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Thu, 22 May 2003
Final 802.11g spec reduces data rate
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) has approved a new and final draft standard for 802.11g wireless LANs that will have a true throughput for Internet-type connections of between 10M and 20Mbit/sec., far lower than 54Mbit/sec. raw data rate initially billed for the standard.
The standard was approved by the IEEE on May 15 but won't be made publicly available until members of the IEEE 802.11 working group ratify it next month, according to Sheung Li, a product line manager at Atheros Communications Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif-based WLAN chip manufacture.
Li said the lower actual vs. raw data rates for 802.11g arose from the need to assure backward compatibility with millions of existing 802.11b Wi-Fi client devices and access points that operate in the same 2.4-GHz frequency band. The 802.11g standard includes built-in protection mechanisms to ensure that the devices don't interfere with older 802.11b devices. That means the 11g systems will need to transmit an electronic warning to 11b devices that a 11g device is operating, a warning that is enough to cause a cutback in actual throughput, Li said.
Li estimated that that in mixed 802.11b and 802.11g networks running standard TCP/IP Internet protocols, this will reduce actual throughput to 10Mbit/sec. -- while pure 802.11g networks will have actual data rates of around 20Mbit/sec. Li pointed out that even at these data rates the 802.11g devices still outperform 802.11b devices, which have a raw data rate of 11Mbit/sec. but an actual throughput of about half that speed.
Read more about it at Computerworld.
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Mac OS X Browser Roundup
While the browser wars ended long ago on the PC, competition among browsers on Mac OS X is heating up. Today Opera released an update, following the recent release of Mozilla Firebird and updates to OmniWeb & Safari.
Here are my picks & pans among the the offerings.
Opera's latest update, 6.0.2, offers bug fixes & improves the speed, but it still maintains a quirky, cluttered user interface. Despite their claims, I find that it isn't really faster than most of the competition, plus I find the cluttered user interface with too many toolbars to be very ugly.
Firebird is Mozilla's new offering. It's a lean, stripped-down, redesigned version of Mozilla's browser component without the bloat of Mozilla's mail module. While it's still very rough, it's very fast and shows a lot of promise. Future versions of Mozilla will be based on Firebird, with the mail module available separately as Thunderbird.
OmniWeb was one of the first Mac OS X native browsers, and while it's slower than the others and has some rendering problems, it also has some very nice features. OmniWeb is my favorite web browser for writing, since it supports spell checker and find/replace in text fields. The latest versions even have a feature that lets you open a text field into a separate window (which I'm using now to write this article).
Camino and Safari are still the leaders in terms of speed, reliability & features. I use both of them daily, but I find that Safari now has a slight edge.
Aladdin Partners with SwiftCD
Aladdin Systems improves CD distribution technique by partnering with SwiftCD for on-demand trial CDs
SwiftCD Helps Aladdin Provide More CDs At A Lower Cost, Per Customer Demand
WATSONVILLE, CA, May 22, 2003: Aladdin Systems, Inc. today
announced a partnership with SwiftCD, fulfillment experts, to enable
Aladdin to deliver on-demand, custom Trial CDs, Shareware CDs and various
other content on customized, personalized Compact Discs. The first project
utilizing the technology is the "Aladdin Solutions Collection CD," now
available from the aladdinsys.com corporate Website as well as StuffIt.com.
"We're excited to be working with a leading software vendor like Aladdin,"
said Vincent Jensen, President of SwiftCD. "The Aladdin Trial CDs are
moving in record numbers meaning more Aladdin software in the hands of more
customers, as well as more revenue potential for Aladdin."
"In today's tough economy we really need to watch spending, so it was a
smart decision, and more profitable, to outsource this relationship to
SwiftCD," said Jonathan Kahn, CEO of Aladdin. "Thanks to robust technology
and end-to-end service, we were able to go live with SwiftCD in just three
hours after making the decision to outsource. We also liked that SwiftCD
was able to provide us with a complete solution, encompassing order taking,
order handling, manufacturing, packing, delivery and customer service."
Aladdin Systems, Inc: The Leader in Access Management(tm) Founded in 1988,
Aladdin Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aladdin Systems
Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB: ALHI), develops and publishes award-winning
business and consumer products, including StuffIt(r), the complete
compression solution for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris platforms.
Aladdin's software offers a range of solutions to increase user efficiency
in the areas of information access, removal, recovery, security and
Internet distribution. On the Net: http://www.aladdinsys.com.
About SwiftCD:
SwiftCD.com, a division of DigitalSwift Corporation, is a business solution
provider, empowering businesses to deliver their products on CD to their
customers. Every CD is individually produced to order with custom label and
contents. SwiftCD also handles all aspects of order fulfillment including
online tracking, reporting and customer service. Contact information: Ph:
770-922-4007 or in the US, toll free 1-866-SWIFTCD. On the Net:
http://www.SwiftCD.com/.
Press Release: Keynote Gallery
Keynote Gallery Launches Website Offering Quality Themes for AppleŽ Keynote Presentation Software
For Immediate Release
For those looking to create a presentation with impact, KeynoteGallery.com features some truly innovative and uniquely-designed professional Keynote themes. Using the high-quality Keynote Gallery themes, you can create a show-stopping presentation with a consistent look and feel across all the slides.
Each theme comes complete with the standard eight AppleŽ Keynote masters plus six additional masters. Some themes include bonus masters. All are available in both 1024 x 768 and 800 x 600 formats.
Keynote Gallery Themes are designed with coordinated features such as:
- pre-selected fonts along with a font color and treatment to suit the theme
- heading underline unique to each theme
- 5 different custom bullets created to match each particular Keynote Gallery theme
- custom designed textured fills for eight flexible chart types
Pricing & Availability
Theme prices are affordable starting at $8.95 US and a three-pack collection attractively priced at $23.95 US. Users can find new themes added each week. Keynote Gallery themes are available through online download at http://www.keynotegallery.com/ .
Keynote Gallery is mentioned in Peachpit Press?s new Keynote for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide which is now available through a link on the keynotegallery.com website.
Keynote Gallery is also pleased to announce that they have received the rights to distribute many of the fonts from NicksFonts.com with the KeynoteGallery themes. Nick Curtis is the creator of over 170 freeware fonts and 100 commercial fonts, available at MyFonts.com and Fonts.com; Nick has also created almost two dozen fonts licensed to Agfa-Monotype, Bitstream and ITC; He is cited by the Type Designers Club for two of the best new type designs of 2001; freeware fonts featured in Windows 100% magazine (Japan), Practical Internet magazine (UK), and PC Magazine (US); his fonts will also be featured in the upcoming "Inside Photoshop 8" by Photoshop guru Gary David Bouton.
Using a Keynote Gallery theme allows you to focus on your ideas instead of design.
To view Keynote Gallery themes, visit http://www.keynotegallery.com/ .