dead zone
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Ask Engadget: best WiFi repeater setup for killing wireless dead zones?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Doug, who seems pretty fed up with those troubling WiFi dead zones in his abode. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I have a Wireless-N router, but it had to go in the basement. As a result, there are a few areas that get little or no signal in my home. What can I do to fill those deadspots?" So, networking gurus of the world -- what's your repeater setup like? We're aiming for something simplistic, something that a consumer could toss together without having to hire the equivalent of a Geek Squad. Any swell repeater / router recommendations for a brother in need?
Using Skype to battle cell phone dead zones
Is the cell coverage in your area not up to par? Whether you happen to have steel walls or live where there are no cell phone towers or trees cleverly disguised as cell phone towers, some of us must deal with the reality that, while we own arguably the most innovative gadget in recent years in the iPhone, we may not have had the best carrier to accompany it. One way to address this "bag of hurt" is through the Skype [iTunes link] app. If you don't already have the Skype app, download it -- it's a free download in the App Store. Next, you'll need to make sure that Skype stays online when the screen is locked. This is accessible via the Skype app preferences within the iPhone's main settings page. After this is enabled, the Skype app continues to run in the background and maintains a Wi-Fi connection even after the sleep/awake button is pushed -- or if it's set to automatically lock after a given time interval. Second, because Skype requires a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls, you'll also want to make sure that whatever cell phone dead zone you're at also happens to have a Wi-Fi connection. This workaround obviously isn't without its weaknesses. Assuming that most of those calling you would prefer dialing a phone number instead of your Skype user name, you'll likely need a separate phone number. One option is SkypeIn, which marries Skype to a real phone number. The service costs $18 for three months or $60 for a whole year. And if you happen to have a Google Voice phone number, directing your calls to your SkypeIn number is an option. Alternatively, you could forward all of your iPhone calls to said Skype number whenever you anticipate a cell phone dead zone -- say, before you enter your house, if you have bad reception there. This is accessible via the Phone preferences within the iPhone's main settings page. Doing this, you won't have to give out multiple numbers to your friends and family. One of the other drawbacks of this alternative is that while an audible indicator (a ringing noise) is present when you're receiving a call, a visual one isn't. In other words, you may need some cat-like ears to know when you're receiving a call. A seamless solution this is not, but it nonetheless provides a possible workaround until more cell towers are built in your area, or until a push-based solution is available for Skype. Readers, tell us what you're doing to remedy cell reception issues. Be it a do-it-yourself tin can signal booster or anything else, let us know what's worked for you.
PTR Notes: New Arena weapons, Fanatacism tweak, Hunter dead zone
A new build of patch 2.3 has landed on the public test realms with a few notable changes, as follows: Three new Arena weapons: A caster staff, a gun, and a bow. The Retribution Paladin talent Fanaticism has been changed to decrease threat only when Righteous Fury is not active. The range for a Hunter's ranged attacks has been changed from 1 - 41 yards, eliminating their dead zone. The Mage's Ritual of Refreshment now requires 2 arcane powder instead of a rune of portals. The 4-piece bonus on the Mage PvP set has been changed to 2 seconds off the cooldown of Blink. Sorry, Hunters, but those cool-looking Zul'Aman bears are no longer tamable. Mats for the Adamantite Arrow Maker reduced. Was: Adamantite Frame, Simple Wood x10, Fel Iron Bolts x2. Now: Adamantite Bar, Simple Woodx4, Fell Iron Bolts x2. However, the schematic no longer specifies that the item has multiple charges. Whether this means the new version of the Adamantite Arrow Maker is single-charge or if that particular information was cut off the tooltip for some reason, I can't say. Any engineers out there want to hop on the PTRs, make one, and let us know if the item itself has been changed? Darnassus has its own guild bank now. Ogri'la potions buffed. New Sporebat pet for exalted Sporregar faction. New level 70 elite guards outside Zul'Aman. However, these guards certainly aren't graphically themed for Zul'Aman (and why would Tauren and Orcs be guarding a Troll temple?), and I wonder if they've been added to the PTRs to curtail the PvP-fest happening outside. [Thanks, Paldyn!]
Why do hunters have a dead zone?
If you've never played a Hunter, you may be unfamiliar with the concept of a "dead zone." The term is used to describe a certain distance between the Hunter and their target in which the target is too close for the Hunter to fire ranged weapons and yet too far away for the Hunter to use melee attacks. It's an interesting feature of the Hunter class that is shared by none of the other ranged-attack classes: all of the casters, for example, can throw painful spells at you even when you're right in their face. Many Hunters argue that the dead zone is entirely unnecessary -- and weakens the class by giving it a range in which it's completely helpless. Some Hunters argue that their dead zone should simpy be removed while others suggest the addition of some mid-ranged attacks or allowing regular ranged attacks to work in the dead zone with reduced damage, to at least allow them something. (Though the melee classes are likely to disagree: the melee zone in which they do their best damage is much smaller than the Hunter's ranged zone in which they do their best damage.) But what do you, Hunters and non-Hunters, think about the issue? Is the dead zone required to keep Hunters balanced? Or is it nothing but a weakening nuisance?
NYC taxis to map out dead zones in mobile network
We've already seen an influx of hybrid vehicles take their places in the mammoth fleet of New York City taxis, and now that the Taxi 2.0 will reportedly sport GPS tracking an built-in televisions, what else is really left to implement? Stockholm-based Ericsson has apparently seized the opportunity in using the random, perpetual motion of NYC's yellow mainstays to better itself (read: make some coin), and has recently received permission from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to install small devices "about the size of a computer modem" into cabs in order to "feed information about signal strength and clarity to engineers." The research, which has already been completed in other areas of the world, is being conducted in the Big Apple on behalf of a yet-to-be-named carrier, and it purportedly hopes to more accurately map out dead zones in mobile phone networks. Currently, "at least one fleet" has signed up to participate, and others could join in considering the royalties that will be paid out for tagging along on those zany routes through the city. Of course, this whole system should be relatively invisible to cab riders, but a continual voice recording of furious (and disconnected) passengers could probably work equally well in pinpointing those dead spots.[Via Textually]
