Friday, May 26, 2006

Router - update

The previously announced FON router will be released in September!

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Bills

The details below are not final! Your input is always appreciated.
The idea currently being discussed is to charge aliens 2 USD or Euro per 24 hours, with the purchase of 5 days. To purchase a one time use, it’s 3 USD or Euro. Half of this goes to the Bill. Payments will be made through Pay Pal. Linuses will be able to use any FON spot, Bill or not, for free. Again not final but the target live date is the end of June. Stay tuned for further details.

Posted by Steve Ross on Business
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Net Neutrality – follow up

There was a small victory for net neutrality yesterday as the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would require ISP’s to apply nondiscriminatory treatment to data passed over the internet. The vote passed by 20-13, not a huge victory. The bill has a long way to go as it still requires full approval both from the House and Senate and must get through the president without being vetoed. Keep letting your representatives know you support net neutrality!

Save The Internet has a number a ways you can make your voice heard.

Posted by Steve Ross on Technology, Technology
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Thursday, May 25, 2006

Net Neutrality – moving towards an unfair and unbalanced internet

A quick overview on the net neutrality debate for those not yet familiar with it.

Internet Service Providers desire the power to slow down some users connections and speed up others. So, as well as paying extra for more bandwidth you would have to pay extra for priority.

The equality of the internet has given a voice to those previously silenced. It’s fostered an environment of innovation and competition. In the USA cable and telephone companies enjoy a tight grip on internet access. Now they want to use this control to further enrich themselves at our expense. The US Senate Commerce Committee is schedule to have a hearing today on net neutrality. Please encourage your senators, and political representatives at all levels, to support net neutrality.

Posted by Steve Ross on
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Two SSID's - just what you asked for!

A number of users suggested FON enhance the firmware to allow two SSID’s. Well it’s happening in the third release due in about 45 days. The router will now have two completely separate environments; one private, one public. Please keep the suggestions coming!

Posted by Steve Ross on Technology
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

One Laptop Per Child

If you haven’t heard about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project today’s your day. The goal is to build a $100.00 laptop computer (with wifi) that can be used by children in developing nations. OLPC aims to outfit children with these because “Laptops are both a window and a tool: a window into the world and a tool with which to think. They are a wonderful way for all children to learn learning through independent interaction and exploration.” Pictures of the first working model have just been released. If you’ve seen earlier prototypes you’ll notice the hand crank (I was rather fond of it) has disappeared.

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

More FON Goods!

A number of new products have been added to the FON Shop. There’s now everything from baby clothes to thongs!

Note- dog not included.

Posted by Steve Ross on General
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Monday, May 22, 2006

Web 2.0 and the Social Router

I’ve had some questions about the definition of “web 2.0”. Wikipedia defines web 2.0 as “a second generation of services available on the world wide web that lets people collaborate and share information online. In contrast to the first generation, Web 2.0 gives users an experience closer to desktop applications than the traditional static Web pages.”

That’s a start. I would add that web 2.0 companies separate themselves from their predecessors by their ability to grow with little advertising. Remember Pets.com and the little sock puppet they spent millions of dollars advertising? Well, I never used Pets.com, and neither did many of you. Pets.com was web 1.0.

Skype is web 2.0. I don’t recall seeing any advertisements for Skpe, they may have some. I use Skype because they offer a service I desire, as opposed to something widely available. FON is web 2.0 in the same way. FON offers me free wifi access, so I use it. FON is also social. It allows me put my photos, websites, and thoughts on my FON router so anyone connecting will see them. FON makes the world a little smaller. That’s web 2.0.

Posted by Steve Ross on Technology
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Friday, May 19, 2006

WiFi Umbrella

Engadget had the scoop on a gift for that special someone who has everything. From the makers of such products as the Cubby and the Progeny comes the Forecast Umbrella. How does it work you wonder? The handle of this WiFi enabled device glows blue to warn of impending showers. No word on price or battery life yet. Eat your heart out Mary Poppins.

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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FON Social Router!

Here's the new FON router!

FON founder Martin Varsavsky says,

"Our router is a social router in the sense that it is both a wifi router and a social platform. Everyone talks about web 2.0 web sites. Fon is starting the first web 2.0 gadgets, and there will be many. I believe that most gadgets that we now know will go social. iPods will go social, gaming consoles will go socials, digital cameras will go social."

