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Posts tagged Connectivity
Getting started with MiFi
The MiFi has been available in South Africa for some weeks. If you haven’t heard of this rather remarkable device, here’s a quick rundown: the MiFi is a credit-card sized network device. It accepts an ordinary SIM card and connects automatically to any available data network, from GPRS to HSDPA speeds to enable Internet access. But Internet access is of little use if it cannot be shared. For this reason, the MiFi creates a wireless hotspot, capable of supporting five devices simultaneously.
Devices that connect to the MiFi are able to share the Internet connection and are also able to access a shared network resource for file sharing. The file sharing resource exists in the form of a Micro SD card slot – insert a suitable Micro SD card and start transferring files. The real benefit of the MiFi is that it contains a rechargable battery. That means the device is capable of providing Internet sharing for almost four hours, though that time is heavily dependent on network conditions, file transfer activity and the number of connected systems.
The MiFi device sold locally is the model 2352. AutoPage Cellular is the distributor and sells the device as part of a contract or as an outright purchase. The approximate cost when buying the device outright is ZAR 2000.
I had an immediate disappointment when my MiFi arrived about two weeks ago: after eagerly unpacking the tiny device, I inserted a SIM card and the battery, then plugged the charger in to start the initial four hour charge. The solid, red light indicated something was amiss, but I considered leaving the device for a while in the hope that the ominous red indicator would change to some other colour. Four hours later, there was still no change. In fact, the device was unresponsive and only a removal of the battery was able to reset it. I switched it on and tried it out – all working, except that any attempt at providing power either by wall socket or USB resulted in the solid red indicator showing up, fixed only by battery removal.
I returned the device the next day and was happy to receive an immediate replacement, no questions asked.
The MiFi is a very useful device, making the portable wireless hotspot a reality. Suddenly, it becomes feasible to use an iPod Touch to place a Skype call whilst on the move, or even Internet providing access to devices in a car. The battery life may be a limiting factor. In my experience, four hours is an absolute maximum, and it’s likely that the battery won’t make it that long under most circumstances.
The single power button lights up in a different colour depending on the status of the device and the type of connection it has achieved. It’s rather colourful…
Management of all settings is provided through a web interface that can be displayed in a browser. From that interface, various settings are adjusted, including those that relate to the firewall and file sharing.
File sharing occurs via the web interface – users upload and download files from and to the Micro SD card using the routers default IP address.
If required, the access level to the files on the Micro SD card can be changed.
The MiFi is supplied with a charger and USB cable. When connected to a Mac or PC by USB, the MiFi is unable to provide a wireless hotspot – in this mode, it functions as a standard USB data modem, similar to the Huawei E220. A control panel is provided that display connection status and statistics. When connected to the wall charger, the MiFi charges and functions as a wireless hotspot as it does when it’s running on battery.
The MiFi is incredibly useful. The device is tiny and light, allowing it to easily fit in any pocket. I found the overall performance excellent using both an MTN and Vodacom SIM. Similarly, connected devices have fast access and can be managed rather easily from within the web interface of the MiFi. The ability to provide a file share is a huge advantage and increases the usefulness of the MiFi tremendously. The only downside, as with any battery-powered device, is the time the battery lasts. Thankfully, the battery is removable and it may be possible to purchase extra batteries to provide longer usage times whilst away from an AC power source.
I’d highly recommend the MiFi. If you’re currently looking to buy a standard USB data card, consider the MiFi as a slightly more expensive, yet far more flexible, alternative.
Google Maps localized
With an eye on next year’s World Cup, Google has just announced the South African version of its online mapping resource, Google Maps. Anyone accessing maps.google.co.za should now see a default view of South Africa.
The usual levels of detail and various views are available.
One very useful addition is the ability to request driving directions. These are displayed on the map view and are also provided in textual form to assist in guiding eager tourists to the nearest shopping mall, B&B or liquor store. Locals will probably find the ability to request detailed route information useful to – we know where the cheapest liquor stores are located, natch!
And just in case you’re desperate for a drink, queries can be entered to assist you in finding what you’re looking for.
In time for the 2010 World Cup, Google Street View of five large metropolitan areas will be available online. For use on the go, Google Maps is accessible on most mobile phones that provide a browser.
