Metro Tech Squad offering 10% off!
Published February 16, 2012 | 
Metro Tech Squad is now offering 10% off of all services for the remainder of February. Not valid with any other offer.
How-To: Build a WiFi biquad dish antenna
Published January 26, 2012 | 
Wireless enthusiasts have been repurposing satellite dishes for a couple years now. This summer the longest link ever was established over 125 miles using old 12 foot and 10 foot satellite dishes. A dish that big is usually overkill for most people and modern mini-dishes work just as well. The dish helps focus the radio waves onto a directional antenna feed. We’re building a biquad antenna feed because it offers very good performance and is pretty forgiving when it comes to assembly errors. Follow along as we assemble the feed, attach it to a DirecTV dish and test out its performance.
Why? With just a handful of cheap parts, a salvaged DirecTV dish and a little soldering, we were able to detect access points from over 8 miles away. Using consumer WiFi gear we picked up over 18 APs in an area with only 1 house per square mile.
Building the antenna
Biquad antennas can be built from common materials, which is nice because you don’t have to scrounge around for the perfectly-sized soup can. We did have to buy some specialized parts before getting started though.
The most important part here is the small silver panel mount N-connector in the center of the picture; the entire antenna will be built on this. We purchased it from S.M. Electronics, part# 1113-000-N331-011. The “N-connector” is standard across the majority of commercial antennas and you can connect them to your wireless devices using “pigtails.” The longer pigtail in the picture is a RP-TNC to N-Male pigtail that we’ll use to connect our antenna to a Linksys WRT54G access point. The short pigtail is a RP-MMCX to N-Male pigtail so we can connect to our Senao 2511CD PLUS EXT2 WiFi card which is pictured. We also purchased 10 feet of WBC 400 coax cable so we wouldn’t have to sit with the dish in our lap. We got our surplus DirecTV dish from Freecycle. We’ll cover the reason for the mini butane torch later.
Trevor Marshall built one of the first biquad WiFi antennas found on the internet. We followed the slightly more thorough instructions found at martybugs.net. Here are the raw materials we started with:
The wire is standard solid-core 3-conductor wire used for most house wiring. We didn’t have any copper printed circuit board material laying around so we used this thin sheet of copper and supported it using the 1/4-inch thick black plastic pictured.
The first step in building the element was stripping and cutting a 244mm length of wire.
We marked the wire every 31mm with a permanent marker and began bending the wire into a double diamond shape. We tried to make the length of each leg 30.5mm.
The easiest way to make really sharp bends in the solid copper wire is to use two pairs of pliers. With the pliers held perpendicular to each other bend the wire against one of the sets of jaws.
The element with all bends completed:
Next we cut out a 110mm square of black plastic to use as a base for the reflector. We drilled a hole in the center to clear our connector.
We then soldered a piece of copper wire to the center pin of our N-connector.
Next we soldered a piece of of wire to the outside of the connector. We ran into some trouble here. Our cheapy iron was not capable of getting the connector’s base hot enough to make a good solder joint. We bought a butane torch and used that to heat up the surfaces. This worked pretty well except it desoldered our center pin. We recommend you solder the outside piece of wire first before doing the center one.
After the connector had cooled it was attached to the black plastic base using epoxy. The thin copper sheet was attached to the front with epoxy and trimmed to fit.
We let the epoxy cure for a while before proceeding. The next step was to solder our bow tie shaped element to the vertical wires. The element was supported by two pieces of scrap copper trimmed to 15mm to ensure proper positioning.
Then the extra wire was trimmed off and the outside wire was soldered to the ground plane to complete the antenna.
To make mounting to the dish easy we modified the original feedhorn. Here is what it originally looked like.
After removing the housing, internal components and shortening the feedhorn looked like this.
The antenna is attached by inserting the N-connector into the tube and then connecting the coax cable.
Here is a picture of the final antenna assembly ready to be attached to the dish.
Since the satellite dish has an off-center feed it looks like it is pointed at the ground when it is level with the horizon. Even though there are no angle markings for setting the dish at 0 degrees inclination we can still ensure that the dish is pointing at the horizon by setting the dish angle to 45 degrees and mounting it on a tube with a 45 degree angle.
Test results
The Engadget Corn Belt Testing Facility has broadband access provided by a local WISP. So we knew if we plugged in our antenna we were sure to pick up something in the area. We pointed the dish at the closest grain elevator, where the WISP mounts their antennas. We connected the dish feed to our Senao card and started up Kismet.
We expected to get one AP, but five is even better. Looking through the info strings we were able to determine where the APs were since the WISP had named them according to the town they are in. The AP on channel 5 is the one we pointed at in town A, 2.4 miles away. The AP on channel 6 is located in town B, 8.2 miles away. The two APs on channel 1 are a bridge between town A and town C which is located 2.6 miles directly behind the dish.
