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San Francisco starts offering free WiFi, but only on Market Street
San Francisco promised city-scale free WiFi nearly seven years ago, and today it's finally acting on that promise -- if not quite with the same ambition it had in 2007. The city is now offering up to 50Mbps of gratis wireless internet, but only along a 3-mile stretch of Market Street between the Embarcadero and Castro Street. This is effectively a test run for the future park WiFi project, CIO Marc Touitou tells AllThingsD; any wider coverage will depend on how well this initial experiment works out. Despite the limited coverage, this could still be a boon to poorer residents and tourists who would otherwise stay offline.
Ruckus Wireless' MetroFlex DZ brings outdoor WiFi inside
Although we wouldn't advise that you use Ruckus Wireless' latest gizmo on a faraway neighbor's stray WiFi signal if you're housin' it in Singapore, the MetroFlex DZ allows you to pull (legal) "outdoor, metro wireless internet signals" into your home with a single device. This dual-zone device didn't change much in the design department from the media-centric 2825 MediaFlex router, but its patent-pending smart antenna technology "dynamically selects the best sending and receiving antennas for incoming and outgoing WiFi signals," allowing subscribers of outdoor broadband to provide WiFi in the home. You'll also find the usual bevy of security measures here, such as IP management, discrete SSIDs, WEP, and WPA2, but those hoping to snag a bit of draft-N action here will be sorely disappointed. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but hopefully it'll help out you lucky souls with citywide WiFi floating around.[Via TheWirelessReport]
Ruckus Wireless teams with Slim for 2825 MediaFlex router
Sure, your standard old WiFi router might serve up the internets with little hesitation, and should work just fine with the 802.11b/g Squeezebox, but if you want to crank your multimedia streaming chops up a notch, Slim Devices has teamed up with Ruckus Wireless to build a new MediaFlex multimedia router that does your generic box one better. The router includes fancy tech that purportedly will deliver "longer range and unprecedented Wi-Fi stability by directing signals over the best path through the air at any given time." We can't be certain of how these magiks are performed, but we've got a photo of their special antenna, which can be viewed after the break. The 2825 MediaFlex router is also designed to prioritize audio streaming over other traffic, so you should get a steady stream, no matter what interference or BitTorrent action may come. If you've got the smarts, and Squeezebox isn't your game, it's also possible to set video streams as a top priority, or even data if you're a torrent fiend. All of this is to ensure you can keep your media streams hic-up free, which can sometimes be rather difficult with normal WiFi routers, though it's your call as to whether to problem warrants a specialized $159 router. The MediaFlex is available now by its lonesome or as a bundle with a Squeezebox .
Wait, you CAN reliably stream HDTV over 802.11g?
That's what Ruckus Wireless would have you believe anyway. Kevin already told us that his experience with b/g streaming was inconsistent at best, who are we to believe? The proof will be shown at CES however, where they will be showing a PC streaming high definition content to several devices equipped with their routers and wireless adapters, including a laptop, Xbox 360, set-top box and PDA. According to their CEO Selina Lo they are applying "internet techniques" to wireless and can route around obstructions and interference in real-time. Uh....sure, I'll believe it when I see it.While Kevin's cats won't be in attendance, he will and I'm told is more than willing to cough a hairball onto one of the antennas to make sure it is a fair test.
