How to solve a wifi issue between Nokia 5530 and a Thomson TG787 router

So, my wife bought a Nokia 5530 Xpress Music phone and was very eager to try it, especially the Wifi since she could now connect to Facebook and e-mail at home without having to use my Mac or iPod Touch :-)

However, the experience was not that thrilling since the phone was unable to connect to our our home router (a Thomson TG787 provided by our ADSL provider).

After trying several different configurations (with WEP, WPA, WPA2, without encryption, etc...) and with other gadgets (iPod Touch and Nokia N80 could connect successfully to every configuration) I was very frustrated that I couldn't find a working solution.

At that point I went out and while at a shopping mall I was able to try some public wireless networks and it worked immediately. This increased my frustration to an even more absurd level. Back home, the problem remained.

It was only when, while using some Google-fu, I was able to find this forum post (in Portuguese) that I could finally solve the problem. Even though this post refers to the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, the solution appears to be suitable for the 5530 model as well.

So, basically all you need to do is some Terminal action:

• Open Terminal (on a Mac) or a command window (in Windows)
• Run the following command: telnet 192.168.1.254
• This will give you access to the router, but you have to insert the username (Administrator) and password (the password you defined)
• Once an administration console appears, write: wireless qos config mode=disabled
• Then hit Enter
• After that (it takes a few seconds to compute) write: saveall
• Then hit Enter
• Just exit and you're done

The Nokia 5530 phone was able to connect to the home wireless network... success, finally!

Final note: I don't know exactly if this affects only this type of phones, but my Nokia N80 worked fine without the need to do this hack. Also, I don't know exactly what this hack does to your router so beware. So far, I haven't noticed anything different on all other devices, so I won't reverse it. By the way, if you need to restart your router, this configuration is lost, so you'll need to do it again.

Anti-paparazzi gadgets

Adam Harvey, a student of of Interactive Telecommunication at New York University has created a new gadget that will probably be the next sensation of all those paparazzi-harassed celebrities: a purse with a flash sensor and flash.

So what does it do? It's simple. The purse contains a sensor that is triggered by any flash going off, and it instantaneously fires its own flash, completely ruining paparazzi shots.

Source: core77

Invisibility cloak is closer to reality

This time it's not another camera/projection technology applied to clothing just to try and camouflage a person. This is a step closer to pseudo-invisibility, you know, kind of like Invisible Woman has the ability to bend and manipulate light to render herself and others invisible.

Scientists from Duke University have come up with a new type of device that is able to cloak an object from visible light. The device is made from a light-bending composite material that can detour electromagnetic waves around an object and reconnect them on the other side. That creates an effect similar to a distant mirage you'd see hovering above a road on a hot day.

But don't get your hopes up just now as this research is still far away from producing a cloaking cape as Harry Potter's. The foreseeable applications for this kind of technology will focus on eliminating obstructions to improve wireless communications or acoustic cloaks that could serve as protective shields, preventing the penetration of vibrations, sound, or seismic waves.

Source: CNet

The alarm clock suitable for couples

This concept alarm clock by Johan Brengesjo (which is interesting enough to add to my collection of different alarm clocks) is an excellent idea for couples that have to get up at different hours and don't want to bother each other with different buzzing alarm clocks.

How? Well, a wireless rubber ring with an integrated vibration device is worn on the finger (the alarm clock has two-user settings and there's one ring for each person). When the alarm "rings" only the corresponding ring vibrates and the person can wake up by sensing the vibration. The light function and the snooze function are engaged by shaking your hand. Move your hand and the snooze gets activated.

Source: Hometone

How to protect against the newly-found WPA hack

Did you hear that the WiFi's WPA security protocol was cracked? A PhD candidate studying encryption has found an exploit in the WPA standard that would allow a hacker to "send bogus data to an unsuspecting WiFi client," completely compromising your WiFi security and opening your network to all sorts of hacking. That could mean that your WiFi network at home or at work is no longer secure...

But don't worry, it's easy to protect yourself against this new exploit. All you have to do is switch off Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) as an encryption mode, and use Advanced Encryption System (AES) only. TKIP is the only protocol that the hack applies to, so switching to AES-only will ensure that your Wi-Fi network is safe again.

Source: Lifehacker

Light bulbs as the new WiFi technology?

That's right, it looks like there're some guys at Boston University's College of Engineering working on low-power LEDs which could utilize an optical communication system to carry data wirelessly.


