IEEE 802.11ah has been sees official release.

"The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially launched its new WiFi“HaLow” technology, which is based off the long-in-development IEEE 802.11ah standard and uses the 900MHz radio spectrum band in order to deliver a longer range and lower power network solution."
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2016/01/longer-range-wifi-halow-networks-coming-via-900mhz.html

New gadget alert! Smasung Level Overs

I gave in and bought  these as the price point had come down far enough for my liking! £164 for a Bluetooth Headset with decent ANC is very nice and is now in the sort of range of Plantronics offering. 

I've only had them a few days and the ANC doesn't seem as crazy good as the Purity Pro's I had previously but it's good enough to drown out Office AC and other consistent background noises. It's not strong enough to drown out people taking though. 

Comfort: These are very nice. I can wear them for a good few hours with no aches or pains where as the really soft Senhheisers HD558's start to feel a bit too much like they are clamped to your head after a long while.

Looks: I thought the black version looked a little too boring while the White/tan colouring in my opinion looks very nice.

Controls: So on the right side there are touch controls. swipe the cup forward / back and the track will skip forward / back (Although I found this didn't work on play.sportify.com ). Up / Down will control the volume which works pretty damn well for me.

Which new wireless earphones to purchase?

So my beloved Nokia Purity Pro's had a ill fated break (cup broke away from the headband) and although I love them I think they are a bit too pricey to reward Nokia / Monster with another purchase considering the lack of help neither would give me for such a flimsy structural design. Instead I'm considering earphones again as opposed to headphones. Bluetooth being the key driver hear for convenience.

As far as I can see these are the best options on the market within reasonable price ranges:

Sony Stereo Bluetooth® Headset SBH80 product page

Amazon link to purchase - £64.99

Plantronics Backbeat Go 2 product page
Amazon link to purchase - £55.95 without charging case
Amazon link to pruchase - £71.75 with charging case

POWERBEATS² Wireless press release - unrealeased yet website states £169.95. 

Xbox One controllers now work with your PC

Now we just need the wireless adapter so we don't need cables!

Summery: The drivers will be baked into a Windows update shortly.

If you can't wait, go here: http://majornelson.com/2014/06/05/pc-drivers-for-the-xbox-one-controller-available-now/

rators EE and Three strike a deal to share 4G infrastructure

Cost savings and better coverage hopefully!

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2326622/rival-operators-ee-and-three-strike-a-deal-to-share-4g-infrastructure

Verizon LTE now available in 35 NYC subway stations

London underground is falling behind. Admittedly, Virgin Media have done a good job with the Wifi rollout compared to hotspots such as TheCloud (It was poor when it was in Waterloo Station) but we need 3/4G!   

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/verizon-lte-nyc-subway/

7Gbps Capable Home WiFi Standard 802.11ac-2013 on the Way by 2015

Might wanna hold out for those 802.11ac-2013 devices...

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2014/01/ultrafast-7gbps-capable-802-11ac-2013-home-wifi-standard-way-2015.html

Researchers achieve 100 Gbps over sub-terahertz wireless

Engadget: Researchers achieve 100 Gbps over sub-terahertz wireless, set world record. http://google.com/producer/s/CBIwwNmFzAQ

When wireless charging standards collide...

So Qualcomm has decided to Join the management board of it's rival standard Qi. interesting move.
I've only used Qi charging in the Nokia Lumia 920 and for what it's worth I liked it. It was a bit slow but it worked. It just needed cheaper chargers and integration in more convenient places!

http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/20/qualcomm-wireless-power-consortium-board-of-management/

AnandTech | The Joys of 802.11ac WiFi

AnandTech | The Joys of 802.11ac WiFi

Weird....My Stereo Sony hbh-is800's are working again!

Strange... they've been sitting in my draw for over a year without use as one side stopped outputting sound... Thought I'd give it a charge and test and low and behold it works again! Lets see for how long.... 

TalkTalk offering better HomePlug AV adapters.

