Tag Archives: San Francisco Wireless

iPad: Issues connecting to WiFi networks

Symptoms:
A very small number of iPad users have experienced issues with WiFi connectivity. This article outlines workarounds for these issues. Apple will also address remaining WiFi connectivity issues with a future iPad software update.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3304

SF WiFi is excited that our iPad arrives next week. Of course we will be testing, reviewing the WiFi connectivity.

USPH – San Francisco

Great new web site at the Union Square Plaza Hotel !! Designed by Shaw Web Designs. New look with the blog, language translator, weather and updated services.

 http://www.usphotel.com/

Shaw Web Design and SF WiFi have now teamed up on many projects offering clients, web design, network installations and IT support.

Wireless network installation at the Union Square Plaza Hotel provided by SF WiFi. In most hotels, the main concerns in designing a wireless solution are wireless signal coverage, network user capacity, user applications and of course budget. SF WiFi specializes in hospitality wireless solutions by installing faster, more reliable Wi-Fi services at a lower overall cost of ownership. SF WiFi designs, installs, and continues to support the wireless networks that keeps guests happy and satisfied. A number one complaint of hotel guests is the lack of available and dependable Wi-Fi coverage. Wi-Fi has become an essential element and a major draw within the hospitality industry.

Hospitality Wireless Solutions

Whether providing the traveler a comfortable room, television entertainment, or continental breakfast, our clients consider great hospitality is paramount. Our most recent client, The Majestic Hotel of San Francisco, offers the gracious traditions of yesteryear and today. They realized one of the essentials of the modern traveler is having seamless, reliable, and secure access to the Internet but with the present down economy the hotelier required a wireless solution which didn’t exceed their budget.The Majestic Hotel contacted us about installing a more powerful and efficient wireless network than their existing system. They had been using Hotspotzz as a wireless solution but coverage was lacking in signal strength among other issues. As a result, guests’ computers were constantly dropping off the Internet. This was causing the hotel to lose revenue so they contacted SF WiFi to propose a guest wireless network solution for their 33,000 square foot property and we were awarded the project.

Case study and more to come.

WPA Cracked

Japanese researchers say they can crack WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the
successor to the old-school WEP. The previous method of attacking WPA devices took up to 15 minutes to be successful, and didn’t always work. The new method is said to work on far more devices but just like the old attack, this new one only works on WPA devices that use the TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) algorithm, which is a setting in the router, access point or wireless controller.

Bottom Line: The AES encrypted algorithm is much stronger. When using WPA use the AES algorithm in place of TKIP.  Or use WPA2 with AES.

Solar Powered Bus Shelter Unveiled in San Francisco – With WiFi !!

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently unveiled the first of 1,100 solar powered bus shelters that will be installed throughout the city between now and 2013. Crowned with a rolling red crest of photovoltaic panels, the shelters will use the sun’s rays to power their intercom, LED lighting, and even wireless routers that will help blanket the city with WiFi goodness. Designed by Lundberg Design and contracted through Clear Channel, the new shelters signal a bright future for solar technology in the Bay Area.

The roof is constructed from an innovative 40% post-industrial recycled polycarbonate material embedded with thin-film photovoltaic cells. The panel powers the NextMuni display that tells people when their bus is coming, a Push-To-Talk system so blind people can hear the NextMuni information, environmentally friendly light bulbs, and free Wi-Fi. The old florescent lights in the current shelters use 336 watts; the new LED panels use only 74 watts.

“Transit shelters that use photovoltaics, LEDS, and WiFi are going to be standard in the future and Im proud that San Francisco is once again acting like the pace car for other cities by trying and implementing these technologies”, said the mayor last week.   Wireless will roll out in another phase.

sfsolarbus1