Restart by Ctrl-Alt-End
It’s been a while since I’ve worked extensively with Remote Deskop under Windows. Remembering certain key tasks is a difficult thing. For example, remembering that to enter into console mode, it’s best to execute Remote Desktop from the Run menu by entering mstsc /console. That won’t work for systems running Windows 2000, though. And, the /console switch has changed to /admin in later versions of Remote Desktop running on more modern versions of the Windows OS.
But the one thing I simply couldn’t remember was how get the remote system to restart. Obviously, the relevant option doesn’t show up in the Start menu.
In case you have brain-freeze the way I have, it may take you some time to remember that the correct key combination to get to the necessary option is Ctrl-Alt-End instead of Ctrl-Alt-Del.
Choose Shut Down, and then Restart form the subsequent set of options.
SOAP testing
2 years ago
I’m quite accustomed to using Altova’s XMLSpy for testing web services and SOAP calls. With the last installation of Windows 7, I forgot to re-install XMLSpy and was in a bit of a fix wanting to test a SOAP call to SAP PI.
Open-source and free software has an undeserved reputation of being complicated and less useful than a commercial product. With soapUI, nothing could be further from the truth. Compared to the Altova product that costs a huge amount of money, specifically when the SOAP testing function is required, the free soapUI performs the task of web services testing with aplomb and significant ease.
The user interface is well-designed and features a number of nifty features to hide and show pertinent information. With a WSDL in hand (or saved to a file), it’s remarkably easy to create a scenario for testing.
Import the WSDL definition, tweak some specific settings such as user names and passwords and have the payload transferred to the target. It’s an indispensable tool for the interface developer working with SOAP interfaces to and from SAP PI, for example. It’s obviously unable to provide assistance with stupid configuration errors the carbon interface in front of the screen is responsible for.
soapUI is a classic example of a targeted application that provides a solution to a single problem and does so very well. The features of soapUI can be summarized rather briefly:
- inspecting Web Services
- invoking Web Services
- developing Web Services
- Web Services Simulation and Mocking
- Functional, Load and Compliance testing of Web Services
For more advanced users, a professional edition is available for sale. The price of the commercial software package approaches that of Altova XML Spy, but for everyday use the free version is more than adequate.
If you have a requirement for a great web service testing tool, soapUI should be on your download list.
Connectivity at the speed of Light Peak
2 years ago
by manfred
in Connectivity
Since most everyone has upgraded to systems that utilize SATA hard drives, it’s quite obvious that that technology will require an overhaul soon to ensure computer users spend money on the next-fastest storage connectivity technology. Intel has recently showcased their effort to provide blazingly-fast interconnections between peripherals and computing hardware. Codenamed Light Peak, the new technology eschews traditional copper wire in favour of fibre optic connections.
Utilizing the glass strands, Light Peak-enabled devices should be able to talk to each other at the not-to-be-sniffed-at speed of up to 10Gb/s. And that’s just for starters. With the technology expected to be shipped in the first desktop and mobile computers late in 2010 that speed could increase by a factor of ten, enabling devices to transfer data at up to 100Gb/s!
Other advantages of optical technologies include the ability to manufacture much smaller connectors and have the capability of running multiple protocols over the same medium simultaneously. That means Light Peak could become the new standard of the future, necessitating the purchase of new keyboards, mice, displays, hard drives and goodness knows what else. Both eSATA and USB 3 may become irrelevant rather quickly…
Read more about Light Peak here.
Push your GMail
2 years ago
by manfred
in Connectivity
The popular GMail service has been available in many shapes and forms, as well as being supported by both Google and third-party applications on mobile devices. The one feature that has been missing for some time is native push notification of new emails arriving in the inbox. Workarounds have been available, but those required additional software to be installed and in some cases, purchases to be made. Now, Google has made push notifications available for iPhone/iPod Touch users, as well as for Windows Mobile devices.
For iPhone users, the installation of the iPhone update to 3.0 is a prerequisite. One restriction that will prevent me from using this feature is the fact that one is able to create only a single Microsoft Exchange mail profile on most devices, including the iPhone.
I could easily do with three or more such accounts on my mobile device, but need to restrict myself to the most important one and then retrieve mail from the other Exchange-based accounts in alternate ways.