Our next test was to hook our WRT54G up to the dish and point it at a hill 1 mile away. We drove to the top of the hill and used an omnidirectional mini whip antenna with our Senao card to detect it.
Our router was picked up easily. The found 14 other WISP APs including town D, 7.8 miles away. The WISP is definitely using some high powered equipment if we’re just picking this up with an omnidirectional antenna.
For a final test we put the dish on the roof rack and parked on top of the hill to see if we could pick up any more APs.
Our final count is 18 APs, 17 of those belonging to the WISP. This was a pretty fun project and shows that you can build decent wireless solutions using consumer gear.
For the curious: The WISP gives its subscribers a patch antenna with a built in power-over-ethernet access point. Once the antenna is mounted to the roof they run a single ethernet cable into the house which means they don’t have to worry about signal loss from coax. These client boxes are manufactured by Tranzeo.
Zappos website hacked; credit card database not affected, CEO says
Published January 16, 2012 | Zappos.com, the popular online shoe site, was the victim of a cyber attack by a hacker who gained access to part of the company’s internal network through one of its servers, Chief Executive Tony Hsieh said in an email to employees Sunday.
Hsieh said the Henderson, Nev., company was cooperating with law enforcement to undergo “an exhaustive investigation” and that the database that stores customers’ credit card and other payment data was not affected or accessed.
“We’ve spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers. It’s painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident,” Hsieh said in a separate email to customers. “Over the next day or so, we will be training everyone on the specifics of how to best help our customers through their password change process now that their passwords have been reset and expired. We need all hands on deck to help get through this.”
The company said it would notify the more than 24 million customer accounts in its database about the incident and provide instructions on how to choose a new password; the company has already reset and expired existing passwords.
In the email to shoppers, Zappos said customers’ personal information — including their name, email address, billing and shipping addresses, phone number, the last four digits of their credit card number and/or the cryptographically scrambled password on their account — may have been compromised.
“In order to service as many customer inquiries as possible, we will be asking all employees at our headquarters, regardless of department, to help with assisting customers,” Hsieh said. “We have made the hard decision to temporarily turn off our phones and direct customers to contact us by email because our phone systems simply aren’t capable of handling so much volume.”
The company is directing customer concerns and questions to an internal Web page.
Zappos, which sells shoes and has since expanded to other retail categories, was bought by Amazon.com in 2009. The company has become known for its customer service and for its quirky company culture led by Hsieh — including head-shaving events, impromptu parades around the cubicles and employee birthday pranks.
Story found @ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/zappos-hacked.html
iPhone 5
Published September 22, 2011 | Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you have to give credit to Apple’s brilliant marketing and press machine. It has mastered the art of controlling product announcements and the news cycle like no other company. The latest report coming from AllThingsD, pegging the introduction of the iPhone 5 for Tuesday, October 4, is just the latest example. Let’s look at why.
Most probably don’t know this, but October is going to be a heck of a month for the wireless industry. Here’s a quick rundown of the events already on tap for October:
October 7: Sprint “strategy update.” Sprint’s senior management is expected to discuss future network plans and answer press questions. We could see news of Sprint switching to LTE, or learn about Clearwire’s fate. Either way, Sprint’s 4G plans are in the balance.
October 11-13: CTIA: Enterprise and Applications. This is the annual fall event held by the wireless industry’s lobbying organization. Phones and new services are generally announced at this event.
October 18-20: BlackBerry Devcon Americas. This is Research In Motion’s annual developers conference. Last year, RIM introduced the PlayBook at Devcon.
October 24-27: 4GWorld. This event, held in Chicago, highlights growth and change in the telecommunications industry. It now encompasses WiMax, LTE, and other networking technologies being deployed in the United States.
October 26-27: Nokia World. Nokia’s annual event is expected to hold more weight this year as many believe the Finnish phone giant will show off the first build of its Windows Phone 7 software–if not its first Windows Phone 7 device(s).
[Apple has new leadership, but the company can be expected to continue the path defined by its former CEO. See Jobs's Legacy: 8 Reasons Apple Will Dominate The Decade.]
Take all these events together, and it leaves Apple with very little room throughout the month of October. Timing an iPhone 5 launch for the early part of the week of October 3 is the Cupertino company’s best chance to hog the spotlight before other news erodes all the media chatter about its latest smartphone.
Not that Apple has been above stepping on its peers’ toes in the past…
Earlier this year, Apple and Verizon Wireless sent out invitations on the second day of the Consumer Electronics Show to what would eventually be their announcement of the Verizon iPhone. That invite notification was enough to override the news coming out of Las Vegas for the remainder of CES.
Of course, we all remember how Apple held its own media event in San Francisco in January 2007–on the first day of CES 2007–to announce the original iPhone. That single announcement nearly blanked out all the news generated in Las Vegas that year.
