VODAFONE UNIT TO OFFER FULL INTERNET PHONES IN GERMANY THIS YEAR

Arcor, a subsidiary of phones multinational Vodafone, is to offer German customers from March a telephone service that uses the internet only, without traditional phone circuitry, the company said Wednesday in Hamburg.

Spokesman Michael Peter said Arcor would be the first major phone company in Germany to offer home customers the all-internet-protocol (IP) service. Arcor demonstrated a white box the size of a large paperback book which will connect existing phones to the network.

Arcor is Germany's number-two fixed-line phone provider after former monopolist Deutsche Telekom and is 74.9-per-cent owned by London-based Vodafone. Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Bank own the rest.

Peter said Arcor was currently signing up about 200,000 new customers per quarter in Germany, Europe's biggest market.

Unnoticed by most consumers, many phone companies around the world have completely converted their backbone networks to IP, whereas home and small office customers have been hooked up through old-fashioned analogue phone lines or an ageing technology known as ISDN.

Arcor executive Zoltan Bickel demonstrated the white box, manufactured in Asia to Arcor specifications, which automates the complex task of reconnecting existing phones to the new technology.

He said new customers would be offered the "next generation network" from the time of the Cebit computing trade fair to be held in Hanover, Germany from March 15 to 21 and promised there would be no deterioration in voice quality.

Combined phone and internet access charges would remain the same as at present. There would be no compulsion: users could retain traditional lines if they preferred. Arcor also announced Wednesday a new television service using its broadband connections.

WI-FI INDUSTRY GROUP INTRODUCES A SIMPLER WAY OF SECURING A WIRELESS NETWORK

The industry group that promotes Wi-Fi technology standards for wireless Internet access is launching a simplified method for configuring the security settings between a wireless router, laptops and other devices, addressing a long-standing complaint that keeps many users from protecting their home networks.

The Wi-Fi Alliance was set to announce Monday that it has certified the first products featuring the new specification, which is called Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

By making the setup easier and reducing the number of steps, the industry group hopes to encourage more consumers to turn on the security features that already come standard with Wi-Fi equipment, but frequently go unused due to confusion and complexities.

A survey last year by JupiterResearch found that 40 percent of consumers had either not activated the security on their Wi-Fi networks or weren't sure if they had, with more than half of them saying they thought their Internet firewalls were sufficient and many others pointing to setup difficulties.

An unprotected network can be vulnerable to hackers or, at the very least, slowdowns in an Internet connection due to neighbors and passersby "borrowing" the wireless signal. The industry alliance views either scenario as a threat to the proliferation of the hugely popular Wi-Fi standard into devices beyond laptop computers, from cell phones and cameras to televisions and video game consoles.

The first generation of the new security specification supports two modes of establishing an authorized connection between a Wi-Fi router and a computer or other wireless device.

The first approach involves PINs, or personal identification numbers, that would come with each device, with a computer serving as the control center. When the PIN is entered on the computer, the device is allowed on the network.

As an alternative, manufacturers can install buttons on their hardware. To authorize a connection, the user would press the button on the router first, and then the button on the device.

While devices that consumers already own will be compatible with new products featuring Wi-Fi Protected Setup, the simplified security configuration will only be possible if both are set to the new specifications. Manufacturers of existing products may offer software upgrades to add the easier setup capability, the Wi-Fi Alliance said.

By mid-year, the alliance also plans to introduce security setups that use Near-Field Communication, an emerging technology where a short-range radio tag embedded in a small token or card could be touched to a device also containing a radio tag.

"Wi-Fi has quickly become one of the most pervasive wireless technologies, but consumers have told us they want it to be easier to set up and protect," Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the alliance, said in a statement. "Wi-Fi Protected Setup reduces by half the number of user steps required to set up a network."

The specifications were developed by members of the alliance, including Broadcom Corp. and Atheros Communications Inc., two leading producers of semiconductors used in Wi-Fi gear.

Read My Lips AGAIN!!!!

After finding an article the other day that proves that cell-phones do not cause cancer, another doctor has taught these health nuts another lesson.

It seems that parents in the UK would rather have stupid children than have a Wi-Fi connection at the school. The doctor says that the Wi-Fi is 50 times less than the radiation coming from the cell-phones. Get rid of the Wi-Fi (I hate typing that) then you must get rid of the cell-phones.

At last, people are speaking out about these stupid health nut, tree-hugging morons.

Just as well as my Wi-Fi (I had to type it again) is rubbing my right arm as I type this. My heart could have been in big trouble.