Wireless e-mail link for dial-up modems

Wireless e-mail linkfor dial-up modems
SAN DIEGO -- Half the U.S. online population still gets on the Internet with a dial-up modem. Those slow-speed souls now have a way to do e-mail while lounging on the back porch at home or reclining on a hotel room bed.
A Wi-Fi access point for dial-up connections is the answer. Offered by a Houston startup, Always On Wireless Inc., it goes on sale next month for $150.
The six-ounce WiFlyer base station ships with the dial-up numbers of America Online, Microsoft's MSN and EarthLink pre-configured. You'll need a Wi-Fi adapter in the computer that you use to access it, but most laptops ship with built-in wireless these days.
The WiFlyer includes a standard V.92 modem and serves as a router for the network it creates. It also includes incoming and outgoing Ethernet ports for connecting to cable and DSL modems and sharing that connection.
Company executive Greg Fitzgerald admits that not many people will be Web surfing with a WiFlyer-enabled wireless connection and that no more than a few machines could share the connection without painfully slow data transfer rates.
He also acknowledged during last week's DEMOmobile tech show, where the product was introduced, that in its current form -- as broadband keeps catching on -- it's not apt to have a shelf life of more than two years.
Group targets policyof pricing iTunes songs
LONDON -- A British consumers group is complaining about Apple Computer Inc.'s policy of varying the prices of iTunes songs for various countries.
The Consumers' Association asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate whether Apple was violating European Union competition rules. U.K. consumers are supposed to enjoy the same benefits as citizens in other member states.
British buyers are charged $1.41 to download each song, while customers in France and Germany pay $1.21. The U.S. price is 99 cents.
Apple defended its prices, saying in a statement that "the underlying economic model in each country has an impact on how we price our track downloads." The company noted that variable pricing is common -- CDs cost more in Britain than in the United States.
Program makes Web siteslook sharp on TV screens
OSLO, Norway -- The maker of the No. 3 Web browser for Windows computers says it has developed technology to make sites appear as clearly on normal television sets as they do on computer monitors.
Opera Software says sites designed for high-resolution monitors often don't appear as well on low-resolution TV screens. The Oslo company's new TV Rendering program adjusts any Web page for a sharp display on any television screen of any size.
Jon S. von Tetzchner, Opera's chief executive, said he expects consumers to begin demanding full Web access on their televisions.
"The broadcasting industry can finally incorporate the full Web into TVs and set-top boxes," he said. "After all, if you would go to a store today and choose between a TV set that offered Web and TV or one that just had TV, which one would you choose?"
The software works when computer users plug their PCs or laptops into a television set, but Opera said the main target of the software is manufacturers, not consumers.
With Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominant on Windows computers, Opera has been focusing on emerging markets like wireless devices, and now set-top boxes.
Associated Press
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