Irunabiz: Technology » Wireless

My Obligitory iPad Review

Jeff Spiller — Mon, 31 May 2010 23:17:00 +0000

I’ve been using an iPad for that last 5 days. The model I’m using has 16gb with WI-FI only (no 3g wireless). During my time with the iPad, I’ve mostly used it to connect to my corporate network via WI-FI and VPN. After the first hour of Apple induced euphoria, I came back down to earth and started to use it. Here’s what I concluded:

Pluses:

Size–its a lot smaller and lighter than my MacBook Air.
Battery Life– It can go nearly 2 days with normal use in WI-FI mode.(I didn’t have the 3g model and I didn’t use bluetooth so those battery hogs could effect battery life if used). Its a lot longer then any laptop or even my iPhone, for that matter.
Screen. Crisp and Bright.
Applications. Lots of them, specifically for the iPad. You have the force of Apple behind it and, with that, tons of iPad specific apps.
App Store. The App Store is easy to navigate, and does a great job of differentiating iPhone apps from iPad Apps.
Email. If you like the iPhone email you’ll love the iPad Email

Neutral

Web Browser. The iPad size browser is great. Its easy to read, and pages display properly on it (with the exception of Flash*). On the other hand some advanced web features don’t work on the iPad, for instance, Regular Google Docs won’t work properly on the iPad, so you have to use the less powerful the mobile version.
Keyboard. It’s a lot better than the small touch screen keyboards, but you still wouldn’t want to type more than a paragraph on it.
iPhone Apps, Yes, they load and work, but they are the same size as the iPhone. If you want to make them bigger, all you do is zoom in. (Yes, they are bigger after you zoom, but they look hokey.)

Bad

No Camera (Supposedly coming later in the year). I would be nice to use Skype for with video.
No External Memory. You get what you get when you buy it, and its not easy to move data.
No Removable Battery. Someday you will need a new battery, but when you do you’ll have to send the whole unit away.
iTunes. You still have to manage the unit with iTunes. iTunes never made sense to me before, and still doesn’t now.

I think that the iPad is great tool if you understand its limitations. It’s great for entertainment, light web browsing, and checking email. If you travel frequently, but don’t need a full laptop, the iPad is very convenient. Make sure, however, you test any sites you need to use before get one so you are not unpleasantly surprised.

* Flash refers to Adobe Flash, a tool often used to add interactivity and video to websites. Apple does not support, or currently plan to support Flash on the iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad

Having a Backup Plan when the Internet is Down

Jeff Spiller — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:00:03 +0000

As you know from my last post, I’ve moved a lot of my computer operations from my PC to Google. One of the downsides of doing this is that, if the internet is down, so are you. That’s just what happened to me last week. At 11 pm I turned off my computer and the internet was working, and at 8 am the next morning, no internet. I troubleshot the issue and established that I wasn’t getting a signal from my provider, called, waited on hold, and learned that someone would have to come out the next day to fix it. NEXT DAY.!… that’s at least 24 hrs without the internet!, so now what. Now its time for my backup plan.

My backup plan is simple and cheap. If nothing urgent is happening I can use my iPhone to keep up with email. If I have a major project on the other hand, our local library has free Wi Fi, so I can pack up my laptop and go there. Its not complicated, but I’ve thought it out in advance so I don’t have to panic. (I just checked mail on my iPhone this time since nothing urgent was happening.) You need a plan too.

Options include:

A list of internet cafe’s in your area
A list of free Wi-Fi locations in your area
Tethering your phone
Dial-up
A Wi-Fi modem from your wireless carrier
Verizon’s MiFi cellular modem (It lets you setup a mini wireless network)
Wi -Max (a long distance high speed wireless service available in a few large cities)

Consider these, and see what available and feasible for your business — and make a plan. I recommend a two phase plan, since sometimes ‘Plan B’ fails, and you need to try ‘Plan C’. (For instance, if the phone and the DSL are both out, dial-up as your ‘Plan B’ won’t work.)

Good Luck.

Security Nag

Jeff Spiller — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:31:19 +0000

In the last couple of weeks, a nasty virus has been going around, so I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that you need to secure you computers.

1. Use a firewall (built in to windows) make sure its turned on.

2. Install antivirus/antispyware software, use it, and and keep it updated..

3. Keep your system updated. (Turn on automatic updates)

4. Secure your wireless network.

Resources

Microsoft Security Information

Secure your Wireless Network Please!

Secure your #$%** Wireless Network, Please !!!

Jeff Spiller — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:04:23 +0000

I Know I already have done a post on wireless security but I’m doing another one because of my iPhone. One of the nice features of the iPhone is that you your can connect to a wireless network to surf the web, and you can set it to ask you to join wireless networks when it finds one and guess what? you cannot believe how many open (unsecured) wireless networks I can see (without even logging into them). Frequently, when I tell the network owner about this a get one of the following answers.

