The World's Most Wired Airports

By Elizabeth Woyke

Beth Breidenbach calls it the "vulture hover."

It's a maneuver familiar to anyone looking to use a laptop in an airport—the circling, swooping dance to locate and secure access to wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) and power outlets.

Breidenbach, a Spokane, Wash.-based senior data architect for IBM Global Business Services, is on the road an average of 45 weeks a year. To cope, she's memorized plug locations in her favorite airports—she's found them by the main poles in the seating area in Denver International Airport; by the workstations at Chicago's O'Hare and New York's LaGuardia; still others near particular restaurants in Minneapolis, where she can grab a bite while charging her laptop and Palm handheld.

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Wi-Fi Camera Card Gets a CES Prize

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A memory card that wirelessly sends pictures from a digital camera to a computer — letting you skip the tedium of plugging the camera in to upload images — got bragging rights Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Eye-Fi Inc.'s wireless card beat nine other contenders for the top spot in the traditional Last Gadget Standing session, a breezy and informal CES contest staged by Yahoo Inc.'s technology section. The winner is determined by the volume of audience applause.

The $100 Eye-Fi card, which has 2 gigabytes of memory, uses Wi-Fi to instantly zap pictures to computers and photo-sharing Web sites. The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., announced earlier at CES that it had a deal to get its technology into memory cards made by Lexar Media.

Eye-Fi's diverse set of rivals included a golf simulator, a Toshiba Corp. wireless projector and the Sansa TakeTV, a USB memory stick from SanDisk Corp. that is designed to transfer video from the Internet to the TV.

Slacker.com Makes Internet Radio Mobile

San Diego-based Slacker.com has debuted its own satellite-based radio service, which combines Internet radio, portable music and satellite distribution.

Currently the service is only in the testing stage, but when it is fully functioning could provide over 10,000 stations to users.

And by using the Slacker DJ function, the service also makes it possible for listeners to devise their own stations based on the kind of music they like.

Slacker co-founder and chief executive Dennis Mudd, said: "The only problem is that until now, personalized radio has been stuck on the PC.

"Slacker solves that problem."

Though Slacker is ad-based and therefore free of charge, the company is set to launch a premium service costing $7.50 per month, which will be ad-free and provide more flexibility to users.

In addition, the company is also to release the Slacker Personal Radio Player, which will be Wi-Fi enabled and able to play the user's personal playlists.

“Slacker has a taken a unique approach to the radio business,” states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National whose website broadbandnational.com is considered the industry leader for users shopping for broadband and related digital products and services. “It’s much like an MP3 player but instead of play lists of songs Slacker.com offers customized radio stations.”

For information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com

NBC And MobiTV Ally To Provide Wireless Primetime

For the first time viewers will be able to watch primetime shows over a wireless network, thanks to a recently announced deal between NBC Universal and MobiTV. In addition the two companies will also choose short form programming from Bravo, SCI FI Channel, USA Network, Telemundo and mun2. The programs will be available over five new channels, all of which are to be available to subscribers. Jean-Briac Perrette, president, NBC Universal Digital Distribution, said: "This is an extraordinary partnership with MobiTV and we're excited to be the first major network to offer our viewers wireless access to their favorite primetime shows on demand. "In addition, this groundbreaking deal with MobiTV will create another platform for NBC's partner advertisers to reach their audience." And Jeff Bartee, vice president content and programming for MobiTV, called the deal a "significant milestone in the history of television". The current seasons of popular shows like The Office, Heroes, Monk and Battlestar Galactica will be available on the new service. "The expansion of broadband networks makes these types of partnership possible," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National. "We have millions of people coming to our website and comparative shopping the more than 50 providers we represent." For more information on broadband and other related products and services, or to comparative shop for the best possible broadband deal visit www.broadbandnational.com

U.S. Hispanics Avoiding Internet

Hispanics in the U.S. are falling behind other cultural groups on using the Internet because their English skills are lacking, according to a recent report.

A full 56 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. use the Internet, but this figure is well below that of other groups, the report from the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet Project found. By contrast, 60 percent of black people in the US reported being on the Internet and 71 percent of white people said they regularly used it.

Susannah Fox, one of the co-authors of the report, said: "For many people living in the U.S., the Internet is the go-to source for information and for staying in touch with friends and family. "We find that significant portions of the population are cut off from online resources." The study also found that while 32 per cent of adults who only speak Spanish use the Internet, 76 percent of those who are bi-lingual use it regularly.

"This is precisely why we created our Spanish language website 'comprabroadband.com," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National whose website broadbandnational.com is considered the industry leader for users shopping for broadband and related digital products and services. "There's a void that we're filling," states Vinny Olmstead CEO of Broadband National. "Our providers haven't been moving fast enough to address the market pressures so we saw and opportunity for us."

For information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com or www.comprabroadband.com

AT&T Announced $750 Million Global Investment

Communications provider AT&T is to invest more than $750 million this year in delivering global IP services and solutions to businesses across the world.

The extra money will help the company to extend its global IP network and capabilities, allowing it to provide more services to business customers in the US and elsewhere. It will also allow for the extended deployment of key access technologies, such as DSL, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and satellite, to help companies connect to AT&T's global IP network.

"In a global environment where IP network and convergence trends continue to transform companies and whole industries, we're well-positioned to meet our customers' needs," said Dick Anderson, AT&T group president for global business services. The company will focus its investment on key markets in fast growing economies in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America, as well as developed markets in Europe and Canada.

AT&T offers, among other things, IP-based business communications services, high-speed wireless Internet access and voice services.

For more information on AT&T broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com