thames
Latest
Uber still can't have cars in London, but it's buying a ferry on the Thames
Uber plans to rebrand London's Thames Clipper commuter service Uber Boat.
Airbnb is floating a liveable house down the River Thames
If you happen to be in London this week, we recommend keeping one eye locked on the Thames. Airbnb is sailing a bright blue house down the iconic river to celebrate the passing of the Deregulation Act, which gives London residents permission to "share" their property for up to 90 days each year. Best of all, you can actually live in Airbnb's unusual floating home -- it comes with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room, as well as a small garden complete with lawn, trees and a dog kennel. Of course, this is just a publicity stunt, but it's a creative one that could brighten up London's iconic landmark. Airbnb is also letting a lucky few spend the night in the house this Friday, with just a few important house rules; no swimming in the Thames, no floating house parties and "no floating away." I wonder if that last one includes tying hundreds of colourful balloons to the roof?
River Thames to bathe in upgraded long-distance WiFi
Not that a view over the Thames ever gets old, but commuters should soon find it a bit easier to check their inboxes while they're on or next to the water. Californian WiFi specialist Ruckus says that its wireless steering technology -- which increases network range by up to 4x by directing signals around obstacles and interference -- has just been picked for an upgrade to BT's Thames WiFi service. The new "carrier-grade" equipment should be activated within the next couple of months and will stretch out along the full 27 meandering miles of river that are already covered by traditional antennas. With better hotspot access spreading across the Tube network, black cabs and now the water, EE's central London LTE service will have even more to prove in terms of raw speed. [Image credit: Getty Images]
River Thames' banks now WiFi-enabled via mesh networking
This one is most definitely for the kid in all of us. C'mon, at age seven, visiting the River Thames in central London is probably on the top ten most unexciting ways to spend a crucial week of summer vacation, but if you could snag a WiFi signal whilst the 'rents oohed and ahhed at all the lovely sights, now we're talking. Thanks to the Thames Online mesh networking system, bored children and internet addicts alike can disregard the beauty around them and focus more on things that truly matter, as the service stretches 22-kilometers (about 12.5-miles) along the banks from Millbank near the Houses of Parliament to the Millennium Dome in Greenwich. The system utilizes equipment from Proxim Wireless -- namely the company's 100 ORiNOCO AP-4000MR mesh access points -- and adding CCTV video surveillance cams, VoIP channels, and GPS capabilities are all in the cards. Sadly, this turnkey service is far from gratis, as users will be forced to hand over £2.95 ($5.79) for one hour, £5.95 ($11.68) for a day, £7.95 ($15.61) for a week, or £9.95 ($19.53) for a month of quasi-unlimited service.[Via WiFi-Planet]
