Olympics officials say Wi-Fi too insecure for widespread use until at least 2008: this demonstrates their complete lack of understanding of the difference between the mechanisms that move data (bottom two layers of the ISO networking model) and the data itself.

Wi-Fi is a method of sending information wirelessly that is per se insecure but not actually insecure. With or without WEP, Wi-Fi doesn't prevent people from seeing a data stream. But in conditions in which knowing whether a data stream is present or not is not an issue, a substantial number of end-to-end encryption systems that reside at higher layers in the networking model can perfectly well secure data transmission between handhelds, laptops, remote systems, and central processing stations.

The Olympics got bad advice: they'll have to implement these security measures for remote systems even if they were using plain old wire or proprietary wireless devices.

I'm Fixing a Hole Where the WLAN Comes In

Cringely claims passive antennas up in the old oak tree connect his fortress of arrogance with Santa Rosa, while Flickenger politely dissents and invites Cringely to speak: Cringely's article is about using two connected, unpowered yagi antennas on a nearby mountain top to relay his Wi-Fi signal from his own high mountain aerie to a wISP in Santa Rosa. (Fortress of arrogance is a tip to Dr. Science, and is only a slight exaggeration given Cringely.) Flickenger dissents, wondering how Cringely has outsmarted (with insufficient detail) the brightest or at least hardest-working minds in rock, roll, and community Wi-Fi. Worth reading both halves of the story. Hey, Bob: let slip the secrets!

University of Kansas groups collaborate on mapping the extent of wireless LAN signals on top of GIS and satellite imagery: their introduction says it best: While computer networks and geography may not appear to have much in common, a collaborative effort was launched between the University of Kansas' Information & Telecommunications Technology Center and Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program to create a more advanced wireless 802.11b mapping and network visualization method. This new procedure uses wireless network data collected from walking and/or driving scans, aerial photography, and interpolation techniques to create highly detailed network coverage and signal strength maps.

Radio, Radio: Wi-Fi on NPR

John McChesney of NPR visits Aspen and talks about Pringles cans, free networking, and Boingo [RealAudio required]: The intro said that these networks may pose a threat to existing telephone networks. McChesney interviews Jim Selby, and gets the facts right: he notes that the technology was designed for a few hundred feet, but that Shelby (like many others) can range for miles.

Selby's installation is at the center of Aspen in an old brick building. They clamber up to the roof through an access hatch. Selby: "I can probably cover 95 percent of this time with some form of minor line-of-sight." Shelby says he's using polarized Russian antennas that he calls Russkis.

Selby opens up a small box on the roof. "I use a garden hose to keep my cables dry." He's using a lightbulb to keep the equipment warm. McChesney says he's somewhat of a legend on the Internet.

Selby "gleefully shows off his signal strength on my laptop" and it's off the chart. He plays some NPR RealAudio for McChesney.

Enter Bill Gurley, a smart analyst I've been following for years: "It turns out there are Jim Selbys all over the contry." He notes that Wi-Fi is cheap and flexible.

Imagine setting up Wi-Fi in the Midwest where it's flat: a few Pringles cans and you're all set.

European companies are installing this equipment in thousands of railway stations, McChesney said. (I'm unaware of that; I know about hundreds, not thousands.)

On to Sky Dayton: "With Boingo, you need just one account and one piece of software, and it knows where networks are and it will connect you." McChesney mentions the security software (VPN tunneling) built into Boingo's software that addresses the listening-in concerns.

Tragedy of the commons: can the 2.4 GHz band handle all the interest? "Right now, no one knows what these limits are."

On the whole, very good: would have been nice to mention that there are thousands of people involved in free community networks, and that Selby is but one (and a good example). But the technology was described accurately, and there was no fearmongering.