Not long ago, a free Web-based e-mail account was good for merely sending and receiving e-mail. As more players entered the market, competition forced new features. This story offers four favorite tricks for taking advantage of free e-mail service. Full Story...

RV accessories - JC Whitney

The folks at WirelessTrips.com have developed a new but growing list of RV friendly Hotspots with a unique interface.

This database contains campgrounds and truckstops with WiFi, since those spots are typically the locations where RVers go. We'll add other locations in the future as long as they are "RV-friendly" - meaning big parking lots. (You'll never see a coffee shop in downtown Manhattan in this database.)

We've made an effort to confirm that these locations do have WiFi. But things change. So before you actually commit to traveling to any of the places you find here, call ahead and confirm WiFi is available.

Hughes Network Systems will deliver an enhanced e-mail defense service to Direcway consumer and small business subscribers. According to Hughes, the service will improve the broadband experience for more than 250,000 current Direcway users through the addition of leading-edge spam and virus-fighting tools, using technology provided by MX Logic. Full Story...

If you connect to someone else's open Wi-Fi router and start using that broadband Internet service you are: a) guilty of stealing from the service provider; b) committing an unethical act; c) really cheap; d) not guilty; or e) all of the above.

The correct answer is wide open to debate. But the range of possible answers -- and there are plenty more we could list -- is indicative of the variety of passionately held opinions on this question, which gained renewed attention last month. Full Story...

A chunk of arid farm country appears to be the largest Wi-Fi hot spot in the world, with wireless high-speed Internet access available free for some 600 square miles. Most of that is in eastern Oregon, with some just across the border in southern Washington.

Traveling anywahre in the area you can use a laptop to get e-mail and download video -- and you can do that while cruising at 70 miles per hour, mile after mile after mile, at a transmission speed several times as fast as a T-1 line. (Note: It's preferable to do this with someone else driving.)

This kind of network is the wave of the future, and eastern Oregon shows that it's technically and financially feasible. Morrow and Umatilla counties in eastern Oregon are far ahead in providing high-speed Internet coverage to residents, schools and law enforcement officers -- even though all of Morrow County doesn't have a single traffic light. Full Story...

A wi-fi "hot spot" was turned on in Alexandria, VA last week along an eight-block stretch of the city's King Street corridor.

City officials hope that offering free Internet access will lure tourists and residents to the city's outdoor restaurants while projecting an image of a tech-savvy town. It will also serve as a test for using wi-fi for municipal needs.

Arlington and Montgomery counties also have wi-fi plans in the works. Full Story...

The AG-225H is the only Wi-Fi finder available today that locates all the 802.11a and 802.11b/g access points in range and provides detailed information like SSID, security, and signal strength. In a sleek device the size of a stick of gum, the AG-225H is the first to have a hotspot finder, client adapter and soft access point all in one, making it a perfect on-the-go gadget.

The AG-225H is the first to combine an 802.11a and 802.11b/g USB 2.0 adapter with a fully functional stand-alone hotspot detector that can also turn your laptop into an access point to allow users to instantly share wireless access with others. The soft access point feature makes the AG-225H perfect for conference rooms, meeting rooms and hotels where there is one wired network connection but multiple users. The new device packs a dual-band USB wireless adaptor with advanced WPA2 security and 802.11a worldwide radio support, allowing users access to 802.11a networks anywhere in the world.

Key benefits of the AG-225H include:

-- LCD Display - AG-225H supports a graphic LCD display that provides the following information: Signal Strength, Security & Encryption, Operation Channel, Radio Band and SSID.

-- Built-in LiON Battery - allows users to scan the environment for hotspots without turning on their computer.

-- Dual-Band - supports 802.11a and 802.11g/b wireless networking standards over 5GHz (a) and 2.4GHz (b,g) band. In dual-band environments, intelligent software constantly monitors the wireless connection and will change bands to avoid interference and maintain high throughput levels.

-- Enhanced Wireless Security - AG-225H is WPA and WPA2 certified and protects data with 802.1x authentication.

-- Soft AP - By turning a computer into an instant wireless access point, users can share their network connection by simply plugging the computer into the Ethernet port and the AG-225 into the computer.

Pricing and Availability

List price for the ZyAIR AG-225H is $99 and will be available starting September through ZyXEL's national network of authorized resellers, eCommerce sites, CompUSA stores nationwide and direct to consumers from ZyXEL. More information about the ZyAIR AG-225H can be found at http://www.us.zyxel.com.

As of Monday Krystal's 243 company-owned restaurants now offer Wi-Fi Internet access at no cost.

The company has restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Columnist David Berlind writes:

So, while you WiFi aficionados pay $22 bucks a month for unlimited data transfer from Boingo (as long as you're in one of its hotspots) , I pay $45 for Verizon Wireless' unlimited data transfer and I can go just about anywhere. So, for $23 more per month, I get to avoid all the headaches of hunting for a WiFi hotspot, reorienting my notebook umpteen times for connecting to each one of those hotspots, and dealing with any a la carte billing. Naysayers will say that the $23 isn't worth it. Hang around with me for one day and you'll change your mind. Full Story...

Hughes Network Systems, today announced it will deliver an enhanced e-mail defense service to DIRECWAY(R) consumer and small business subscribers. The service will improve the broadband experience for more than 250,000 current DIRECWAY users through the addition of leading-edge spam and virus-fighting tools, using technology provided by MX Logic, Inc.

HNS selected MX Logic technology because it blocks up to 98 percent of spam and protects customers' inboxes from viruses, worms, phishing attacks, and other email threats. It will reduce spam-related costs by approximately 90 percent, saving DIRECWAY subscribers both time and money. Full Story...

Five years after the tech bust, AOL's bread-and-butter dial-up subscription business is declining because of cheap broadband Internet access. And Net stalwarts like Yahoo and Google, which AOL once dwarfed, are running away with the online advertising market.

But don't count out the company that made "You've got mail!" part of the American lexicon. In a clear acknowledgement that the Internet is maturing beyond dial-up service and so-called "walled gardens" of content, AOL is reinventing itself. The company plans to launch in mid-August a new portal that will make the services and content that were previously available only to AOL subscribers free to everyone. A beta version of the site has been public since early in the summer. Full Story...

West Edmonton Mall, a massive shopping and entertainment complex in Alberta, Canada, has set a new precedent for the use of wireless technologies in retail. The mall offers customers a Wi-Fi network the size of 48 city blocks and is developing new ways to use the network to run operations, including mall security and customer check-in to its hotel.

This past spring West Edmonton retail tenants began selling Wemisphere access cards to shoppers. When an account is activated, customers are redirected to the tenant's Web site or a promotional page. Full Story...

Intelsat today announced that Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HNS), the world's largest provider of satellite broadband products and services, will use Intelsat's newly launched IA-8 satellite to support its DIRECWAY(R) broadband satellite service across North America. HNS will use multiple Ku-band transponders on IA-8 to support its enterprise, SOHO and consumer offerings, and will begin serving new customers using IA-8 capacity now that the satellite is operational.

IA-8 was successfully launched in June and offers high-powered Ku-Band coverage of all 50 states, relieving some of the current capacity constraints facing all operators serving the U.S. market. Full Story...