Wireless@SG = Internetless@SG ?

I was out and about today as usual. Sitting at one of those nice coffee places in Marina Square, I decided to whip out my Powerbook (yes one of those machines that I bought nearly 8 years ago) to do some work. It picked up the Wireless@SG signal and I thought great, I can run through my mails and update my calendar. Alas, it was just a signal without bandwidth.

Maybe I should try switching it to Wireless@SGx as I have already configured the connection at my computer. Again, it was just a signal without bandwidth. So there I was drinking coffee and had not much done for the morning other than reading the stuff that I had borrowed from the library a couple of days ago.

A little after noon, I then decided to head towards Raffles City and test both the SG & SGx connections. Well, what do you know? There was a signal and I parked myself in another coffee joint hoping to get a run through for the day though my mobile office. Again, no bandwidth. Coffee + empty stomach + no bandwidth = Not good. I felt like I have completely wasted a day trying to get some work done while soaking in the city buzz.

So without one of those mobile internet plug-in thingy, what does a mobile warrior do? I tried the connection again on the small screen of my E63 only to get “No gateway reply”. So much for getting “connected” in the city.

So what’s the point of having a strong signal with no bandwidth? Or was it just me? I wonder if anyone else has the same issue.

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World’s Most Wired (Make That Wireless) Airports

Nearly every large airport offers wi-fi, but travelers in Chicago, Atlanta, Frankfurt and Paris use it the most.

When Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in mid-April, stranding travelers in airports around the world, many turned to wi-fi to keep connected. For these “volcano refugees,” wi-fi was a convenient way to send e-mail, check weather and flight information or just pass the time. Some airports, such as Stockholm’s Arlanda, even waived their normal wi-fi fees so frustrated travelers could get online for free.

Outfitting airports with public Internet access isn’t a new idea, but the Eyjafjallajökull disruption points up the ubiquity of airport wi-fi, as well as its ability to soothe disgruntled passengers. Of the world’s 100 busiest airports, only one–Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International–currently lacks wi-fi, according to JiWire, a wi-fi ad network that maintains a popular online wi-fi directory. “Wi-fi is a necessity for every airport, like baggage carts,” says Damien Kobel, director of the aviation market research firm DKMA.

Of course, wi-fi availability isn’t the same as wi-fi usage. To determine which airports see the most wi-fi activity, Forbes asked two leading wi-fi service providers–Boingo and iPass ( IPAS – news – people )–for their top traffic generators. Crunching that data left us with a list of the world’s most “wired” airports, led by Chicago and Atlanta in the U.S. and Frankfurt and Paris in Europe.

One caveat: Boingo and iPass cover most large airports, but the diversity of wi-fi providers around the world prevents them from capturing all airport wi-fi connections globally. Some airports, particularly those located in Asia and the Middle East, may be under-represented in their data.

With airport wi-fi so widely available, the question these days is not where to find it, but how it can be improved, says In-Stat analyst Frank Dickson. That could mean converting paid wi-fi to free. A recent study commissioned by Airports Council International (ACI) found that passengers were more satisfied with airports that offered free wi-fi than those that charged for the service. “[People] are used to free wi-fi in other public spaces and do not appreciate the need to pay while at the airport,” the report said.

Maintenance costs may prevent some airports from ever going free, however. A slim majority (55%) of the respondents in the ACI study said they charge for wi-fi, at an average price of $8 an hour. “We have no intention of changing our prices,” says John Rico, chief executive of Rico Enterprises, which maintains the wi-fi networks at O’Hare and Midway in Chicago. “People love the idea of free wi-fi, but there’s no guarantee it won’t fail on you,” adds Rico. Wi-fi at O’Hare and Midway costs $7 for one day or $10 for one month.

Pricing policies tend to vary by region and passenger type. Bustling East Asian “hub” airports such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur often provide free wi-fi as well as complimentary kiosks with built-in computers. The reason? These airports attract a lot of budget travelers. “Asian airports in particular see wi-fi as part of the complete passenger experience,” says consultant Kobel.

In contrast, countries with speedy cellular networks promote wi-fi less vigorously. Consider Australia. Though three of its airports rank among the world’s 100 busiest, none of them stands out in terms of wi-fi usage. “Since very fast 3G covers most of the country, Australia never built out an extensive wi-fi structure,” says iPass chief executive Evan Kaplan.

