NASA extends the World Wide Web out into Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station received a special software upgrade this week – personal access to the Internet and the World Wide Web via the ultimate wireless connection.

Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made first use of the new system Friday, when he posted the first unassisted update to his Twitter account, @Astro_TJ, from the space station. Previous tweets from space had to be e-mailed to the ground where support personnel posted them to the astronaut’s Twitter account.

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s”

This personal Web access, called the Crew Support LAN, takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment.

During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop and interact remotely with their keyboard touchpad.

Astronauts will be subject to the same computer use guidelines as government employees on Earth. In addition to this new capability, the crew will continue to have official e-mail, Internet Protocol telephone and limited videoconferencing capabilities.

To follow Twitter updates from Creamer and two of his crewmates, ISS Commander Jeff Williams and Soichi Noguchi, visit: http://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts


First-of-its-Kind Wireless Management Suite Sets New Bar for Price/Performance for Businesses with Up to 1,500 Users

NETGEAR®, Inc. introduced a unique family of ProSafe® Wireless Management solutions to meet the demands of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), schools, and enterprises with up to 1,500 users. As the first solution set in the market designed specifically for growing businesses, this NETGEAR family of products will, for the first time, enable growing businesses to easily and affordably manage their wireless network from one place, with a clear upgrade path as their company grows and their needs change.

The suite of ProSafe Wireless Management Products includes:
– ProSafe 5-AP Wireless Management Software WMS105;
– ProSafe 16-AP Wireless Management System WMS5316;
– ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520.

The NETGEAR ProSafe Wireless Management Suite will be on display for the first time this week at BETT, the world’s largest educational technology trade show, opening today at the Olympia exhibition center in London.

“Most wireless networking vendors offer either expensive solutions designed for the FORTUNE 500 or single AP solutions – neither of which is suitable for a growing business,” said Laurent Masia, NETGEAR product line manager for managed infrastructure products. “The management of wireless networks has been identified as a top priority for growing businesses, and NETGEAR has responded to this request with leading price/performance solutions. We are now the only company delivering a family of wireless management products that exceed the requirements of the majority of businesses worldwide.”

The ProSafe Wireless Management Suite of products enables growing businesses and mid-size enterprises to easily and affordably deploy a scalable, secure, feature-rich wireless network. They deliver enterprise-class connectivity and secure wireless LAN functionality, as well as the ability to configure, control and manage seven different access points (APs) ranging from SOHO-class IEEE 802.11g APs to professional-caliber dual-band IEEE 802.11n APs. The ease-of-use simplifies wireless deployments and network expansion with best-in-class wireless reliability, coverage, bandwidth and performance. These new management products also provide centralized management and robust security, but are installable in minutes.

“As the IT administrator of a growing business where wireless networking is critical, I need a lot more than standalone AP vendors can provide in terms of management. On the other hand, previous solutions designed for a much larger environment have not been cost-effective to implement,” said Chris Hemmings of Penguin Internet. “NETGEAR has bridged the gap between the ‘all or nothing’ choice I previously had to make, with a very easy to manage solution. At this affordable price point, a centrally managed solution will very quickly pay for itself due to the immediate labor savings in routine maintenance and management of access points.”

ProSafe 5-AP Wireless Management Software WMS105

Installable in minutes with automatic wireless access point discovery, the WMS105 Software is specifically designed for small businesses with five to 50 users. Features include:

– Centralized configuration for up to five APs, including Wireless-N;
– Easy to set up and use, APs are automatically discovered anywhere on the network;
– Mass firmware upgrade for APs;
– Extensive support for existing NETGEAR access points, including WNDAP350, WNDAP330, WNAP210, WG302v2, WG103, WN802Tv2, and WG602v4.

The ProSafe 5-AP Wireless Management Software WMS105 will be available worldwide in May at an MSRP in the U.S. of $50.

