If the beauty of wireless Internet is the freedom to work from anywhere, then then bane is wireless dead spots. Chances are, if where you live or work has more than a single room you’ve encountered them. In some cases the spots aren’t necessarily dead but maybe they’re just weaker than you’d like. In my house, it’s the master bedroom. If I want to sit up and watch Netflix, I have to make sure I’m doing it on the lowest possible settings. Anything else just doesn’t work.
I was sent a wireless range extender from Diamond the other day that promised to be the easiest way to get rid of dead spots or extend your coverage further than it presently travels. With a simple plug it in and forget it operation, I had high hopes but I was pretty skeptical. Nevertheless, I dug in to see what I could find.
Setup of the device (model number WR300N if you’re keeping track) is fairly simple. You’ll need to plug it into the wall (it’s about the size of a normal power brick) and then run an ethernet jack to from it to your computer. Once you’ve done that, there’s a web-based GUI that you’ll use to configure the device.
What’s interesting about the WR300N is that it can work in a few different modes. It can be a standalone wireless access point, giving you wireless access where you might not have had it before. You can have it set as a wireless repeater, keeping you from having to connect to different networks. Finally you can have it as a wireless bridge. Let’s say that you have an old Xbox without a wireless connector. Just plug in the WR300N near it, then run your cable between them for Xbox Live access.
There’s an included ethernet cable in the box, as well as a CD with “utilities”. What those are, I couldn’t tell you as I didn’t need to insert the CD and my drive on my MacBook Pro is broken anyway. Other than that, there’s not much else to say about the contents because there aren’t any more.
Of course the real question is whether it works. The answer to that is that yes, it works quite well. I mistakenly set up the device as an access point at first, causing me a bit of confusion. A quick look at my settings, however, and I had things back to normal operation as a repeater.
Theoretical speed on the device is listed at 300 Mbps. Clearly, unless you’re running a network at home that will support that speed, your milage may vary. I didn’t notice any difference in connecting via the WR300N and connecting directly to my wireless router, however and transitioning between the two was seamless.
I can’t speak for the range on the WR300N other than to say that I could walk across the street from my house and still keep a signal. Obviously then it’s going to work within the house. I had carefully placed the device where I thought it would get the best range and it seemed to work without a hitch. For me, that was midway through the front part of my house, on a wall that had line-of-sight access to all of the rooms further to the side.
If I had to pick a gripe about the device, it would be its industrial design (as you can see in the image at the top of this post). It’s somewhat larger than I’d like, and being a large, black box hanging on your wall fits nobody’s definition of sleek or sexy.
Netflix in HD from my bedroom worked great. Repeated tests on different speed test sites showed that I was getting the same speeds when connecting through the WR300N that I’d get when sitting in my office. Typically speaking, in the front of the house, I lose around 30% of my speed so this is a welcome improvement.
In short, the WR300N does what it says on the box – it extends the usable range of your wireless Internet connection. For around $50, that’s a heck of a lot easier to swallow than running new cables to other wireless access points in your house. MIMO, WEP, WPA and WPA2 keep you going further while staying safe and the web-based GUI is actually quite simple to use. If you’re having slowdowns and dead spots, it’s the answer that you’ve been looking for.
Amazon confirms that Kindle Touch 3G will only browse the Web over WiFi
Unveiling its latest Kindle e-reading and tablet devices last week, Amazon introduced a number of new hardware and software features to further cement its place as the world’s top bookseller and seller of e-books.
The Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G saw Amazon bring touch-support to its e-reader, slimming the device down and making it lighter for owners but it seems that wasn’t the only thing that was cut from the new e-reader after Amazon confirmed that Touch 3G owners will not be able to use the Kindle browser to visit their favourite websites.
Previously, Amazon has enabled owners of its Kindle 3G devices to make use of free 3G wireless with no annual contracts or monthly fees, allowing them to download books anywhere without having to find a nearby Wi-Fi connection. Not only was this useful locally, it enabled Kindle users to use their 3G wireless connection across the world.
However, that has been curtailed by Amazon, which issued the following statement to clarify its stance in response to user questions on the official Amazon Kindle forums :
Whilst the announcement has frustrated potential owners, the decision is not a surprising one considering Amazon subsidises 3G connections on its devices, incurring costs when users take their devices abroad or subject them to heavy use. Amazon did rise the price of the 3G-enabled Kindle Touch by $%0 from the Wi-Fi model to offset some of the cost but with users likely to be browsing more on their touch-enabled devices, the company may be looking to limit costs in that department.
Users will still be able to visit Wikipedia and download their books, they just won’t be able to check sports scores, check their email or visit their favourite websites.
US Army Shows Off Its New Smart Weapons on Video Sharing Sites
Air bursting frag shells, armor piercing rounds and shaped charges all sound like things out of the latest Gears of War game, but they’re actually weapons that the US Army is testing now. Just to make sure that you know how cool their new weapons are, they’re using video sharing sites like Vimeo to get the word out by posting videos of some of them, like the XM-25 computerized smartgun.
The XM-25 is an adaptable smart weapon that allows for the use of some crazy ordinance. The weapon can be loaded with a variety of 25mm projectiles that can cause damage in all sorts of interesting ways. It has a computerized sight that allows the user to program the exact distance that the artillery shells explode in midair for instance, allowing soldiers to bypass enemy cover. The video below is a demonstration of the various features of the XM-25 and it looks like a hybrid of the tech in Aliens and Predator, only scarier.
XM25
In addition to the frag shells in the video above the Army says that the semi-automatic XM-25 could work with a variety of other ammo like rubber slugs for riot control, door-breaching shells and stun bombs. There are currently five prototypes of the XM-25, dubbed ‘the Punisher’ by soldiers, in the field in Afghanistan. The manufacturer ATK claims that the airburst weapons system used in the XM-25 provides the soldier with a ‘300% to 500% increase in hit probability targets out to 500 meters’.
I have a feeling that Arnold might have had an easier time finishing off that predatory alien if he would have had an XM-25 in the jungle .
The Army has about 40 videos up on their Vimeo channel showcasing experimental weapons and tactics. Army recruitment has always used the media as a way to reach potential soldiers and social media is just the newest way that they’re spreading the word and attempting to build hype for enlistment.