Within the U.S., airport wi-fi coverage can vary dramatically. Analyst Dickson gives his hometown airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor, high marks in terms of wi-fi pricing (free), coverage (broad) and signal strength (“fairly robust”). Newark Airport, which charges for wi-fi, rated much lower. Dickson says spotty coverage led him to an airport coffee shop that limited the number of users to 10 at a time. “It was like wi-fi lotto,” he jokes.

via World’s Most Wired Airports

How To Buy An Internet-Ready TV

TVs that connect to the Web are evolving. Here are tips that can help you figure out what you need.

Getting your TV to double as an all-in-one set-top box or computer sounds like the Holy Grail of living room entertainment. Why pay $75 per month for cable when Hulu streams TV for free, Netflix streams unlimited movies for less than $10 a month, and Amazon offers 50,000 on-demand titles? Why have a Blu-ray player when Vudu streams 1080p video? Why sit with a laptop when news, social media updates and video chat are all available on a big screen, alongside all that video?

Some of the latest Internet-connected TVs can already do all of that, using nothing but an ethernet cord and a broadband modem. Still, TVs have a long way to go before they become the alpha and omega of living room devices. If you buy a new TV this year, there’s a good chance it will be Internet-connected whether you want it or not (the cheapest models cost less than $1,000), but don’t go throwing away all your set-top boxes just yet.

Here’s what we know right now: Consumers want more media to come through their TVs, especially video content. More than 27% of new TVs sold in January 2010 can be connected to the Web, according to research firm iSuppli, whether it’s through the TV itself, game consoles, specialized boxes like Roku or Vudu, a Web-enabled disc player or through a PC.

It’s expected that 25% of HDTVs shipped this year will be Internet-ready. The best of these sets do an admirable job of integrating Web content like news, social media, streaming audio and video and, soon, video chat. That said, these TVs still aren’t as versatile as the common combination of cable, a game console or disc player and a laptop. Web TV complements a full entertainment system, but it doesn’t define it.

TVs will supplant laptops as the preferred method for viewing Web video, no doubt, and other functions like news, social media and video chat will tag along as well. What remains to be seen is whether connected TVs will become the best method for harnessing the Internet, or if a “killer” set-top box will fill that role instead.

Several developers are working on such a box, a device that would serve both streaming and downloaded content, and work as a platform for other Web content or downloadable apps.

D-Link is set to release this year the Boxee Box, which is basically hardware that runs the intuitive Boxee media library software. Google ( GOOG – news – people ) is hard at work with Sony ( SNE – news – people ), Intel ( INTC – news – people ) and Logitech on Google TV. The companies have a working prototype of their own box, but “the technology might be incorporated directly into other TVs or other devices, like Blu-ray players,” the New York Times reported last month. Apple ( AAPL – news – people ) TV could also see some sort of upgrade or repositioning–never count Apple out of anything it puts its mind to.

Another issue to consider is that connected TVs, at least those currently on the market, are basically “closed” devices with only a few exceptions. The software, or “widgets,” that come built into TVs are pretty much the widgets you’re stuck with until the manufacturer offers a firmware update. For example, all 2010 LG NetCast-enabled model come with video-chat service Skype (functionality begins this summer). Anyone who owns last year’s models can’t get the upgrade without buying a new TV.

Samsung is trying out an app store on its Internet@TV enabled models, the first of its kind on a TV. It’s the same concept as the smartphone app stores like Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Marketplace, but it’s still a work in progress. In early April there were fewer than two dozen apps available at Samsung’s app store. By comparison, the App Store had more than 185,000 apps and the Android Marketplace had more than 40,000.

Third-party developers have very little incentive to make apps for TV because they have to make at least a half-dozen versions of them, one for each manufacturer. Services like Yahoo! ( YHOO – news – people ) Widgets, a cross-platform service available on connected LG, Samsung, Sony and Vizio sets, could in theory make app creation more developer friendly, but it’s been around for more than a year and there have been few significant developments.

So what should you take away from this? Basically, don’t buy an HDTV just because it’s a connected model–buy it because it has a fantastic picture. It’ll probably be connected anyway, but you’ll probably want to keep your Blu-ray player and cable TV hooked up, and maybe even look into one of those game-changing set-top boxes when they come out. If you do want to go connected, here are a few new HDTVs with great performance and connectivity.

Samsung UN55C8000: Samsung’s latest and greatest LED (at least until the C9000 appears). This 55-inch, 3-D-ready beauty has a 240 Hz refresh rate and is less than an inch thick. The Internet@TV service includes Yahoo! Widgets for news, weather and the like, as well as Twitter, Facebook, Amazon and Blockbuster ( BBI – news – people ) on-demand, Netflix ( NFLX – news – people ), Vudu and Skype is coming this summer. You’ll also get access to Samsung Apps. Price: $3,499.