TalkTalk are offering re-branded Dlink HomePlug AV adapters to customers who struggle to get WiFi around the home. It's a nice move and if they can get a good wholesale price it might even be a bit of a money spinner.

I know Sky do the wireless adapters for the set top boxes and these are cheaper but sometimes aren't the best for streaming if you have a weak signal...

I've recently been given some Devolo dLAN AV Wireless HomePlug adapters (Even better was they were free when they cost >£50) so i'll have to give them a try sometime.


http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/03/isp-talktalk-uk-prep-new-500mbps-powerline-and-wifi-adapters.html

Ways to connect your Sky Set top box to your Sky Router

With the additional on demand content ramping up recently on Sky it's worth while making sure your set-up is correct to get the most out of your service!

Your Sky Set top box (STB) generally has a fair few connections coming out of the back.

The green Ethernet one is the one we're interested in for on demand content coming in via broadband. First of all make sure the telephone connector / cable hasn't been shoved in this socket by accident. (I've seen this done before!) If so put it in the right socket which is the orange telephone line one. To my understanding that's important also for pin services like renting a movie on box office.

If you have nothing in the green Ethernet port then we are going to need something in there connecting back to the router to get our broadband across to the unit.

There are a number of ways to do this:

The best in my opinion is to run a Ethernet (CAT5e or CAT6) to between the two units. This can be upto about 95m-100m !!!

Another way is to get a wireless adapter for the STB and link the units wirelessly. These can be bought direct from Sky:
http://www.sky.com/products/kit/wireless-connector/index.html
I only recommend these where there isn't too much in the way off the router and the STB. A good test it to use a wireless device like a laptop / iPad where the STB is and run something like BBC iPlayer to test. If the distance is too far or there are too many think walls / too much noise from other wireless devices, then this may not be the best option for you.

For further info regarding the wireless connector: PDF

The last option is to use your electricity sockets in the home as a network to get a cabled link back to the router. For this you will need adapters in power sockets by the Sky router an STB. These can be had for around £30 and I have linked to some in the Amazon widget at the bottom of this page. See this wiki-page for a better description of the technology.

On a completely unrelated note. If you want 5.1 Surround sound from your STB remember use a  optical sound cable as Sky still don't send the surround sound down the HDMI which is disappointing!

Update: You can now get STB's with built in wifi and also as mentioned in the comments, Surround sound now can go via the HDMI.  http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/sky-plus-hd-box/

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River Thames to bathe in upgraded long-distance WiFi

Nice, I wonder if this actually covers the full distance of the Thames like it claims, I'll have to pop down by Kingston river and give it a test when its upgraded. I'd dubious as no matter how good your AP is, it still has to contend with the output power of the device sending back to it.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/river-thames-wifi-upgrade/

Apple Reportedly Strikes Deal with Broadcom to Add 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi to 2013 Macs

Interesting considering 802.11ac is still in draft. I thought apple would be playing it safe so they must be fairly confident in the technologies development so far.


Mac Rumours:
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/02/apple-reportedly-strikes-deal-with-broadcom-to-add-802-11ac-gigabit-wi-fi-to-2013-macs/

If you buy a new Lumia and didn't get a free wireless charger

check this URL on the 16th: www.nokiafreecharger.com

Cisco acquires WiFi data firm ThinkSmart Technologies

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/cisco-acquires-wifi-data-firm-thinksmart-technologies/

Netgear D6300 mates 802.11ac WiFi with ADSL, risks one heck of a mismatch

Hmm Engadget sees this as a bit strange but the fact that people have a lot of traffic flying between devices internally with media centres etc make this seem like common sense to me. A lot of people will reside on ADSL 2+ until FTTC/P reaches their price point they are willing to pay...

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/17/netgear-d6300-mates-802-11ac-wifi-with-adsl/

802.11ac: The Fifth Generation of Wi-Fi Technical White Paper

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/wireless/ps5678/ps11983/white_paper_c11-713103.html#wp9000454

Milestone for wi-fi with 'T-rays'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18072618