Using a technique which rapidly switches the LEDs on and off data transmissions could be made via imperceptible -- yet undoubtedly brain-scrambling -- flickering patterns, and each light would be its own network entry point at speeds of 1 to 10Mbps.

Why is this interesting? Well, as professor Thomas Little says: "Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires."

Looks interesting, doesn't it?

Source: Engadget

Retro-blogging: best posts of August 2007

And we're back! After a few days to get used to the new idea of being a Father, I'll try now to update the blog a little bit.

But for now, let's flashback to the blog's August last year's best posts:

• Download your next iPod
• 1 TB in one CD?
• Ever heard of a "mechanical virus"?
• How to send large files when your e-mail account says "NO"
• A nice MP3/CD Player concept
• A list of more than 450 freeware utilities
• Context-aware image resizing: the future of image displaying
• Power up your cellphone with your body heat
• A four-wheel segway??
  

So, you thought your Bluetooth headset was secure?

More DIY videos at 5min.com

Retro-blogging: best posts of March 2007

Previously on the Tech In Me:

• WiPeer: local wireless for laptops
• Learn how to create special effects on Photoshop
• Humans: the weakest link in technology
• The new video game arcade
• An item for the ladies: gadget-recharching purse
• 5 MB, fifty years ago
• People with cellphones are paparazzi's worst nightmare
  

Handy laptop bags

In a time where the oil reaches historic values, everything that we can do to help reduce the consumption of energy is appreciated. And solar-powered devices can be part of the solution.

Until now, the manufacturers of this kind of technology weren't able to produce anything more powerful than a purse that can charge small devices like cellphones. But the technology is advancing and you can now charge your laptop by using this solar-powered laptop bag.

But what's the point of having to go outside to charge a laptop if you don't have Internet access? Well, with the amount of WiFi hotspots now available (some of them in open sunny spaces) you may be able to find some free Internet access out there. You just have to know where to look for.

And what better way to do it than with a handy laptop bag (or a WiFi detecting t-shirt) that detects surrounding WiFi signals without having to take your laptop out of the bag?

Pretty handy, hum?

Retro-blogging: best posts of January 2007

Previously, on the Tech in Me:

• Retro-tech: a digital polaroid
• Earn some money with your YouTube videos
• European PS3 in March
• It takes 21 sms to make a cellphone thief repent
• DRM for Blu-ray and HD-DVD already cracked
• Need free pictures for your blog?
• The Nintendo Wii's exercise plan
• Fight crime with your cellphone
• Wireless Energy
• Free online TV
• Better searching on the wikipedia
• Google Earth: a terrorist's attack planner
• Joost: HDTV over IP
• The iPhone is here

CES 2008: the future gadgets

CES 2008, one of the best technology events of the world, has just started and lots of new gadgets are being presented there. And for the look of it, 2008 will be an interesting, if not revolutionary, year for the world of technology. Check out some of the news and gadgets that are available at the technology fair:

• A giant curved LCD display that can push your gaming experience to a 2880x900 resolution
• Fujitsu concept devices that can make your shopping experience easier (with video)
• Sony's Wireless USB technology, TransferJet, gets demonstrated (with video)
  
• Wow, a 27-inch OLED display that is as thick as 3 credit cards joined together (with video)
  
• Super-slow filming with the new Casio EX F1, now available for mere mortals (with video)
  
• Skype available on the Playstation Portable
• The real guitar hero
• The Motorola banana slider

Retro-Blogging: Best posts of October 2006

Previously on "The Tech In Me":

• Google Maps on your phone - How to view Google Maps on your cellphone
  
• New short-range wireless standard - Wibree was starting to get discussed
  
• Fading Windows with Jedi Concentrate - A nice application to help you concentrate on specific windows
  
• Multi-touch Interface Screens - The beginning of Perceptive Pixel
  
• Invisible Clothing - Futuristic clothing that allows you to stay invisible-ish
• Google Code Search - Search for millions of lines of code in C++, Java, PHP and other languages
• Google will buy YouTube? - when the rumours started
• Online Media Converter - Convert multimedia files between formats
• J2ME Polish - Java Mobile Programming made easy
• McDonald's and Coca-Cola's MP3 Players "play" malware - When two of the world's largest companies join together to bring malware to the world
• "GooTube" won't be the next Napster - Google's naive view of YouTube copyright problems
• A Trojan that keeps you safe from virus? - The world was shocked at this "benevolent virus"
• Wireless Internet for free on Lisbon's parks - Lisbon just got greener for the Internet Geeks
  

"Flight mode" is not good enough to avoid iPhone users getting arrested

It seems that some flight attendants are not very confortable on people using their iPhones during flights, even if on "flight mode". An iPhone user was detained for refusing to turn off his iPhone during a flight, because he was using it on "airplane mode", which restricts any communication features of the cellphone. He believed he wasn't breaking any rules because these special modes are created exactly to avoid that any harm is caused by the cellphone while it is being used on an airplane.

