wi-fi

Before I bought a Macbook Air, I began to fear the hassles that could potentially come with sharing files between my other devices, particularly my Android phone. What's the easiest way to transfer files between my two most beloved devices? Droid NAS is one elegant solution.

Droid NAS lets you send files back and forth between your Mac and Android phone. The app makes this possible via Wi-Fi and the built-in Bonjour protocol inside OS X.

Download and launch Droid NAS from your Android phone. Make sure that your Android device and your Macbook or Mac are all connected … Read more

Do you really wish you had X-ray vision? Sure, it would be fun to see what your neighbors are doing behind those walls -- until you see something you wish you hadn't.

Regardless, researchers at MIT have developed a sensing technology that uses low-power Wi-Fi to detect moving people. It follows other wall-penetrating sensor tech using radar and heavy equipment.

The Wi-Vi system by Dina Katabi and Fadel Adib sends out a low-power Wi-Fi signal and tracks its reflections to sense people moving around, even if they're in closed rooms or behind walls. … Read more

Apple is reportedly investigating complaints about Wi-Fi connectivity issues plaguing new 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs released earlier this month.

The new models come equipped with the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which supports up to three times faster data transfer rates in comparison with 802.11n. However, buyers of the new models have flocked to Apple's Support Communities pages to complain of lost connections and frequent reboots to remedy the situation.

"It won't stay connected to Wi-Fi" is a common theme among postings. Some posts in the Apple thread suggest the router may be to blame, … Read more

Following the release of the new 2013 MacBook Air, AnandTech, in looking at its Wi-Fi performance, found that even though the new systems include advanced high-speed Wi-Fi controllers, speeds are severely limited in software.

The new MacBook Air was announced by Apple at the recent Worldwide Developers Conference, and in addition to extended battery life, the new systems include support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking, which supports up to three times faster data rates in comparison with 802.11n.

However, there appears to be some limitation in the software currently shipping on these systems that severely limits real-world data transfer … Read more

New Apple products and Wi-Fi issues go together like, well, Apple pie and ice cream.

It usually goes like this. Apple announces a new iPad, iPhone, or MacBook, and within days users spawn long threads about Wi-Fi issues.

It's no different this time with Apple's new Haswell-based MacBook Air.

The thread on Apple's Support Communities page isn't actually that long compared with past product releases. But it's long enough to indicate that many new MBA owners aren't happy with their Wi-Fi connectivity.

"It won't [stay] connected to wifi" is a common … Read more

Instead of ignoring early adopters of the Lytro light-field camera, the company continues to reward them with new features brought to life through occasional software updates.

Since the hardware itself hasn't changed, though -- the camera is still the same as it was when it became available a little more than a year ago -- any new hardware-related features have to take advantage of what was there from the get-go. That includes the latest feature to be unlocked: Wi-Fi.

A free software update via Lytro's desktop software is all that's needed to unlock the camera's wireless … Read more

The new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard can't get more official than this.

The Wi-Fi Alliance today launched its Wi-Fi Certified ac certification program, paving the way for the new standard to be easily adopted and interoperate among different hardware vendors.

This is significant since the new standard offers up to three times the wireless speed of the existing and ever-popular Wireless-N (802.11n) standard, enabling support for even the most demanding applications such as Ultra HD, 4K video, multimedia, and fast file data transfer within the wireless home network.

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance's recent poll, the number … Read more

WiFi Photo Transfer makes the process of moving images between iPhone and desktop as easy as a few quick clicks, streamlining a once-frustrating process. For whatever reason, moving images between an iOS device and your computer has long been an unnecessarily complicated process. For those with a Mac it was okay, but for PC-users, in iTunes, it required a third-party software or direct transfer of the images. WiFi Photo Transfer removes that extra layer of difficulty and allows you to move photos with a few, easy-to-follow steps.

WiFi Photo Transfer makes it possible to bypass transfer issues and simply access … Read more

Taiwan is making it easy for foreign tourists to stay connected.

The government recently announced that international travelers to the country will be able to access free Wi-Fi at 4,400 hot spots at indoor public spaces throughout the country. By showing a passport, tourists can open an account on the 1Mbps iTaiwan Wi-Fi network that's found at major tourist spots, transportation hubs, cultural establishments, and government offices, covering much of the island nation.

… Read more