We’ve all been waiting for a long time for the final approved version of the 802.11n protocol.  Many companies have jumped the gun and put out “n” products, but with an un-approved version of the protocol…..meaning it may not be compatible with the final version.  This is why I tell anyone in the market for new wireless products to wait a bit, or stick with the 802.11g standard (albeit slower).  We may finally be coming down the home stretch…..

Excerpt rom SiliconValley.com:

In 2005, the wireless companies fought with one another over the standard. Some tried to market “enhanced g” and “pre-n” products, to no avail. There was no standard, and the consumers who bought early got burned because their products are incompatible with those coming out now. This gave ammo to the skeptics who said that cables or powerline network adapters, which plug into power sockets and use electrical wires to transfer data, are better.

Powerline still requires short cords. And, having tripped over enough wires, I’m rooting for wireless.

In mid-2006, the 1.0 version of the 802.11n standard was approved, unifying two warring camps. But vendors that jumped the gun found that their products weren’t compatible.

I used a Belkin router from this earlier era, one with the “enhanced g” standard. It had three antennae sticking out of it. It worked OK until my youngest kid unscrewed two of the antennae and hid them from me.

But last week, the engineering society approved the 2.0 version of 802.11n with an 84 percent in favor majority. The new version helps deal with incompatibilities and makes the gear more reliable when it’s using the 2.4 gigahertz band of the wireless spectrum, which is crowded with devices such as microwave ovens or cordless phones. The great thing about this technology is that it actually exploits the echoes and reflections of radio waves that occur in a crowded radio environment, says Craig Mathias of Farpoint Consulting, a wireless advisory consultancy.

The final specification isn’t due to be completed until fall 2008. The WiFi Alliance, however, feels confident enough that it will begin certifying draft 2.0 products by June or so, says Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the alliance of 300 companies.

From Daily TECH:

Cyber criminals purchased legitimate-looking links which attempted to install malware onto unsuspecting systems

Google recently admitted that hackers successfully hijacked AdWords, which allowed cyber criminals to use affected links to redirect users to web sites that contained malicious software.  Google immediately shut down the offending links once they were discovered early last week.

At least 20 specific search terms that appeared on Google as legitimate ads, redirected users to smartattack.org, which distributed the malicious code.  Users were sent to the legitimate site thereafter the damage was done.

The flaw appears to only have affected users of the Microsoft Windows XP operating systems.  The web exploit was discovered by Exploit Prevention Labs, a security firm.  They said they found the threat earlier this month when searching the phrase “how to start a business.”  One of the hyperlinks related to the search term led to a site that attempted to install a keylogger.

“This is an issue we’ve taken very seriously and will continue to monitor.  We are evaluating our systems to ensure that the appropriate measures are in place to block future attempts,” Google said.

It is unknown how many people were affected by the exploit. The Mountain View-based company declined to disclose which search terms were involved.

From Nikkei Net Interactive’s web site:

Communications product development start-up Nap Enterprise Co. will launch nationwide sales next month of an earbud microphone that enables cellular phone conversations to be carried on in even very noisy settings like concert halls and construction sites.

The inCore features a microphone that is built into the earbud speaker and picks up the spoken voice not from the mouth, but from inside the ear. The person need not speak up to be heard, and a special sound-damping pad works to both block outside sounds from the microphone and let the user clearly hear the other end of the conversation through the speaker. The pad is made from five layers of silicone rubber that are gathered together in a fluted shape so that sounds need to travel in air between layers of silicone. This setup reduces ambient noise by 30 decibels.