Watch Microsoft Gadgets Sensor

Four Seasons Hotel (Prague)

2009-08-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Prague hotel from the Four Seasons Hotels network. Located near Charles Bridge with overview of Prague Castle. It was established in 1994 and quickly became the number one hotel for Hollywood celebrities and important guests. Its restaurant Allegro Prague gained the 1st Michelin star in Eastern Europe.

Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague

2009-08-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hotel Crowne Plaza (formerly Hotel Družba, Hotel Čedok, Hotel International and Hotel Holiday Inn) is the largest Stalinist architecture building in Prague, Czech Republic, and is located in the Dejvice district.

The building was built between 1952 and 1954 at the order of Defence minister Alexej Čepička. It is 88 m high (the roof is 67 m, plus a 10 m chalice and a 1.5 m red star) and has sixteen floors. Part of the building was a fallout shelter for 600 people, currently used as a staff clothes room.

Widget Hotel

2009-07-30T10:22:00.001-07:00

The Widget Hotel and Hostel is ideally located in the Upper West Side of bustling New York City. Centrally situated guests are within easy access of the 96th Street Subway Station and Central Park.

The Widget features a lounge and activity center which offers billiards, ping pong, foosball, computers with internet access and video games. Furthermore, guests can enjoy a relaxing outdoor garden and comfortable seating area. Wireless Internet is available throughout the whole hotel and is free of charge.

Relax and unwind in the Widget’s Cinema Room and the hotel boasts an activity desk which is staffed by multilingual team members whose purpose is to help guests plan tours and other activities.

AT + i Protocol

2009-07-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

The AT+i™ Protocol was developed by Connect One to provide a simple way to program an application for Internet connectivity. It eliminates the need for Internet programming and is a key element of the Internet Controller concept. Since we introduced the AT+i Protocol in 1999 and made it available in the public domain, it has become the industry-standard protocol for connecting non-PC devices to the Internet.

Enabling Widespread Internet Connectivity
Whether a device uses an Internet Controller or runs the Internet connectivity directly from the host controller, Internet programming is required to make the connectivity work - which can be a complex and lengthy process. At Connect One, we realized that a simplified, high-level API (Application Program Interface) that eliminates the need for complex Internet programming would be vital to the successful proliferation of Internet-enabled devices.

We defined a protocol for the iChip-to-host CPU and iChip-to-PHY interface that reduces the complexity of the Internet protocol suite to simple, intuitive commands. The result: minimal effort and resources are required to program the host processor for Internet connectivity.

The AT+i Protocol, an embedded TCP/IP API, is an Internet extension to the renowned Hayes AT command set that is standardized in practically all modem environments today. It is based on simple, printable ASCII commands that relieve the host application from dealing with the complexities of the Internet protocols.

In the years since we introduced the AT+i Protocol, our original belief that the embedded Internet connectivity industry needed a standardized protocol for host-to-peripheral device connectivity has been borne out. The AT+i Protocol has enabled many manufacturers to rapidly IP-enable new and existing products and has been copied by many competitors.

An API that Supports all Platforms and Protocols
iChip™ firmware includes the Internet protocols and scripts for connecting devices to IP networks via a wide range of physical media and an equally broad range of Internet protocols. All negotiation with the ISP is handled by iChip in the background, so that the user does not have to deal with this. For this reason, AT+i commands require very few modifications to the host application. In fact, iChip's SerialNET™ mode eliminates all Internet programming by packetizing serial data received on-the-fly from the host device and sending it to a remote IP address via email, HTTP, or TCP/UDP sockets.

The AT+i Protocol is communication platform-independent, enabling the host application to issue similar commands whether connected via a dial-up modem, cellular modem, wired or wireless LAN. The AT+i Protocol also is extendable, and Connect One is constantly adding new features and functionality to it.

The iChip Internet Controller is easily configured via intuitive one-time commands and configuration parameters using the "AT+i" prefix. When iChip receives an AT+i command from the host application, it enters Internet mode and commands the communication medium to access the Internet via the specified Internet protocol and PHY. If the host application issues an AT command, iChip enters Transparent mode, in which the host processor bypasses iChip, thus enabling direct two-way communication between the host CPU and the physical medium.

