Are you like me where you can barely get a signal from your cell phone in your home?  Well, cell phone providers have figured out a way to eliminate poor signals in your home where you need a strong signal the most.  Now introducing what is called “The Femtocell”.

You are probably saying “A femtowhat"?  Trust me, I said the same thing.  A femtocell is basically a mini cell phone tower that is designed for use in a home or a small business.  It uses your existing broadband internet connection to provide the 5 bars of cell phone coverage we are all looking for.  With femtocells, the days of standing outside or near your window to get a signal will be over. 
  
 Femtocells look similar to wireless routers and are used to route cell phone calls through broadband internet connections and then back to cellular networks.  A phone call is made from someone’s cell phone, and as it is being made it is redirected to the femtocell device, then sent through your internet connection and from there is redirected back to the cell network. Even writing that made my head hurt.

Femtocells allow cell phone users to get better signal in indoor areas where before they had little or no service because of a dead zone.  Another added benefit of using a femtocell within your home involves better data performance which results in a better experience with music, photos, and live video on your cell phone.

At this time most femtocells can support up to 5 cell phones at one specific time and they work with all major cell phone signal types. This means that a femtocell can be used with most major U.S. carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.
 
Most wireless customers should be able to purchase femtocells direct from their cell phone company.  This would generally include availability from electronics retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
AT&T is offering their version for a one-time fee of $150, although I have heard of some people receiving one for free if they complain enough.  Verizon’s offering when it goes on sale should be available for around $250 dollars.  Sprint’s variation of the femtocell sells for around $50 with a $15 a month single line plan or a $30 a month family plan.

In summary, many of you are probably asking yourselves, do I need this contraption?  The answer to that question is, maybe.  If you live in an area that does not have great coverage then I would suggest looking in to one.  I myself might be forced to get one because no matter the cell phone provider, I just do not get any kind of signal at my home.  Shelling out $150 (yes I am on the dreaded AT&T network) for a usable phone at home is worth it in my opinion.  If you have a good signal at home then you probably do not need to worry about it.

If you have any questions at all or would like help determining if you actually could use a femtocell then do not hesitate to contact Kotori Technologies.

Everyone is confused right now, “What is A Cloud Computer?”, and “Where is this Cloud?” Why in a Cloud?”  “What’s up with the Cloud?”  ”Hey, Hey you, get off of my Cloud!” Well Cloud is just another name for the Internet. Period. We all know what that is right? Well that’s all it is, except it’s your own special Internet, your special Cloud, used only for you.

 Most people don’t care where the information is coming from as long as it’s coming. No down time, No server issues, No storage issues. Just be there when I need you.  For you the Business owner this Cloud is the diamond in the rough of your checkbook.  No more spending thousands of dollars on servers as your business grows or the tens of thousands on storage as you need and the regulations kept on you by government entities to keep your data safe.  Here’s The Cloud.

 You as the user might not even know, when at work, the files you use or the programs you run every day, yes they are right there on your workstation, but they are stored somewhere. Right now that somewhere is in a back room full of all kinds of cool looking computers and switches and stuff that looks like NASA used yesterday.  The owner of the company or the corporation you work for has spent thousands and thousands of dollars in that room so work can keep going on.   

 The Cloud now eliminates all the mess in the back room and all your files and programs that you use are now in your own little Internet (Cloud) only used and accessed by you.  So no more big closets full of switches, no more servers off line and cannot get things done today, no more worry of losing critical information that has been forgotten to be backed up. Where’s all your info? It’s “in the Clouds”. So the next time conversations come up about Cloud Computing, you’ll know your heads not in the Clouds, your information is.

This past week, a client asked Neadom about a QR Code Scanner app for a Blackberry.  This is something new and something Neadom and no one at Kotori has used, therefore, it makes for some research for a new article. You may be like me and asking what is a QR code and why would anyone need a scanner.  Well, I did the research for you. 

QR Codes are a step above to the traditional barcode. The typical barcode could hold a maximum of 20 digits and could only be read horizontally. The QR code can hold up to 7,089 characters and can span horizontally and vertically and can be scanned from any angle. The term QR is an acronym for Quick Response. QR Codes originated in Japan and have recently become popular in the Middle East and Europe and now the US.  They first hit mainstream when they were initially used for tracking parts by vehicle manufacturers. Now they are being used commercially in the telecommunications industry where the mobile phones are driving up their popularity.

Now that you know what a QR Code is, how does it benefit you and why would you want a scanner? (That was my question.) You can take a use your mobile phone and take a picture of the QR Code. The QR Code software decoder can then transform the data from the code to a meaningful action like: connect to a web address, download an MP3 file, dial a telephone number, and prompt your email client with a sender address. Of course, this is all done in a matter of milliseconds making the transformation of your mobile phones browser to the mobile web instantaneous. The picture above is a QR code for Kotori Technologies website.

Now that you know what they are and how to use them, where and what to get? This, in part, depends on what type of phone you have.  And like I said, we haven’t used any of the software, so we can’t really pick one over the other without the experience. Some that seem to be more popular are:

For Blackberry
BeeTagg http://www.beetagg.com/
Neo Reader http://www.neoreader.com/
Up Code http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software/#upcode

For iPhone
NeoReader http://download.cnet.com/NeoReader/3000-2124_4-201792.html
Optiscan http://download.cnet.com/Optiscan/3000-20418_4-10977515.html
QR App http://download.cnet.com/QR-app/3000-20418_4-10977516.html

If you have any experience with the QR Code or have a recommendation, please let us know.

If you have not heard, Google “Accidently” gathers WiFi data on your home and business when it was running the Google Maps vehicles.  GMailers beware!!!  Don’t get me wrong I think that Google is GREAT.  I just find it hard to believe it was a mistake.  You just don’t start recording WiFi data.  Read more here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/196630/google_has_been_snooping_on_your_wireless_network.html

Hackers found a way in to AT&T’s iPad 3G registry and, using a brute-force attack based on unique ICC-ID numbers, managed to pull down corresponding email addresses for those users — who include members of the US military, executive branch, and media companies.

AT&T has since closed the vulnerability and issued the following statement:

“AT&T was informed by a business customer on Monday of the potential exposure of their iPad ICC IDS. The only information that can be derived from the ICC IDS is the e-mail address attached to that device.

This issue was escalated to the highest levels of the company and was corrected by Tuesday; and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses.

The person or group who discovered this gap did not contact AT&T.

We are continuing to investigate and will inform all customers whose e-mail addresses and ICC IDS may have been obtained.

We take customer privacy very seriously and while we have fixed this problem, we apologize to our customers who were impacted.”

So once again it’s the convenience of the cloud vs. the security of customer information. Increasingly we’re trusting online accounts and services with our personal and financial information, and high-profile incidents like this, if nothing else, force everyone to re-examine what we trust and with whom.

How serious is this loss of data to you? Does it make you hesitant to signup online or on-device?

see original post here: http://www.tipb.com/2010/06/10/att-hacked-ipad-3g-owners-email-addresses-harvested/