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Linksys' Max Stream router can be the center of a mesh network
It's CES, and that means it's time for Linksys to unveil yet another WiFi router -- but this one could be particularly important if you're tired of dead spots in coverage. Its new Max Stream AC2200 is a typical (if quick) tri-band router with 2.2Gbps of combined bandwidth, but includes built-in mesh networking support. If your WiFi bogs down in the bedroom, you can add Velop nodes to keep things humming. You don't have to buy a dedicated mesh system (or litter your home with full-size routers) to guarantee consistent speeds.
MaxStream announces XBee, the 40-mile range ZigBee bridge
Ah, Zigbee, that funnily-named wireless mesh network that has investors excited with thoughts of people controlling all sorts of things from all sorts of locations with Bluetooth-like two-way communication. MaxStream, the company already all over the whole 40 mile wireless thing, announced the XBee Xtender, promising to extend ZigBee and 802.15.4 networks up to 40 miles. Damn right we said miles. The XBee comes in an aluminum casing with dipole antennas and runs at the 900 MHz 1-Watt XTend frequency. This is pretty big news seeing as how ZigBee networks are designed to be so low-power, yet this little modem uses a powerful band at such a long distance; as for low cost (which is usually the words ZigBee proponents follow the low-power tagline), the XBee is set to start at $399. For 40 miles though, that's, what, just under $10 a mile?[Thanks, Vernon J]