That’s a huge pity and something I hope will be rectified soon. If you are using GMail and don’t yet have an Exchange mail account set up on your device, the Google Sync help page provides step by step instructions on how to configure the account.
The only other limitation I’m aware of is that it is not possible to search through all mail in the GMail account – only those messages downloaded to the device are searchable. That’s no different to having a non-push GMail account on the phone.
Of course, it is possible to synchronize your Google Calendar to the device as well. See this page for more details on how to do that.
Dovado UMR firmware 4.0
2 years ago
by manfred
in Connectivity
A new firmware release has just been made available for the DOVADO UMR. Firmware revision 4.0 includes a number of interesting enhancements and a good dollop of additional device support. The one feature I am waiting for has still not been incorporated – that’s disk sharing via a mass storage device plugged into one of the USB ports on the device. Maybe in 5.0?
Nonetheless, the 4.0 release is certainly worth updating to for the following:
- GPS tracking and positioning – this allows a standard USB GPS unit to be connected to the UMR for tracking and positioning information to be made available.
- Wake on LAN (WOL) functionality
- Internet bandwidth usage monitoring
- a new wireless LAN driver for the device to enhance stability
- inclusion of a Telnet API for extending the functionality of the device
- various cosmetic enhancements
- additional HSDPA modem support
The DOVADO UMR firmware 4.0 may be downloaded here.
MiFi portable wireless hotspot
2 years ago
by manfred
in Connectivity
Very good news for South Africans is that the popular Novatel Wireless MiFi is on its way here and should make an appearance sometime this month.
The MiFi is a credit-card sized device with a built-in, rechargeable battery and SD card slot. Over and above that, its claim to fame is the inclusion of an HSDPA modem and wireless router functionality.
Using the MiFi is pretty simple. Once charged, the device should provide about five hours or so of continued use. The MiFi is charged by way of a USB cable. Since it is really small, it can be switched on and carried around in a pocket or bag. The wireless network has a range of roughly 10m and allows up to five devices to be connected simultaneously. Internet connectivity is achieved through a cellular network, ideally HSDPA for highest throughput. That’s it. In contrast to the Dovado UMR, the MiFi has the advantage of having a much smaller form factor and not having to rely on an external power source. The creation of an ad-hoc wireless hotspot in the car, office or anywhere else is finally a possibility.
But that’s not all. The MiFi includes an SD card slot that can accept SDHC storage cards up to 16GB in size. With a card inserted, the MiFi not only acts as a wireless access point for connected devices, but also becomes a very basic SAN that is capable of file sharing. The MiFi is GPS enabled, but I’m not sure whether that’s a mobile network geolocation service or an actual GPS chip.
No local pricing is available yet from Autopage, but the unsubsidized cost in the US seems to be around the USD 200 mark. If this is offered at a reasonable price here, I’d be first in line for one! Let’s wait and see…
Headless footballers
Just a bit too late for the Confederations Cup, though we saw our fair share of headless footballers running around South Africa‘s pitches over the past 20 or so days.
The strong point of these dudes is less playing the beautiful game than assisting with the storage and portability of your precious data: USB People Football is a range of USB storage devices in the shape of football players. A few European teams are represented in the range. The device is unceremoniously shoved into a free USB port after the player’s head has been removed…
The price of around USD 30 for these is a bit high, considering the fact that each USB device stores only 1GB of data. Otherwise, quite a novel idea.
Collecting Firefox add-ons
With a round of computer installations coming up soon, I’ll inevitably find myself looking for my favourite Firefox add-ons once again. I don’t overload Firefox, but have four or so add-ons that I generally can’t do without.
Over at Mozilla, the add-ons site now allows collections of add-ons to be created and stored, then shared. Little more than a website that lists specific add-ons, the collections site is nonetheless rather useful and also provides a wealth of further information on additional add-ons to try out.
Though the collection will not assist with a bulk installation of add-ons, having all add-ons immediately available on a single page makes browser customization on a new system far easier.
Collections can be shared and, if permitted by the creator, augmented with additional add-ons that other choose to include. My rather basic Essentials collection is available here and many, many more are available at the Firefox Add-Ons Collections site.
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