Intel has completed the design of its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip, pairing it with a previously announced multiband WiMAX/WiFi radio to create the WiMAX Connection 2300 chipset.

This chipset was demonstrated last week at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong by executive vice president Sean Maloney. ?WiMAX Connection 2300 will help speed the deployment of mobile WiMAX and accelerate the availability of a new wave of ?personal broadband? laptops,? he claimed.

The baseband chip features multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) functionality to enhance signal quality and data throughput and the chipset brings Intel a step closer to an integrated wireless SoC. This, it claims, will help drive WiMAX adoption by maximizing usable space in mobile devices.

Users wanting to add a mouse to their notebook computer should take a closer look at Logitech’s new VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse. Ergonomic curves, a low-profile design, and a soft rubber grip make the VX as comfortable as it is diminutive. The mouse has five programmable buttons and a scroll wheel that has two scrolling modes. By default, the VX’s One-Touch search button provides quick access to search results in the user’s preferred search engine. A pair of AAA batteries will power the mouse for approximately six months, depending on usage.

The 2.4GHz laser receiver extends just 8mm from the USB port, letting it remain plugged in without creating an ungainly bulge. You can also store it in the VX’s battery compartment. The Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse is compatible with Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later. The package includes the mouse, receiver, batteries, Logitech SetPoint software, a protective travel pouch, and a three-year limited warranty.

Belkin’s N1 Vision wireless router is the first to feature an interactive display that provides at-a-glance access to important network information. The display details upload and download speeds, available network bandwidth, the number of connected devices, and guest access keys. And if your network goes on the fritz, the N1 Vision displays troubleshooting information designed to help you correct the problem.

Belkin also introduced several USB hubs aimed at making it more convenient to add USB ports to your PC. The Swivel Hub has a two-way connector that rotates 180 degrees, letting you add up to four USB devices to your computer without obscuring any other ports. The Clip-On Hub attaches to the edge of a tabletop or a bundle of cables and includes two top and two front USB ports. The Hub-To-Go features a 3-port desktop hub and a detachable 4-port travel hub. The travel hub’s rotating connector lets it connect to a USB port without obscuring any other ports.

Why pay for has-been shock jocks and aging rocker DJs on satellite radio when you can access literally thousands of stations over IP just as easily? The Phoenix IP Radio puts a decades-old hardware face on new age Internet radio. The 802.11b/g device streams online stations, playlists, and even RSS feeds from a Wi-Fi hotspot or your home router. The Phoenix IP Radio weighs 2 pounds and includes rechargeable batteries for total portability. The eight preset keys can tune into most of the major audio formats at very high sample rates. And, of course, what would a radio be without a clock and alarm so you can rock the neighbors at 6 a.m. at the Ramada Inn?

The Celluon Laserkey keyboard uses a red laser to project the image of a keyboard onto a surface on which the main device can sit.There is also a small
sensor to pick up movement across the displayed image and follow keystrokes.

It has all the usual keys plus shortcut keys for accessing the web,email and address books.There’s also a mouse function which displays a touch pad with
two buttons rather than a keyboard.

It can talk to Palm, PocketPC, Windows Mobile 2003,Symbian and Blackberry devices,and makes typing on such devices a lot easier.We had a little hassle setting it up,but this was more of a problem with Bluetooth on the handheld.

It’s necessary to be a bit more precise than with a normal keyboard,but it’s not too hard to get the hang of. While the keyboard works well, the price, the fiddly nature of setting up a Bluetooth connection and the need to change one’s typing style are likely to put people off.

Like the US Robotics Internet Speaker phone, the Linksys Internet Cordless Telephony Kit is designed to work with the Skype internet telephone software. It includes a cordless handset,charger and a USB base station which connects to the PC. Setting it up was easy,with the software explaining each stage.

However,we had to restart the PC before being able to import Skype contacts,and the handset tried to take over the PC’s speakers, resulting in it issuing other sounds.These weren’t hard to fix but shouldn’t have happened.Once in,though,the handset was easy to use,and the quality was good.

The price tag is higher than its rivals and it can’t make landline calls unlike some of those rivals. Overall,it has its plus points but the cost and small bugs hold it back.

A few years ago deploying a secure wireless network was a real challenge. The closest thing to a standard you could hope to use was some sort of dynamically keyed WEP scheme. If that wasn’t enough (and it probably wasn’t), then you had to go to a totally proprietary solution. These solutions offered much higher levels of protection, but at the price of total vendor dependence and a dubious upgrade path to standards compliance.

Today things are much easier; the proliferation of WPA support across all modern wireless devices and operating systems makes deploying a secure wireless network straightforward. Home users can simply use WPA-PSK, while businesses and other large organizations can use a RADIUS server and get strong, upgradeable authentication with dynamic key generation.

This chapter covers details of the various authentication and encryption schemes possible on 802.11 networks. Many aspects of WEP and its various band-aid solutions are covered. If you are securing a network with WPA, you can safely ignore all the perils and information associated with WEP and move straight into the section on WPA.

Techniques to secure your network that do not make use of WEP and WPA are also covered. These include higher-level authentication schemes, VPNs, and wireless intrusion detection systems.

Direct 802.11 Defenses
This section covers generic defenses that apply to all 802.11 configurations. Do not, however, assume techniques in this section provide security on their own. These are small tweaks that make finding or attacking a wireless network a little more difficult. These techniques will not prevent an attacker from breaking into your network, but at least they let outsiders know they aren’t welcome.

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