“NORDLICHT BLITZ PLAY” (Blitz Play Hero III) is a new urban game where you must walk around the town where Wi-Fi access points are scattered. The game was invented by Ludic-Society, a community of artists from Bergen (Norway).

Each player carries a Nintendo DS in scan mode that emits sound when approaching an access point. A belt holding christmas trees with LEDs will also flash near a wireless signal.

Warchalking is back … with a little RFID in it.

via MakeZine

((o))

Don’t forget this new sign which will probably be used by the wireless community to inform users of the presence of a free Wi-Fi network. Swiss UPA thinks this new smiley could be useful to indicate that a free wireless network is available to connect to the web without needing to go through registration or other long steps imposed by operators or captcha forms.

The ((o)) sign, placed at the front of the Wi-Fi network’s SSID (i.e. ((o)) WiFiAccess) will cut the frustration felt by users wanting a quick and effective access to the web.

An interesting initiative from Swiss UPA.

via Presse Text

Wireless Africa published at the end of october a guide to install a rural network based on the mesh technology.

This guide helps to planify and create a wireless mesh network based on Freifunk, well known in the wireless community for its performances and its many qualities tested in real life. Freifunk is being used in different countries around the world : Berlin (Germany), Dharamsala (India), Peebles Valley (South Africa), Vaour (France), …

Wi-Fi is very helpful when the telecom infrastructure is inexistant, just like in Africa most of the time.

Version 0.7_65 covers different topics, such as the equipment and software necessary, services used on the network, planning and installation, …

Wi-LAN (Ottawa, Canada), founded in 1992, has filed an infringement suit against 22 companies - including Acer, Apple, Atheros, Belkin, Best Buy, Broadcom, Buffalo, Dell, D-Link, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Marvell, Netgear, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba - that make or sell Wi-Fi products. The 280 patents canadian company filed a suit 3 years ago against Cisco, and has since found a financial arrangement.

Wi-LAN was known to have worked on the early versions of Wi-Fi, but must not have had enough commercial success. Also active in other technologies like WiMAX and ADSL, Wi-LAN seems to be concentrating on its many patents. Wi-LAN could be preparing another lot of infringement suits against WiMAX players.

Marshall’s court (Texas, USA) is known to be pretty kind with patent holders. This is where Wi-LAN is filing the 22 companies. Reuters believes that Wi-LAN had arranged a financial deal with Toshiba in July concerning it’s patents.

Most astonishing is that Buy and Circuit City, resellers, have been filed. Is Wi-LAN just looking for deep-pocket companies ? I wonder …