AT+i commands are available for direct socket manipulation and support of standard Internet protocols, including SMTP for text emails, MIME attachments, HTML page retrieval, Web serving, FTP file transfer, Telnet communications, and secure Internet protocols such as SS3/TLS1.0.

AirMagnet AirMedic

2009-06-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

RF and WiFi Troubleshooting Made Easy

AirMedic is a new type of network tool that brings AirMagnet troubleshooting to the rest of us. Built upon AirMagnet's unmatched experience in WiFi troubleshooting, AirMedic is a fast and simple, "just the facts" approach to dealing with the periodic performance and reliability problems that all wireless LANs experience. AirMedic does this by bringing together the two most essential perspectives of WLAN performance, combining lab-quality spectrum analysis and basic WiFi traffic analysis into one simple view.

In wireless, not all problems are the same — some are due to RF interference from non-WiFi devices such as Bluetooth, while other problems are solely rooted in the WiFi realm such as overloaded devices or configurations leading to low data speeds. Only AirMedic gives you the ability to see both sides of the equation so that you know precisely where things are going wrong. With AirMedic you can see RF interference, and know immediately the real impact it is having on end-users in the network. If the problem is not due to RF interference, you can see which channels and devices are having problems and why.

In addition to this game-changing approach to performance troubleshooting, AirMedic brings unprecedented flexibility to your wireless toolkit. Unlike other WiFi spectrum analyzers that require expensive, single use dedicated spectrum cards or adapters, AirMedic leverages Intel Centrino 2 processor technology built-in to modern Intel laptops. This first of its kind integration means that there are no expensive external cards that can get lost or broken and that your troubleshooting tools have the same RF perspective on the environment that an actual end-user would see, meaning better response times and better accuracy.

Full RF Analysis with Multiple Configurable Spectrum Views

2009-06-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

The core of the AirMedic solution is a lab-quality spectrum analyzer that lets you look into the physical layer of your wireless LANs to identify interference and problems in the RF environment. However, unlike traditional spectrum analyzers, AirMedic does not require you to be an RF expert in order to solve problems. Instead AirMedic offers multiple spectrum views to ensure that you see the information you need to identify and resolve any problem. Including:

Spectrum FFT for real-time RF analysis
Spectrum Density to see patterns that reveal signals that are hard to see in real-time
Spectrogram provides a rolling RF history for seeing intermittent RF bursts

WiFi Made Easy with Diagnostic Views and Charts

2009-06-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

AirMedic boils the network down to its most core components and delivers them in a single integrated view. A single mouse click provides instant access to any of the 14 available RF and WiFi (optional) charts, ensuring that you can always find the information that you need. Built in "Easy Views" provide some of the most popular charts for troubleshooting particular problems, or users can save their own customized views tailored to their troubleshooting methodology. AirMedic also makes it easy to capture information for reporting with simple copy-and-paste support for all charts and graphs in the solution.

Solve Real WiFi Problems

2009-06-28T07:50:00.002-07:00

Simply plug in any AirMagnet supported wireless adapter, and AirMedic instantly provides performance analysis for all WiFi devices and channels in the vicinity. Channel utilization charts let you know if one of your channels is being overloaded in terms of traffic and devices. Speed charts provide insight into efficiency problems in the network. Charts of packet retry and error rates easily reveal areas where WiFi communications are failing. AirMedic also provides a full inventory of the WiFi devices in the environment including APs, end-user stations and even WiFi phones.

See Impact of WiFi Devices on Your Spectrum Plots

2009-06-28T07:50:00.001-07:00

AirMedic provides an inventory of all WiFi devices in the environment and lets you visualize the impact of that device in the spectrum. Simply click an AP, SSID or channel and AirMedic provides color-coded outlines of the selected devices on the spectrum density graph. This makes it easy to determine if a particular RF signal is from a WiFi device or a non-WiFi source.