ProSafe 16-AP Wireless Management System WMS5316

At approximately one-third the price of a typical wireless controller meant for larger businesses, the ProSafe Wireless Management System offers reliable, secure and simple central wireless management for businesses and schools with 50 to 200 users. Features include:

– Central wireless management system for up to 16 APs, including Wireless-N;
– Easy to set up and use, APs are automatically discovered anywhere on the network to facilitate configuration of the central wireless network;
– Load-balancing of clients across the wireless network, so that no one AP is overwhelmed;
– Rogue AP detection;
– Guest access enables restricted access to the network, ensuring protection of sensitive data;
– Intuitive web-browser interface offers central wireless network management, making it a snap to monitor wireless performance with network mapping and AP firmware upgrades;
– Extensive support for existing NETGEAR access points, including WNDAP350, WNDAP330, WNAP210, WG302v2, WG103, WN802Tv2, and WG602v4.

The ProSafe 16-AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 will be available worldwide in March at an MSRP in the U.S. of $910 — one-third the price of competing products.

ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520

NETGEAR designed the enterprise-class, ProSafe Wireless Controller specifically for mid-size enterprises, and it scales up to 1,500 users. The WC7520 Controller enables businesses to grow their wireless network as needed with a high return on investment. Features include:

– Central wireless management based on full-featured enterprise-class wireless controller;
– Expandable to support up to 50 APs on a single unit;
– Stackable up to three controllers and 150 APs; features controller redundancy;
– Enterprise-class wireless security with rogue AP detection, heat maps and triangulation;
– Guest access enables restricted access to the network, with a captive portal;
– Voice over Wi-Fi® support with fast roaming and SpectraLink Voice Priority (SVP) QoS compliance;
– Support for existing NETGEAR access points, including WNDAP350 and WNAP210.

The ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 will be available worldwide in July at an MSRP in the U.S. of $6,280, up to 30 percent less than typical competing wireless controllers. The Wireless-N License upgrade WC75NL and 10-AP Incremental License upgrade WC7510L for the ProSafe Wireless Controller will be sold for $4,200 each.

“Wireless solutions have rapidly become the most convenient and cost-effective network connectivity method for employees and guests alike,” said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst of enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, an international market research and consulting firm specializing in data networking and telecom. “But for many SMBs, centrally managing this infrastructure is simply cost-prohibitive. NETGEAR’s new wireless management offering changes that, by providing the right price/performance ratio even for small-scale access point deployments.”

Source: NETGEAR, Inc.


31 Monitors Operate Simultaneously on One Computer

Bringing advanced networking and monitor technology to the business-to-business computing arena, LG Electronics is introduced new N+(plus) Network Monitors at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

LG’s innovative N+ monitor technology supports up to 31 desktop LCD monitors on a single computer. This offers a superior space-saving solution, because it doesn’t require each user to have an individual desktop PC, helping provide a cleaner office environment without the unsightly mess of wires.

“As businesses and schools look to increase productivity and reduce power consumption, LG Electronics is dedicated to offering products that help our customers meet their needs,” said Jeff Dowell, vice president, business solutions, LG Electronics USA. “With our new N+ Monitors, LG is leading the way in providing an elegant, convenient, energy-saving technology solution.”

Offices are able to maximize investment of their computing technology through lowering purchasing and hardware costs, and reduced maintenance. The LG N+ system allows for easier access to computers when it’s needed most.

Advanced Display for the Masses

These N+ monitors (model N224WA) can be installed in just a few minutes and reduce the amount of maintenance and IT support needed for a typical office or classroom environment that requires the operation of multiple computers. The N224WA also offers USB ports for a keyboard and mouse, providing users with increased flexibility for placement and positioning. All of LG’s N+ monitors render clear, crisp images and 5-millisecond response rate. Additionally, this system offers consumers straightforward management including easy software and hardware set up, and central control support. The system can be secured and maintained by those with basic PC knowledge.

Energy Savings

In most office environments, a small percentage of the computing power of each PC is utilized effectively. LG’s N+ series provides consumers with a green advantage by saving energy. These monitors connect to an existing PC and redistribute the remaining resources to multiple users simultaneously, using the monitors’ virtual desktop software.

The software is able to divide a computer’s resources into 31 independent sessions so that all users can share the processing power of a single PC, maximizing the bandwidth to the fullest extent. Using one main PC to run all 31 N+ monitors enables consumers to save on the cost of energy used that extra PCs would have consumed, reducing noise and generating less heat. By reducing the number of PCs needed for a multi-user setup, the LG N+ solution also minimizes E-waste.

Source: LG Electronics USA, Inc.