wi-fi

No matter how robust a data plan you have on your phone, it's still probably limited and slower than Wi-Fi. It pays to do most of your downloading on your home's connection or on free hot spots. WiFi Free will help you find dozens of free places to connect, but it's nowhere near as seamless as other apps. It takes too long to set up and has a very simple layout.

When you install this supposedly free app, you'll be stuck either paying 99 cents or connecting it with your Foursquare account. If you don't … Read more

People don't like to be disconnected from the Internet, even when they're cruising along at 30,000 feet in the air. Boeing knows this, so the airplane manufacturer ended up knee-deep in spuds to test its new developments in providing Wi-Fi access to flyers.

Tech developed in a Boeing lab looked like it could bolster Wi-Fi signals in the cabin of a plane. To test it out, Boeing engineers took over a decommissioned airplane and, naturally, filled the seats up with sacks of potatoes. Wait, what? Turns out there was a good reason for the grocery shopping spree.… Read more

Apple has released three EFI firmware updates for some of its Mac systems that were released in 2012, which tackle a number of issues pertaining to sleep, Thunderbolt performance, and -- more relevantly to many users -- reliability of Wi-Fi connectivity.

The first update is a Wi-Fi update for all late 2012 Mac systems that improves compatibility with 5GHz-band Wi-Fi signals.

The update includes a new version of the AirPortBrcm4311.kext kernel extension. This update is specific for those running OS X 10.8.2 build 12C2034 (you can look this up by clicking the version number of OS X … Read more

Microsoft and Motorola aren't even close to agreeing on how much the software giant should pay for the right to use patents held by its Google-owned rival.

In court filings released yesterday and obtained by Reuters, Microsoft indicated that it would be willing to pay as much as $502,000 per year to license Motorola's H.264 video patents. The company would also pay as much as $736,000 for Motorola's 802.11 wireless technology.

Motorola, meanwhile, insists that a simple fee isn't enough -- it wants Microsoft to pay a percentage of its revenues derived … Read more

Those of you bought a Mac in the latter portion of this year may want to check out a new Wi-Fi update from Apple.

Released yesterday, the Mac Wi-Fi Update 1.0 for "all late 2012 Mac systems" is meant to improve compatibility with devices that tap into your network's 5GHz band. The update specifically supports Macs running OS X 10.8.2, currently the latest version of OS X.

Users can download the update directly from their Macs through the Software Update option or by grabbing it from Apple.

The 5GHz band is found on dual-band … Read more

You've heard of FreedomPop, right? It's the Clearwire-powered 4G service that gives you a "free" mobile hot spot and 500MB of data per month, with the option of earning extra by referring friends.

FreedomPop is still in beta, but already it has some interesting competition. Karma offers a Clearwire-powered 4G mobile hot spot with 1GB of free data, with the option of earning extra by referring....strangers.

It works like this: You pay $79 for Karma's compact, 2.1-ounce hot spot, which can share its 4G goodness with up to eight devices. After you activate … Read more

A new initiative in London will give passengers free Internet minutes in exchange for watching adverts en route to their destination.

Startup Eyetease has gotten approval from the Transport for London to roll out a new scheme for the city's iconic black cabs that will allow drivers and passengers to connect to the Internet for free in exchange for viewing ads.

Dubbed CabWiFi, the "ads for access" model makes passengers watch a 15-second advert in exchange for 15 minutes of Wi-Fi time. Drivers are given a separate login for the service, which the company touts as a way for cabbies to offset some of the roaming charges that are inflating drivers' monthly phone bills. … Read more

When you connect your Mac to a network, if you receive a proper configuration such as an IP address and DNS servers from your router then you should be able to use Mail, Safari, and other networking client programs to access various services either on the local network or through the Internet. However, sometimes it can happen that despite a seemingly healthy connection you aren't able to access Web pages and e-mail.

Recently MacFixIt reader Tom ran into such a situation with a university network: