Thinkgeek team created a shirt to display Wi-Fi signal, the glowing bars on the front dynamically change as the surrounding Wi-Fi signal strength fluctuates.

It shows signals in 802.11b or 802.11g and it’s 100% cotton. The animated decal is removable (with hook and loop fasteners) for easy washing and the baterry pack is concealed in a small pocket sewn inside the shirt, works for a few hours with 3 AAA batteries.

It was 10 years ago that Michael Dell, speaking before several thousand technology executives at ITxpo97 in Orlando, answered a question about what he would do if he were CEO of Apple with a remark he probably instantly regretted:

“What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” (link)

As others have noted, Apple’s (AAPL) market capitalization today is more than double that of Dell (DELL):

Apple: $140.4 billion

Dell: $62.27 billion

But don’t shed a tear for Micheal Dell. According to a list of the 400 wealthiest Americans published last month, his net worth is more than triple Steve Jobs’.

Michael Dell: $15.5 billion

Steve Jobs: $4.9 billion

[Chart comparing 10 years of Apple and Dell share prices courtesy of NASDAQ.]

Source: CNN Money

I want a base station that will cover a very large area, including indoors and will serve hundreds of users at the same time with wireless broadband internet. This is the dream solution, now let me tell you what WiMAX is.

The myth is that WiMAX will deliver 70 Mbit/s, over 48 km (30 miles). Each of them is true individually, given ideal circumstances. Either you have high bandwidth or long reach, not both simultaneously.

The limitation is that like any other wireless system, available bandwidth is shared between users in a given radio sector. If you have a base station capable of covering 2 km (1.2 miles) at 10 Mbit/s and has to serve ten users at the same time, you’ll be delivering 1 Mbit/s for each. Extra radio cards might be added to the base station, but the technology is limited and a lot more expensive for the given results.

One of the good things about WiMAX is that it will – also – be used in the licensed spectrum, creating a better organization of frequencies, which in theory will make sure interference isn’t a problem and considering this the allowed power might be increased in the future. The only concern is the timing of political decisions that take years to accomplish.

This year we already had two of the most important events about wireless in the world, they are CTIA Wireless in Orlando and The Wireless Event in London. Want to know what they said about WiMAX? The same thing they told us two years ago. WiMAX is taking over the world.

Companies don’t install networks because users wouldn’t be able to use, simply because there are no devices (notebooks, cell phones, palmtops, …) available in the market. On the other hand, companies don’t produce devices because there are no networks available.

One good example is Sprint that thought it was the dream solution, they announced in mid-2006 a 3 billion dollars project to cover United States with WiMAX. Investors balked at the cost and they are now thinking about selling the business, or partner with another company, not to mention the worst scenario.

Engineers has created a good system called WiMAX, it is ready for production but the market still need time to mature and establish a good business model. There is one other fantastic technology called WiMAX, this one has been developed by journalists and writers, it’s a dream solution, one base station for miles and miles of indoor coverage, hundreds of users at the same time with broadband internet access, and better, it will happen sooner then you think.