Bay area hot on Wi-Fi: The San Francisco Bay Area is the nation’s top market for wireless Internet hot spots, according to a new study sponsored by Intel Corp.
The region was followed by Orange County, Calif., Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas. Last year’s “most unwired” area, Portland, Ore., was bumped to No. 5 on the list compiled for the semiconductor giant by “Best Places” author Bert Sperling.
Intel, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing its Centrino mobile chip sets, sees the growing popularity of Wi-Fi wireless Internet service as a big driver of microprocessors, particularly those used in laptop and handheld computers.
Wi-Fi is no longer limited to airports, coffee houses and home networks. Hot spots are springing up in tourist spots, truck stops, RV parks and shopping malls. Intel’s survey did not say what percentage of the hot spots were paid versus free.
Aussies take to authenticating: Australia, one of the United States’ strongest allies, has added a new weapon to its arsenal – a toaster-sized document reader that tells in seconds whether a passport is a fraud and identifies travelers who might be included on terrorist watch lists.
“What we’re trying to do is strengthen border security by making sure that the people who are coming into this country are who they say they are,” said Tim Chapman, a manager with Australia’s Customs Service.
In a multimillion-dollar contract, Australia has installed 400 iA-thenticate units from Imaging Automation Inc. of Bedford, N.H., at its international airports in hopes of authenticating the documents of every person entering.
The system ranges from $5,000 to $15,000 per unit. It uses multiple light sources to examine hundreds of security features on travel documents. Many of the features, including the composition of ink, are invisible to the naked eye.
AOL launches “The Startup”: It’s a lot like “The Apprentice,” except nobody gets fired.
Hoping to capitalize on the sensational buzz around NBC’s hit reality show, AOL is launching an online feature that will follow the travails of four small-business owners for their first 12 months.
“The Startup” will be featured on America Online’s customized service for small-business owners, but it will also be available for any of AOL’s 24 million subscribers. The feature, which is being done in cooperation with Entrepreneur Magazine, goes live on Thursday.
Sarah Bernard, the head of AOL for Small Business, said the feature was not modeled specifically on the hit NBC show, and had been in the works for some time. But she said its debut was adjusted to capitalize on the buzz around “The Apprentice,” whose final episode airs next week.
“The Startup” will follow the ups and downs of four businesses: an adventure park in Colorado Springs, Colo.; a spa in New Orleans; a gourmet salsa company based in Vermont and a teenage clothing store in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Associated Press
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