Apple has updated its wireless
line with a new AirPort Extreme Base Station and an enabler patch for unlocking 802.11n capabilities on certain Macs.

The enabler patch, released for $1.99 on Apple’s online store, unlocks the 802.11n wireless capabilities included with all Intel Core 2 Duo machines and Mac Pro computers with AirPort Extreme.

For less than the cost of a latte, Mac users now can connect at faster rates to longer-range wireless networks. The patch release fulfills Apple’s promise two weeks ago to charge for it — irking some users who think the download should be free.

Before embarking on a series of reviews of the family of electronics devices known as ultra-mobile PCs, it’s worth noting that there’s much debate over exactly what an ultra-mobile PC is. Nearly every device claiming to belong to the category is different.

They range in size from as big as a laptop to as small as a large-sized Personal Digital Assistant. Processing power, memory, and the range of features are all over the map, too. Some boast Microsoft
’s Windows, while others feature the open-source Linux operating system.

None …

IBM has joined the WiMax Forum, an industry organization that promotes the upcoming wireless
standard.

WiMax is designed to deliver high-speed wireless Internet access over a wide range, and operators expect the technology to provide Internet connections in metropolitan areas as a replacement for DSL and cable broadband.

The technology is also expected to bring Internet connections to rural areas where constructing wired networks is not economically viable.

IBM is hoping to sell consultancy services to operators, assisting …

If you’ve got a wireless network and you want to share access with your friends and family — or with the whole world — you need to keep it open to all, or provide the encryption keys you use for entry, right? Not if Whisher gets its wish. The startup, on display this week at DEMO 07, believes sharing your network should be as simple as a quick software download. “This is a way to create a Wi-Fi community without purchasing hardware or reconfiguring what you have,” says Whisher co-founder and CEO Ferran Moreno, in a clear swipe at the competition from FON, which similarly wants to build a Wi-Fi …

After a couple of months of quiet testing, Devicescape Software is officially unveiling its new connection software/service combo at the DEMO 07 Conference in Palm Desert, California. The promise: any device outfitted with the software — even ‘headless’ devices without a graphical interface — will be able to get access at just about any free or commercial Wi-Fi network, including hotspots and municipal networks that require a login with username and password. “We’ve seen an explosion of new products coming, like Skype VoIP handsets from Netgear and Belkin, a proliferation of Wi-Fi gaming …