2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Unique Visibility

2009-06-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

AirMedic provides clear visibility into both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands and delivers the pinpoint resolution necessary to find and resolve interference and RF problems. Users can choose to view bands individually or leverage "mixed mode" for complete coverage of all WiFi bands.

AirMedic also provides unique visibility by providing views broken into lower, mid and upper sections of the 5 GHz spectrum. This ensures you always see the same level of resolution and detail regardless of the portion of the spectrum, and that you see all of your RF environment no matter if you use 802.11a,b, g or n.

Simple One-Screen Interface

2009-06-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

AirMedic's simple interface keeps everything at your fingertips without searching between multiple pages. All information can be seen in a single view alongside spectrum information, meaning the relationship between spectrum and real performance is always clear and ensuring that you have full visibility into both WiFi and RF-based problems.

Microsoft Gadgets

2009-06-17T06:27:00.002-07:00

Microsoft Gadgets are light-weight single-purpose applications that can sit on the user's computer desktop, or are hosted on a web page. According to Microsoft, it will be possible for the different types of gadgets to run on different environments without modification, but this is currently not the case.

1 Etymology
2 Types of Microsoft's gadgets
3 Web Gadgets and Live.com
4 Desktop gadgets
5 Device Gadgets and Windows Sideshow
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

Etymology

2009-06-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

In the context of software engineering, the term gadget was first employed by the developers of AmigaOS, the operating system of the Amiga computers in 1985.^{[citation needed]} As of 2008, this naming convention is sometimes used as a synonym for widget—a control element in a graphical user interface.

It is not known whether other software companies are explicitly drawing on that inspiration when featuring the word in names of their technologies or simply referring to the generic meaning. The word widget is older in this context.

Types of Microsoft's gadgets

Web gadgets - run on a web site, such as Live.com or Spaces.Live.com
Sidebar gadgets - run on the desktop or be docked onto, run on the Windows Sidebar.
SideShow gadgets - run on auxiliary external displays, such as on the outside of a laptop or even on an LCD panel in a keyboard, and potentially mobile phones and other devices.

Desktop gadgets

2009-06-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Desktop gadgets are desktop widgets; small specialized applications that are generally designed to do simple tasks, such as clocks, calendars, RSS notifiers or search tools. They can also be used to control external applications such as Windows Media Center.

A panel, or sidebar, is found on either the right side (default) or the left side of the Windows desktop in the Windows Vista operating system. Gadgets can be placed on this sidebar, and they are automatically aligned on it. Gadgets can also be placed elsewhere on the screen, which generally causes them to expand and display more information. In Windows 7, the sidebar is removed, although gadgets can somewhat similarly be aligned on any side of the screen. Gadgets are toggled between the two sizes via a button in Windows 7.

Device Gadgets and Windows Sideshow

2009-06-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

SideShow gadgets is Microsoft's implementation of Widgets which run on auxiliary external displays, such as on the outside of a laptop or even on an LCD panel in a keyboard, and potentially mobile phones and other devices.

Windows SideShow is a new technology that lets Windows Vista drive auxiliary, small displays of various form-factors where ready-access to bite-size bits of information could be represented. These include displays embedded on the outside of a laptop lid or on a detachable device, enabling access to information and media even when the main system is in a standby mode. Data can also be displayed on cell phones and other network-connected devices via Bluetooth and other connectivity options.

The display can be updated with a number of different kinds of information, such as contacts, maps, calendar, and email. This can then be consulted while the mobile PC is otherwise powered down. Since the underlying platform is so power-efficient, it can run for hundreds of hours without draining a notebook battery, while still providing always-on access to data and multimedia content.

Sideshow is coupled to the Windows Vista Sidebar capability – that is, Sidebar Gadgets are easily ported to be compatible with Sideshow secondary display applications. However, hardware and silicon providers can also provide native capabilities to allow for richer multimedia applications such as text, image, audio and video decode / playback. For example, a notebook with an in-lid display could be used as an mp3 player while powered down, with the notebook battery providing hundreds of hours of playback time because of the low power footprint that the Sideshow platform maintains.