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Thursday, May 18, 2006

FON in Germany

Thanks to the Fonero who put together this collection of Café’s with FON in Germany. Below is a photo of Derendorf in the city of Duesseldorf. I visited Germany during Carnival and Duesseldorf was my favorite. If you have an opportunity to visit Germany, take it. It's a beautiful country. Take a minute to look at these photos. If you’re in Germany let the Café’s know you appreciate them having FON!

Posted by Steve Ross on Foneros
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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

New Sony Micro PC

I’d like to get my hands on one of these! Sony’s new VAIO UX180P Micro PC packs an Intel® Core™ Solo Processor U1400 and a 4.5 inch wide touch screen into a 5.91”(W) x 3.74”(H) package. It runs Windows XP Professional and has a 30 gig hard drive. All that plus built in wifi and a qwerty keyboard. Of course you get what you pay for, and with a price around $1,800.00 it’s unlikely I’ll be getting one for Fathers day! Sony claims a battery life of 2.5 to 4.5 hours. I’m anxious to hear how it performs. At first glance it appears to be more functional than the new “umpc” style devices hitting the market. But it’s also more expensive.

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Skype Offers Free Calls!

I know what you’re thinking but this is not just to other computers! Skype announced a new offer for US and Canadian customers. Now through the end of 2006 you can make free calls not only to others on Skype but to traditional landline and mobile phones too!

Posted by Steve Ross on Technology
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Solar Range Extender

Popular Science has a “how to” piece on building a solar powered wifi range extender. It’s a quick read and simple build utilizing the Linksys wifi range expander. I’ve found the range on my FON router exceeds the 300+ foot mark and extends well beyond my yard so range isn't an issue for me. I live on top of hill with relatively few obstructions so it gives me a bit of an advantage. If anyone needs this type of solution and is adventurous enough to try this let me know how it turns out!

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Monday, May 15, 2006

New FON firmware (version 0.6.5)

The new FON firmware has officially been released. You can download it here.

Here are main new features:

* Two-step registration
* Highly customizable interface
* Allows SSID changes
* Internet connection protocols: static IP, DHCP, PPPoE
* Firewall and port forwarding web interface.
* WLAN (WiFi) and LAN/WAN traffic filtering
* remote version upgrading

Posted by William on Technology
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Friday, May 12, 2006

Coming soon...

To follow-up on Steve's recent entries, I'd like to share some fresh news I got in Madrid when i was there a couple of days ago. Here is a list of some features that will be added to the FON firmware, to the website and to the FON Captive Portal. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, i'm just highlighting the juciest bits:

FON Maps

We're as keen as you are to see a dynamic, fun to use and practical FON Map. This obviously requires of quite a lot of work, and believe us, we're working around the clock to make it happen. New features on the horizon:

- the fonero will be able to enter a specific address and then automatically be centered on the FON Map with that given address

- A neat tool will soon be available that will be enable the user to find the shortest route to the nearest FON access point.

- the fonero will be able to manually adjust the geo-coordinates of his FON access point, to ensure maximum precision and avoid having "off-the-mark" access points.


New firmware version (0.6.5):

We said the new firmware launch would be soon, well, now, you can replace the "soon" by "imminent"

- the next firmware version will be upgradeable remotely, via the FON website. In other words, no more having to download the latest version and install it yourself on the router. This will be done automatically. All you have to do is click on a few links and presto!

- fonero's will be able to allocate X amount of bandwidth to be shared, within a given range.

- security will be improved between the router and the local LAN

FON User Zone:

- Each fonero will have his own personal user space from which he'll be able to change router settings remotely (eg. router SSID, local users, geo-coordinates etc...)

- the fonero will be able to check useful statistics about his router usage, know how many foneros connected to his router at what time and even know how much data was transferred.

- the captive portal will be customizable with some fun new features. You read right., the fonero will be able to customize the captive portal of his FON hotspot with a personal greeting and photos. Best of all, the fonero will be able to recommend two websites of his choice, that anyone landing on the captive portal will be able click on and surf for free, without having to log on to FON.

So there, i hope this short entry will assuage the anxiety of some (we read you on the boards, don't worry!) and delight others. Believe me, the next couple of months are going to be lots of fun! Stay tuned!