The problem lies on the fact that flight companies (and specially their employees, such as flight attendants) lack the knowledge that these special modes exist and do not cause any harm to the flight operation.

This reminds me of a little story that happened to me:

I travel quite a lot due to international conferences and project meetings and I never had any problems using devices on "flight mode" on airplanes.

Well, at least with flight attendants... The only problem I had, was actually a passenger that asked me if I had the time, and I showed her my cellphone (which was on "flight mode") and she started yelling (well, she was Italian, it was not yelling but you know how they can be quite volumous when talking :-) ): "You can't have your cellphone on. It's against the law".

I then spent 10 minutes telling her the difference between "flight mode" and normal mode and why the rules apply to the electric-magnetic fields and not the devices themselves, so it's okay to use the devices as long as the "communication features" are off. Soon enough she was asking me to check if her cellphone had that kind of functionality and if she could use on the flight :-)

I think the long talk with her didn't work, because every time the airplane reached some turbulence, she would give me that suspicious look to see if I was using the phone, kind of like she was saying: "it's your cellphone that's causing this turbulence!"

If it wasn't for my iPod and laptop I could have never survived the 25-hour flights to Hawai'i. Luckly, there's "flight mode" on devices :-)

McDonald's and Free WiFi: a dangerous combination

If the United Kingdom government was thinking about implementing strong measures against obesity and related problems, I think they've just lost the war.

All McDonald's restaurants in the UK will be offering Free WiFi to their costumers, thus turning into the country's largest free wireless internet provider.

No news as to when this will actually happen, but rest assure their kids won't get any slimmer soon.

EDIT 1: After Carlos Serrão pointed out that in Portugal, McDonald's restaurants are also offering free WiFi, I went check it out on McDonald's Portuguese site and it's true. Why wasn't this on the news?

EDIT 2: Indeed it's on the news: Portuguese McDonald's is the pioneer in offering free WiFi access to its costumers (in Portuguese only so far).

Source: Engadget

GPS on the iPhone?

For those with an iPhone, there's a new 3rd-party application that you can use on your iPhone to "emulate" GPS positioning, based on your cell-phone tower connection.

From MacRumors:

"Navizon uses cell phone towers to pinpoint your location (within a few hundred yards) and is able to push those coordinates to the Google Maps application."

Source: MacRumors

Wanna know where's a WiFi signal but don't want to carry your device around?

Are you usually interested in looking for an available WiFi connection, but just don't always want to carry the computer around? Then you should check out this shirt.

It's an animated shirt with a WiFi connection detector that runs on 3 AAA batteries (couldn't figure out where the batteries go into though) for "hours".

It's on sale for $30 (around 21€) on ThinkGeek.

Source: Engadget

Avoid that cable clutter

While wireless energy is not available to the public, we have to worry about that cable clutter spread across our office's floor.

What if there was a simple way of avoiding this annoying problem? Check this out:




Uhh, my wife is gonna love this :-)

Source: Lifehacker

Wibree: a short-range and low-power consumption Bluetooth

In October last year I posted on the work that Nokia and others were doing to create a new Bluetooth standard with shorter range but less power consumption, code-named Wibree.

Well, it look’s like it paid off. Nokia will in fact develop the new wireless standard version of Bluetooth to connect devices such as watches and heart rate monitors.

The Wibree short-range radio link uses just a fraction of the power of earlier systems and because of that, it may help hooking up devices with small batteries or power capacity, such as links for toys, sports monitors and watches, as well as sensors used in health monitoring.

Source: Reuters

Another approach for "clipping" your iPod Shuffle

Don't like to clip your iPod Shuffle on your clothing? No worries, check out these new headphones that take advantage of the Shuffle's minimal size and allow you to dock it directly into the left headphone.

While it may be in fact handy, some issues have to be considered:

• even though the shuffle is actually quite light, won't the extra weight on the left side cause the left earphone to slide down a little?
• how easy is to change between tunes if you can't actually see the iPod shuffle controls?

Maybe we should wait for the first reviews on this to check out if it's really worth the $50 base price.

Source: the iPods Blog