Vizio VF552XVT: This slick 55-inch LED doesn’t quite match the quality of the Samsung UN55C8000, but it’s pretty close and significantly cheaper at $1,999. You also get access to VIA, Vizio’s robust service featuring Netflix, Vudu, Twitter, Facebook, Twitter and a slew of Yahoo! Widgets. This may be the best Internet TV service out there.

LG 50PK750: Plasma is still the gold standard for picture quality. This mid-range, 50-inch model from LG won’t match the top-tier models, but you’ll still get deep blacks and a smooth picture for $1,399. You’ll also get access to NetCast, one of the most well-rounded connected services available, including Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, Yahoo! Widgets, Facebook, Twitter and Skype, which is coming this summer.

via How To Buy An Internet-Ready TV

TVs that connect to the Web are evolving. Here are tips that can help you figure out what you need.

HypoCol Gives Back – Search is on for Worthy Cause – You can suggest Your Cause – itsReal

HypoCol are looking for a worthy cause to support in 2008. The cause may be a project or institution but it has to be related to any cadiovascular or heart health condition.

Hypocol are giving back 1 US Dollar for every pack of HypoCol sold online.

Please send HypoCol your suggestion of a worthy cause to support. HypoCol will pick one based on your reasons why the cause should get HypoCol’s support.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________
User Name:
Project or Institution:
Why should hypoCol support it?:

Enter your suggestion here: Wellness Community

RedLightCenter.com – Virtual Sex Life gets analysed by conancat – itsReal

“And hell, what’s so fun about cybersex when you can’t hear the other person moaning and feel his/her heat for real?” says conancat.

APLINK thinks ConanCat under estimates how humans need to fantasize, it is very REAL and virtual worlds today are virtually on a path to our reality just as the TV already is !!!See the rest of his REAL thoughts at ConanCat

“But this–Redlight Center–an MMORPG about love, dating, and sex, to me, is getting tee a bit weird.” – conancat

SEX Criminals in Virtual Worlds – itsReal

Would u like to land in Bangkok, Thailand and have your INNOCENT ? GUILTY ? Face on every newspaper in the world, visit Thailand and YOU will become a Known Identity… if this guy is guilty then he does deserves to be outed… if he is not then the entire world hates him and we revert to throwing stones.. are they virtual or real…

PopOut 2007 – Bubbles with Success – itsReal

Since PopOut many bloggers have ranted, how PopOut could have been done, whilst freedom of speech is awesome I believe that the bloggers making the statements need to understand that their sphere of understanding is only limited by their participation in the world around them. Maybe they should open their sphere to new perspectives…

Big-Bit Launches Internet-to-Phone and Advertiser Services with Wusic for Virtual Properties

Service to enable virtual world, social and business networks users to make voice IDD calls to the real world, click-to-call service also offers advertisers new channel to reach consumers and businesses on these new and evolving platforms.

Rescuing search in ‘Second Life’ – A need for certain – itsReal

On every occassion that APLINK has heard Cory Onedrejka of Linden Labs speak he allows appealed for someone who could create an effective search engine…maybe his wish has come true withou the need for Lind Labs investment.

I was in a Second Life Store the other day and whilst it was cool having my avatar stroll the mega mall and see what was on offer, I was really there to get a new look for myself. Besides Second life’s need to achieve a universal search engine, site owners also need a search function (or should there be Avatar SalesPeople) within their own spaces to help avatars find what they need, as like the real world, time is money inworld. Maybe my client Recruit.net could come up with a search solution- itsReal

With at least a couple hundred thousand users, hundreds of stores, endless commerce and millions of objects, virtual world Second Life is begging for a top-notch search tool.

Yet search is one of the systems most in need of help in Second Life. The latest evidence is the recent selection of a team working on such a system as a finalist in the Second Life business plan contest.

High Impact

What’s new:

More than three years after its launch, Second Life is still suffering from a subpar search engine–and other virtual worlds have the same limited tools.

Bottom line:

Now significant attempts are being made by third parties to come up with better search systems for virtual worlds.

Rescuing search in ‘Second Life’

“There’s a lot to be desired in the current (Second Life) search, quite a lot,” said Tony Walsh, the editor of Clickable Culture, a blog about virtual worlds and other online cultures. “We need a Google for Second Life, something that works quickly and produces intelligent results.”

Some might wonder how important search needs to be in a virtual world. But as the number of Second Life stores, places and objects explodes, it is becoming crucial that users be able to find what they need without trying keyword after keyword. And while that dynamic is more true today than ever, many people believe the search system has been insufficient for years.

Read More: C|Net News.com