Google to buy over Motorola Mobility for $12.5b

It seems that the patent lawsuits among Google and its competitors have extended into some eye popping M&A activities.

Despite losing up in the contest for Nortel (which carries 6000+ wireless technology patents) to the joint alliance formed by Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony, Google managed to increase its bargaining chips by snapping up 1000+ patents from IBM in late July 2011. And now, out of a sudden surprise, Google announced its move to acquire Motorola Mobility which carries 17000+  issued patents worldwide and 7500+ pending patents under application process.

Beside gaining a large amount of patents through this $12.5b exercise, by acquiring Motorola Mobility, Google will also move into Android phone hardware manufacturing business and compete with its partners in the Android alliance including Samsung, HTC, LG, etc. Anyhow, Larry Page calmed his fellow Android partners that this acquisition will not change Google commitment to run Android as an open platform, and that Motorola will be run as a separate business.

What impact has this move on the Android community and the entire smartphone market? Time will tell. Hopefully, it will bring more good than bad.

Click here to read the announcement made by Larry Page about the Motorola Mobility acquisition.

Using inSSIDer and WiFi Analyzer to scan wireless networks around you

Do you want to know what are the active WiFi networks around you, together with the detail of their signal strength, maximum bandwidth, and connection security setting? Do you want to search for WiFi networks with open security?

If you encounter connection and/or bandwidth problem with your own WiFi, do you want to know which is the best available wireless channel to have least disruption from other wireless networks around you?

inSSIDer is a free open source tools for PC running on Windows or Linux to scan for all nearby wireless networks and to troubleshoot competing access points. It is best used in a laptop with WiFi capability. It provides detail of the wireless network around you as shown below.

With it, you can look for unoccupied WiFi channel to set for your own WiFi network, in order not to compete with the others. If you compete the same channel with other access points, you will possibly encounter poor wireless speeds and even frequent WiFi network disconnection.

If you have an Android device (eg. smartphone or tablet), there is a similar tool for the mobile device called WiFi Analyzer. WiFi Analyzer even has a Channel Rating feature to suggest for least competed channel to get the optimum WiFi stability and speed.

If you install the open source WiFi Connecter Library together with WiFi Analyzer, you add in the ability for WiFi Analyzer to connect to the WiFi network that you tap on its listing. This will make WiFi Analyzer to be a nice GUI tool for you to pick for the WiFi network you want to connect.

Disabling WiFi function of Unifi D-Link DIR-615 router

By default, the WiFi wireless function of the D-Link DIR-615 router that comes with TM Unifi High Speed Broadband is turned on.

If you are not going to use WiFi wireless for your network connection, you can turn it off to eliminate the WiFi radiation around you that is emitted by your D-Link DIR-615 router. This will also eliminate any possibility of intruder gain access to your network via WiFi connection. In addition, this will also free up some CPU cycles and memory resources in the D-Link DIR-615 router to serve its other functions.

Here are the steps to diable the WiFi function of the D-Link DIR-615 router that comes with TM Unifi HSBB:

• Login the router with "admin" or "operator".
• Go to Setup tab and click on the "Manual Internet Connection Setup" button.
• Go to Wireless Setup and click on the "Multiple Wireless Network Name Setup" button.
• Uncheck and also clear out all the fields in Wireless Network Name, then click the "Save Settings" button.

• You are not done yet. Click the Reboot button to restart the router.
• By now, the WiFi should be turned off. You can see the WiFi indicator light on the D-Link DIR-615 front panel is turned off.

If the WiFi indicator light is still on, your WiFi is not off yet. Check if you have missed out any of the steps above.