If you plan to visit Chicago’s Coffee Fest later this month, stop by booth #17 and visit WEBbeams. WEBbeams co-owner Brian VanLieshout will present a free seminar, “Wireless Internet in your café,” on Saturday, February 24 at 8:30 am. Attendees can enter to win a free hotspot kit.

During the seminar, Brian will talk about how wireless Internet service is fast becoming expected by coffeehouse patrons. He will discuss the best way for you to get into the wireless game and the pros and cons of offering fee-based Internet service versus free. He will relay how to make sure you get the tech support you need to keep customers delighted, as well as discuss how to set up Wi-Fi, advertising, roaming, pricing, tech support, security, managed access, bundled services (including VoIP), customer printing, e-mail accounts, VPNs, wireless-controlled in-store signs and more. For more information about Coffee Fest, visit coffeefest.com.

Computerworld recently reported a Wi-Fi scam that has been taking advantage of unsuspecting travelers. Scammers set up wireless signals, often called “Free Wi-Fi” or a similar name, at airports throughout the country. When users log on to the signal, they become the target of a “man in the middle” attack, where a hacker can steal information they transmit, such as usernames and passwords. To learn more about how this scam works and how to keep yourself safe, read “Don't Fall Victim to the 'Free Wi-Fi' Scam: Those wireless connections could be a trap” by Preston Gralla

For the past year or so, a small group of people has circulated theories about the risks associated with Wi-Fi. The story has gained its widest exposure in the United Kingdom; however, many experts there and elsewhere have dismissed the validity of health concerns. A recent article in Wi-Fi Planet explains the science involved in detail. Wi-Fi, along with other devices such as microwaves and mobile phones, emits radio frequency radiation (RFR). The effects of RFR are measured by their specific absorption rate (SAR), or the amount of energy that human tissue absorbs. According to U.S. standards, anything above 0.08 watts per kilogram (W/kg) is considered dangerous. Wi-Fi, however, emits “a minute fraction” of this amount, less than both mobile phones and microwaves.

Dr. Michael Clark (director of the health agency in the United Kingdom) commented in The Times of London, “When we have conducted measurements in schools, typical exposures from Wi-Fi are around 20 millionths of the international guideline levels of exposure to radiation. As a comparison, a child on a mobile phone receives up to 50 percent of guideline levels. So, a year sitting in a classroom near a wireless network is roughly equivalent to 20 minutes on a mobile. If Wi-Fi should be taken out of schools, then the mobile phone network should be shut down, too — and FM radio and TV, as the strength of their signals is similar to that from Wi-Fi in classrooms.”

Read the full article by Naomi Graychase: “Is Wi-Fi Bad for Humans?”.

Autonet recently released the first in-car ISP, which will allow you to log on with any Wi-Fi-enabled device within your car. The unit costs $399, as well as $50 per month to use Verizon’s EV-DO network. Rental car company AVIS has also embraced in-car Wi-Fi, equipping its vehicles with this new technology by spring 2007. For $10.95 per day, users can access Autonet Mobile, which Autonet claims will work on 95 percent of American roadways. Let’s hope this new technology appeals primarily to carpoolers … The thought of someone surfing and driving sounds a bit scary.

Avega Systems has unveiled the Aios Wi-Fi and Oyster Wi-Fi speaker systems, designed so you can listen to music throughout your home without having to haul your entire stereo system wherever you go – or spend hours wiring speakers into all of your rooms. Currently Avega only has a demo; no word on when the actual models will hit store shelves.

The debate over Wi-Fi “theft” has vocal advocates on both sides. At WEBbeams, we think the solution is pretty simple: Secure your Wi-Fi, and nobody can steal it. Enough said. But, many individuals and business still haven’t caught on to the need for Wi-Fi security, hence the ongoing news. Singapore has emerged as having the world’s toughest laws for Wi-Fi theft (using someone else’s Wi-Fi without permission). Seventeen-year-old Garyl Tan Jia Lou, who faced up to three years jail time for the crime, recently received 18 months probation, including time at a boys’ home, as punishment. Several states and municipalities in the United States are currently debating related laws.