Posted by William on General
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

Continuing Improvements

I’ve seen a number of requests for more official FON presence on the Boards. It’s happening. You will now see responses from ModerFon in addition to William. As well as collecting feedback and providing responses they're making some other improvements too. In the coming weeks they will work to deliver:
1. More timely responses.
2. Automated spam prevention.
3. A “resolved board” to park items that no longer require a response. This board will remain open to all.

Please let us know if you have other ideas to make the boards more user friendly and helpful.

Posted by Steve Ross on General
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Promoting FON

There are over 32,000 Foneros worldwide and more joining each day. All this with almost nothing spent on advertising. So, how do we continue to get the word out? I read an idea that at first I dismissed, but after thinking about it changed my mind. Marco suggested that FON provide chairs for people to sit in outside FON spots. This would be a really unique form of advertising like nothing I’ve seen. Imagine coming across a bright orange folding chair with the FON Movement logo on it. In many places this would be really out of place, thus draw a lot of attention. It’s not a conventional form of advertising, but FON’s not your typical movement.
Let me know your ideas and thoughts on promoting FON!

Posted by Steve Ross on Business
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Monday, May 8, 2006

Maps Update

As promised another enhancement to the Maps has been made. They now show the last 100 registered users in a selected zip code instead of only the last 20.

Posted by Steve Ross on Business
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Foneros Everywhere

FON continues to grow each day and is quickly covering the globe. Thank you to all the Foneros who are making this a success! Here are the top ten countries in the FON movement.

Continue reading "Foneros Everywhere"

Posted by Steve Ross on Foneros
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Friday, May 5, 2006

Map Update Coming

The second phase of the FON Map update is in progress. As you know the maps were updated to reflect the original registered addresses late last week. Change of address notifications still need to be processed and other enhancements are scheduled as well. Currently the maps display only the last 20 FON spots in the zip code searched. The upgrade will allow the map to show all FON spots in the zip code as well as those outside of it when zooming. These updates will be completed in the near future. Eventually the maps will be enhanced to show live FON spots in green, and registered FON spots in yellow. These enhancements will eliminate the confusion caused by current maps.

Posted by Steve Ross on Business
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Thursday, May 4, 2006

iPAQ rx1955

I’ve been playing with an iPAQ rx1955 pocket pc I purchased refurbished for $199.00 from Overstock.com. I’m going to take it with me this summer since laptops are banned from our family vacations. This is a great little device when used for its intended purpose. It’s not going to replace your laptop, but it’s fine for checking e-mail and some surfing of the web. It connects easily through FON easily and detects more SSID’s than my laptop. The screen is clear but hard to see in direct sunlight, not uncommon. Battery life is good if you keep the backlight down. It ran over 4 hours with the backlight set very low. That included time streaming videos and playing music. It’s just shy of the minimum requirements for Skype but I’ve heard it will run. It’s not robust enough for me on the job but It’s great for on the go with the family. With a RhinoSkin cover it fits perfectly in the tool pocket of Carhartt pants.

Now for the bugs; anytime I remove the SD card I have to reboot the iPAQ for it to turn on. This isn’t a major issue but more of an inconvenience. It also seems to be draining the battery faster with the SD card in, but that may be my imagination. The iPAQ rotates the screen with a quick push of the button to allow better viewing of websites. This works fine unless you’re attempting to change screens or close an application at the same time. When this is tried the iPAQ will hang for some time as it struggles to comply.

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Wednesday, May 3, 2006

FON Goods

FON t-shirts, mugs, pins, magnets, stickers and more are available at The FON Shop! There are a lot of great ways to share your enthusiasm for FON!

Posted by Steve Ross on General
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Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Free WiFi Routers - EU only

FON is giving away free routers in the European Union! If you live on a busy street and would like to become a Fonero send FON an e-mail with the view from your front window before May 12th. The offer is valid for up to 100 winners.

Take a look here for last months winners!

Posted by Steve Ross on Gadgets
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Monday, May 1, 2006

Hello World!

Hello world! Beginning today I’ll be posting here as a Guest Blogger. Many of you already know me from my postings on the FON board and my blog. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to share my enthusiasm for FON and provide you with the latest updates! I’m open to ideas so let me know what you would like to see here and I’ll do my best to deliver.

While I have your attention I’d like to encourage you to look at the FON maps! The first updates have been competed. There is more work to be done as many addresses require updating. FON employees will be working on this through May.

Posted by Steve Ross on Foneros
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