can be used to defeat your enterprise security. The fact is, though, that increasing smart phone capabilities can actually be a boon for security. I first became aware of the possibility of using smart phones for control purposes when I heard about scientists controlling experiments and devices for space missions with their Palm devices. Now, your staff can respond to problems regardless of where they are when the problem arises. The issue for most organizations is figuring out rational rules for deploying smart phones. There are still companies that try to ban intelligent cell phones from the workplace (good luck with that), and there are those that try to ignore them (bad idea). When you realize that handheld mobile communications devices (smart phones, palm-sized tablets, ultra-mobile personal computers) are highly capable platforms that your employees will bring to the job, then it's clear that your best move is to figure out--sooner rather than later--how to take advantage of this proliferation of computing power. -Curtis