TECHGEEK.com.au » wifi

Victoria to trial iPad in Australian schools

Terence Huynh — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:38:48 +0000

On the same day as the iPad was released, the Victorian Government has announced that it will spend over $300,000 to pay for the newly-launched device in a ground-breaking trial to see if this device could have educational benefits within the Victorian education system.

Victoria is the first state to implement this for educational purposes.

“Education is the top priority of this Government and our Australian-first trial of iPads in schools will ensure our students remain one step ahead when it comes to emerging technology,” Victorian Premier John Brumby said.

“This trial will allow us to understand the impact of iPads on student learning and communication, and on the way teachers plan and deliver curriculum in the classroom.”

500 iPads will be distributed in eight schools – including the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Education Institute, Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and Manor Lakes P-12 Specialist College in Wyndham Vale – and it will look on the impact of the device on student learning and communication. The other five other schools are yet to be announced, but will be government schools, not private or Catholic schools.

This move comes as the Government’s commitment to public education, spending over $150 million this year to keep the public schools up to date with technology.

Intel announce WiDi HD

Stewart Wilson — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:27:39 +0000

Straight from CES, Intel have announced the WiDi HD. Working over wireless, you can stream your HD media to your television set via a HDMI connection. Your PC will need a Core i3, i5 or i7 processor together with the receiver box which will set you back $100. Intel demonstrated netflix from a laptop with Windows 7 streaming over to a TV.

Netgear will be the first to provide the receiver box for the TV called “Netgear Push2TV PVT1000″. The Toshiba Satellite E205 will also be the first laptop to have native Intel WiDi support.

WiFi a/b/g/n and introducing WiFi Direct

James Wilson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:04:55 +0000

There it is folks – a new Wi-Fi type that will be officially support by the Wi-Fi Alliance and is aimed to do one thing – create a devices-to-deivces network without a base station or ad-hoc nonsense.
From the Wi-Fi Alliance website press release:

The specification, previously code-named “Wi-Fi peer-to-peer,” can be implemented in any Wi-Fi device, from mobile phones, cameras, printers, and notebook computers, to human interface devices such as keyboards and headphones. Significantly, devices that have been certified to the new specification will also be able to create connections with hundreds of millions of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED legacy devices already in use. Devices will be able to make a one-to-one connection, or a group of several devices can connect simultaneously.

“Wi-Fi Direct represents a leap forward for our industry. Wi-Fi users worldwide will benefit from a single-technology solution to transfer content and share applications quickly and easily among devices, even when a Wi-Fi access point isn’t available,” said Wi-Fi Alliance executive director Edgar Figueroa

Wi-Fi Direct will provide more speed and security then Bluetooth but will be a drainer on power supplies. It will allow for Wifi communication between multiple device without the need for a wireless base station. The Alliance hopes to make it industry standard by mid-late 2010.