Bottom line, AllThingsD’s report of an October 4 debut is right on target for the iPhone 5. Even so, AllThingsD contends, “While Apple could certainly change its plans anytime, sources said that the Oct. 4 date has been selected by the company to showcase the iPhone 5. Sources added that the plan is now to make the new device available for purchase within a few weeks after the announcement.”
The announcement and imminent arrival of the iPhone 5 will certainly hang over all the mobile news generated in the month to come, no matter how you slice the Apple.
OnStar Discloses that it Will Track Customers Without a Plan
Published September 22, 2011 | 
OnStar has begun notifying customers that it may continue to collect and use information about the vehicle even if the customer terminates his or her subscription.
In a privacy notice that will take effect this December, OnStar said that it would collect data as long as a data connection was active, including such details as the location and speed of the vehicle, as well as such fine-grained details as the odometer readings and tire pressure.
The privacy statement lists it as being effective as of Dec. 2011, although the statement also notes that the changes were made to the January 2011 privacy statement.
In the privacy notification, OnStar said that it will share the information it collects with credit card processors and data management companies, as well as roadside assistance providers, emergency services providers, law enforcement, and wireless and satellite service providers.
The data collection can be halted, however; OnStar must deactivate the data connection. “Unless the Data Connection to your Vehicle is deactivated, data about your Vehicle will continue to be collected even if you do not have a Plan,” the privacy policy states. “It is important that you convey this to other drivers, occupants, or subsequent owners of your Vehicle. You may deactivate the Data Connection to your Vehicle at any time by contacting an OnStar Advisor.”
What data does OnStar collect? The company provides a detailed list:
- OnStar collects basic contact information, billing information with credit-card information, and details of the car, such as the make, model, and vehicle identification number (VIN);
- vehicle information, including diagnostic trouble codes, oil life, tire pressure, and fuel economy, as well as when your fuel was last refilled;
- crash information, including the direction of the crash, whether air bags were deployed, and whether the driver and passenger were wearing their seat belts;
- anonymized location information, such as the location and speed of the car, via the installed GPS.In the latter case, OnStar begins by saying that it only collects the GPS location of the vehicle in case of a crash, or lost vehicle. But it also adds that it may collect the information “when needed by us or our Service Providers for our quality, research or troubleshooting purposes” or simply “for any purpose, at any time, provided that following collection of such location and speed information identifiable to your Vehicle, it is shared only on an anonymized basis.”
OnStar also collects information on the details of calls made by the associated Hands-Free Calling service.
In July, OnStar launched the OnStar FMV, an aftermarket rear-view mirror with the OnStar service built in. In July, OnStar also added the capability to track their own cars with a beta service. Ford, which competes against OnStar with its Sync service, also recently announced the capability to allow users to call its customer service centers from within the vehicle to inquire about business addresses and phone numbers.
Whether or not OnStar really anonymizes the data is irrelevant, according to Jonathan Zdziarski, a senior forensic scientist at Via Forensics who wrote about the change in the policy.
“This is too shady, especially for a company that you’re supposed to trust your family to,” he wrote. “My vehicle’s location is my life, it’s where I go on a daily basis. It’s private. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have to have a company like OnStar steal my personal and private life just to purchase an emergency response service. Taking my private life and selling it to third party advertisers, law enforcement, and God knows who else is morally inept. Shame on you, OnStar. You disgust me.”
OnStar also noted that customers with concerns can email its privacy manager at privacymanager@onstar.com, or call the company at (877) 299-1372.
OnStar representatives could not be reached for comment after hours.
Google+ opened to all
Published September 21, 2011 | Google+ is finally open for all, although it’s still in the beta-testing phase.
Vic Gundotra, the company’s senior vice president in charge of the social network, announced today in a blog post that the “field trial” stage for the social network was over. Anyone who isn’t on Google+—perhaps the biggest challenger to Facebook’s social dominance—can just head to the website and sign up.
Google also released eight other new “plus” features today, including new functionality for the “hangout” spaces, where friends can video chat together. Now users who are hanging out can share drawings and documents within the hangout space, rather than emailing each other. And tracking people down inside Google+ just got a whole lot easier with new search tools.
But if you’re not one of the 25 million people who are already using Google+, how do you get started? This infographic from Snoopstation.com explains the basics, going through the structure of a Google+ page, how to make the best use of the +1 button, effective circle building, and protecting your privacy.
But be careful not to fall for Google+’ seductive charms.
