More “free” wireless without a business model …
This is more example of the push for public access networks, and what we are going to see in the future … obviously without a business model. Once the right formula comes together, we are going to see wireless networking like we have never dreamed of! And our team is currently working on exactly this area …

NYCWireless, a free network, gets some Village Voice ink: oddly, I wrote about this for Village Voice’s Seattle publication, the Seattle Weekly, from the standpoint of Seattle Wireless, our local free networking advocacy group.

[80211b News]

PC-Ephone is another contender …
Although this article headlines is not correct, the product is looking very good. This product does not contain a CDPD modem, but has a Compact Flash slot which will accept one. It is, however, a CDMA Cell Phone and WinCE device. The feature set looks very good and this is another target of my adventures at Comdex!

Wireless Handheld Nears Market. WinCE device has built-in CDPD modem [allNetDevices Wireless News]

Computers in the car … more coming soon …
I have been slowly outfitting my car with a variety of computers and applications. I see this as a big growth area as we create more powerful applications for navigation and communications … many of which will be used in our cars.

So far I am using my computer for both MP3 audio and navigation. I am using WinAmp (my favorite MP3 player) and Microsoft Streets & Trips. There are some other cool things that I’ve been working on … I have wireless in the car using a DLink 802.11b USB device so that when my car is parked in my garage or driveway I can remotely connect and transfer MP3s back and forth. I also have the GPS connected with the Microsoft software for all navigation.

My next step is to get Jabber working over a cheap CDPD modem for full time presence and instant messaging from my car!

Motorola takes the driver’s seat. video The electronics maker announces deals with BMW and Audi to equip cars with telecommunications and computing capabilities. [CNET Tech News]

A handheld Linux machine for point applications …

This is a very good start on a whole new class of mobile and (potentially) wearable computers. It appears to be a Linux machine with a huge hard drive and some basic applications. It is also a MP3 player, and seems to have quite a bit of extensibility. I am determined to see if they have a booth at Comdex coming up in Las Vegas next month! I really want to take a look …

Linux handheld device holds 10GB. A Singapore company unveils the Terapin Mine, a handheld device that stores up to 10GB of data and multimedia files. [CNET Tech News]

PDA Abstraction …
Microsoft has got to love seeing this type of development going on. If and when this releases, I can run all of my Palm OS applications on my PocketPC … or better … on my wearable PC!

It is projects like this that demonstrate that the products that are developed around “scarcity” theory are doomed to fail. Powerful wearable systems are just around the corner …

PalmOS Emulation On PocketPC [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

Open Source and Location Based Services …
Although this project does not directly move to location based services, it demonstrates the types of projects that are being developed in the Open Source community.

It is my opinion that as mobile hardware become more powerful, and wireless and GPS are an integral set of peripherals, we are going to see some incredible applications which relate directly to this project. The concepts of “location marks” or “location servers” … along with “route servers” … are going to be the basis for the creation of powerful augmented reality solutions. My ability to store locations, routes, and other information which can accessed by others, will create incredible amounts of data which will augment our everyday experience through goggles and other visual and audible enhancements.

The beginning is here …

GPSMan 5.4 (Default). A graphical manager of Garmin GPS data. [freshmeat.net]

Wireless networks of the future …
This is yet another article which outlines some great points about the future of “parasitic” wireless networks. I think of these more as “collaborative network infrastructures”. There are some huge benefits to this architecture in such a build out as the participants of the network defray the infrastructure costs, and also determine the standards and features of the network. This is the root of my 80211.net project … which is currently looking for funding. 😉

Wireless Freenets [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

A whole new world of location based services …
The advances that we are creating in computing devices, and in wireless connectivity, are setting the course on where the human race will be in the not-to-distant future. We are slowly evolving into a multitude of ever-connected people, continuously interacting throughout the day with the communities that we are members of.

I believe that some of the biggest enhancements to the human experience are going to appear as a result of the combination of location based services, and augmented reality. It is when we merge these two that we will start to see some incredible enhancements to how we relate to each other, and the world around us.

Image the day that you leave your house, wearing your computer and it’s augmented-reality goggles, and begin to experience the sensory enhancements that it can create. The computer will constantly be determining your location, and augmenting your senses with new forms of “awareness.” You will hear audible notifications of issues related to you – both near and far. A friend has come on-line … another friend is less than a mile away from you. You will also be able to see “virtual” signs and art in your goggles which “overlay” the world around you. These will be signs left by friends, and other people in the communities that you interact with. We have not even begun to see what is coming …

Location Services Coming Slowly. But study says they’ll generate big profits [allNetDevices Wireless News]

The new user interfaces …
As the Palm and WinCE PDAs have gained popularity, so have the new user interfaces – or more specifically the new data entry techniques. Users of these devices now use “virtual pens” to “write” on the screens of their PDAs, and there are several different solutions evolving. There is the Palm Graffiti solution and the WinCE solution, like that in the Compaq iPaq.

In my observations and research I believe that these “stroke” or “gesture” based solutions are going to evolve and grow in popularity. I am working on such a solution now for my wearable computer business. This library of code is one that provides these types of features to Linux and some specific applications.

LibStroke 0.5 (Default). Stroke and gesture recognition library [freshmeat.net]