IT News: Lightbulbs Could Replace Wi-Fi Hotspots

"Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires." That is according to Boston University Engineering Professor Thomas Little.

Boston University's College of Engineering is launching a program, under a National Science Foundation grant, to develop the next generation of wireless communications technology based on visible light instead of radio waves. Researchers expect to piggyback data communications capabilities on low-power light emitting diodes, or LEDs, to create "Smart Lighting" that would be faster and more secure than current network technology.

This initiative aims to develop an optical communication technology that would make an LED light the equivalent of a Wi-Fi access point. Read full Article.


This undergoing research efforts of the Boston University Engineering Dept. will try to develop a new innovation when it comes to telecommunications industry. According also to Prof. Little, "This is a unique opportunity to create a transcendent technology that not only enables energy efficient lighting, but also creates the next generation of secure wireless communications. As we switch from incandescent and compact florescent lighting to LEDs in the coming years, we can simultaneously build a faster and more secure communications infrastructure at a modest cost along with new and unexpected applications."

This research is still on-going and if implemented, will create a new generation of wireless networking. This also goes to show that in this world, nothing is constant except change specially in the ICT field where technology becomes obsolete even before it is implemented.

Microsoft: Bad things happen to Firms that uses Unlicensed Windows

This article was based on the study conducted by the Harrison Group Inc.

Microsoft Corp., in a company report yesterday cited that companies using unlicensed copy of Windows are more likely to experience system failure and lost of data.

According to the research, which was conducted by the Harrison Group Inc. but paid for by Microsoft, midsize companies -- those with more than 24 PCs and fewer than 500 -- were 43% more likely to have had a critical system failure lasting more than 24 hours if they used unlicensed Windows.

Those businesses were also 28% more likely to lose customer data and 73% more likely to lose their own data than companies exclusively using licensed copies of Microsoft's software.

This is one way for the Microsoft Corp. to combat the problem of piracy all across the globe. This action will serve as a threat to every companies not only in the Philippines where the rate of piracy is very high but also to all companies around the world to use only genuine Microsoft Products.

Let's help reduce piracy. Piracy will kill our future.