NYU Prof Installs Camera in Back of Head
Published September 15, 2011 | The operation was a success, and NYU professor Wafaa Bilal’s transformation into an Orwellian cyborg is complete! You’ll recall that Bilal has decided to install a camera in the back of his head, to be held in place by “a piercing-like attachment” for one year. According to the project’s website, in about a week the digital camera will start snapping photos every minute, 24 hours a day, and then transmit them via the Internet to a new museum in Qatar. Which makes us wonder: Who’ll be the first savvy viral marketer to photobomb his third eye? (Gothamist.com interns are currently staking out the NYU campus.) Here’s video of Bilal before and after “The 3rd I” procedure:
Bilal reached an agreement with NYU to put a lens cap over the camera when he’s on school grounds, so as not to disturb the notoriously private college kids at NYU. But once he’s off campus, the lens cap comes off too, and it’s party time. Well, sort of. Bilal tells the Wall Street Journal that some of his stuffy friends don’t want Old Headcam at their dinner parties anymore. You really find out who your friends are when you implant a camera in your head, huh? “If people don’t accept it, then I don’t want the invitation,” Bilal sniffs. To make matter worse, he’s now having a hard time sleeping, what with THAT CAMERA ATTACHED TO HIS HEAD.
He also has to contend with his girlfriend, who didn’t actually think he’d go through with it. We’re not sure why she’s surprised, though; after all, this is the guy who created a video game called “Virtual Jihadi,” in which he inserted an avatar of himself as a suicide-bomber hunting President George W. Bush. “She’s my best friend and she believes in what I do,” Bilal tells the Journal. “So far there is no cap restriction, but I’m waiting for the first photo of her on the Internet.” So are we!
NETFLIX PRICE HIKE CAUSES CUSTOMERS TO BAIL
Published September 15, 2011 | 
Some of Netflix’s popularity lies in its simplicity — in its ability to serve up films and TV shows and renew subscriptions automatically, without any thinking on the part of the customer.
Until now, that is.
A new pricing scheme is forcing Netflix’s 25 million customers to think about which service they want — access to online streams, access to DVDs by mail or both — and some have decided to rethink the monthly splurge entirely.
On Thursday, the company said that customers were canceling their subscriptions in greater numbers than it expected, about a million in total, causing a projected quarterly loss in customers for only the second time in its history. The company did not signal a shift in direction or a change its financial guidance for the quarter; still, its stock dropped almost 19 percent in heavy trading on Thursday, closing at $169.25 and worsening a season-long selling streak. In July, the stock peaked at $304.79.
The downward revision reflects the negative reaction to Netflix’s decision, announced in July and adopted this month, to separate its DVD-by-mail service from its faster-growing Internet streaming service. Before, DVD-by-mail was a $2 add-on for some streaming subscribers; now, each service now costs $8.
Like many customers, Steve LoGiudice, a health care analyst from Wooster, Ohio, re-evaluated his Netflix spending this summer when the change was announced. His 6- and 9-year-old children watch TV episodes through Netflix, so he kept the streaming service, but he stopped paying for DVDs by mail.
“If they didn’t radically change their cost structure,” Mr. LoGiudice said of Netflix, “we probably would have just kept paying the old rate without much thought or review.”
Netflix’s subscriber base had been on a reliably upward trajectory since its founding more than a decade ago, with one slight exception in 2007. The company — widely praised for making it easy to stream films and some TV shows via the Internet — had 24.6 million customers at the end of the second quarter of the year, when it last reported figures to investors. Back then, it expected that it would end the third quarter with 25 million, three million of whom would opt only for the DVD service.
But early Thursday morning it lowered its subscriber estimates for the third quarter, which ends in two weeks, to an expected total of 24 million, a quarterly decline of 600,000.
The decline is due in large part to customers who were unhappy about the price changes. Netflix now expects that 2.2 million customers will opt for DVDs by mail only.
Investors and the Internet video-consuming public have been paying close attention to Netflix as a leader in the growing over-the-top video industry, a reference to the fact that Netflix piggybacks on other companies’ Internet connections.
M.I.T. CREATES DEVICE THAT HARNEST ELECTRICITY FROM TINY VIBRATIONS
Published September 15, 2011 | 
Today’s wireless-sensor networks can do everything from supervising factory machinery to tracking environmental pollution to measuring the movement of buildings and bridges. Working together, distributed sensors can monitor activity along an oil pipeline or throughout a forest, keeping track of multiple variables at a time.
While uses for wireless sensors are seemingly endless, there is one limiting factor to the technology — power. Even though improvements have brought their energy consumption down, wireless sensors’ batteries still need changing periodically. Especially for networks in remote locales, replacing batteries in thousands of sensors is a staggering task.
To get around the power constraint, researchers are harnessing electricity from low-power sources in the environment, such as vibrations from swaying bridges, humming machinery and rumbling foot traffic. Such natural energy sources could do away with the need for batteries, powering wireless sensors indefinitely.
New Life Nursery
Published September 2, 2011 | 
Metro Tech Squad is excited to announce the completion of New Life Nursery‘s website.
From now until the end of Labor Day, New Life Nursery is having a 15% sale off of your entire purchase.
Use Promo Code: LaborDay.