“No one can get close enough to connect”

“There’s nothing on my network worth accessing”

“It’s too much trouble”

Let me deal with these excuses:

1. No one can get close enough. Yes its true.. for reasons nobody understands, in your house you have to be right next to the wireless access point to get a strong signal, but the specified maximum distance for wi-fi is just over 100ft, and I guarantee that somewhere (that you are not) its getting that range. That may be your neighbors house or someone’s car (with a laptop) across the street. Besides, if the hacker is at all serious about getting “free wi-fi” he probably has an antenna that significantly extends his range. So unless you live in the middle of 50 acres of land surrounded by barbed wire, and patrolled by dogs, someone can get your wi-fi signal.

2. There’s nothing on my network worth accessing. Let me list the stuff on your network worth accessing.

A. Bandwidth – Someone else can download files, movies, etc and slow down your network

B. Your Networks Identity. If I want to access illegal sites or download illegal files (Pirated Software, Music, etc) I can use your network, and then the download will be traced to you not me. When the RIAA or FBI, or whomever, shows up at your door, you are going to have some explaining to do.

C. Your Network Communications. Even if you don’t have any computers on your network but just hook up with a laptop, the somewhat savvy hacker can capture all of your you send over the network (like logins and passwords to your banking site).

D. Anything on any computer on your network. Once a hacker has access wi-fi connection, they can at their leisure find any weakness, or un-patched security holes in your network, and steal everything other piece of information of of value on your network.

3. Its too much trouble. See #2 above

So please read this post (or someone else’s if its better) and get your network secured, while wireless security isn’t the greatest, and it cannot guarantee that you won’t get hacked, It will make it easier for the hacker to hack your neighbors unsecured network instead of yours.

Please Note: It is illegal to connect to someone else’s’ network without their permission. I only connect to wireless networks with permission.

Apple IPhone 3G: The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Jeff Spiller — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:43:42 +0000

I had the opportunity to get a new IPhone 3G last week. I have been using a Blackberry 8700 for the last two years and I just started testing out the IPhone for my day-job employer. So I figured that I would give you a my take on this phone.

The Good. The web browser is great. You can finally look at most websites and see them in the format that they were intended (No Flash or Java though). The price of $200 for the 8GB phone (with a contract) actually is better than a lot of other smart phones on the market. It also has the mobile me service (costs extra) that allows you to keep the phone synced with your computer. It has built in email, calendar, contacts, a GPS, Music and Camera. It integrates nicely with outlook and google mail, and google provides optimized applications for the device. The calculator is nice because the touch screen buttons mimic an standard calculator, and you don’t have to figure out what keys do what. The touch screen is pretty intuitive for basic operations. All applications have to be approved by Apple before they can be offered the Apple store, so they are less likely to work cause problems with the phone.

The Bad. Battery life, with what I would consider moderate usage, I got about 12 hrs out of the battery, my 8700 got about 36 hrs, and there is no way to change the battery on the IPhone. (Of course the 8700 didn’t have power draining features like 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, and the screen was half the size.) It doesn’t have a built in task (to-do) application, and cannot sync tasks or notes with Outlook. You can’t categorize contacts, for instance business, personal, family, etc. Some of the useful options are buried in the settings, for instance the ability to use CAPS LOCK, is hidden in the general settings and is defaulted to off. The built in mapping application is rudimentary at best. There is also no way to add a memory expansion card. All Applications have to be approved by Apple so there are less apps available than for some other smart phones since the testing and approval process can be time consuming.

The Ugly. The phone is only available through AT&T so if they don’t cover your area, or you don’t wat to switch, you are not getting an IPhone. In order to activate your Iphone you have to provide a credit card for an ITunes store account, even if you are not going to buy anything.

(By the way, I can’t decide if I like the soft keyboard better than the keyboard on the Blackberry. It takes some getting used to, but it works ok.)

IPhone and ITunes are Trademarks of Apple, Inc.

Blackberry is a Trademark of Research In Motion Limited.

Secure your Wireless Network

Jeff Spiller — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:16:51 +0000

From my house I can access four unsecured wireless (Wi-Fi) networks. If I wanted to, in addition to surfing the Internet on their dime, I could access all of the files on their network and steal any confidential information that they had. (which is a federal crime). If you have a wireless network you need to follow some simple steps to secure it:

1. Get out the directions for your wireless router set the security to WEP128, or WPA (only if all you have is windows computers and not other devices like a Wii, or a Wi-fi ) . You’ll need a 16 digit password. Make sure you write it down you will need it later.

2. If your router has a default password, change it.

3 . Go to each of your computers and setup your secure wireless network with the password.

Setup a Windows XP Secure Wireless Connection http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/wireless.mspx#4
Setup a Windows Vista Secure Wireless Connection
http://www.ehow.com/how_2172150_wireless-connection-laptop-windows-vista.html