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iParenting: How I keep my kids safe around tablets The FTC reminded us Monday what many a parent knows all too well: Not all kids' apps are safe, especially where privacy is concerned. So, as a parent of two small children in a house full of tablets, what do I do to keep them safe? Here are my guidelines. FULL STORYShape Minds and Moving Images via iTunesFCC to hold hearings on post-Sandy cell coverageITC to review Apple, Samsung patent decisionAndroid 4.2 skips ChristmasGoogle, Dish may be mulling wireless serviceText messaging is on decline in US, says reportIs a new iPhone 5S in trial production?Skype for Windows 8 Phone out as 'preview' appSome cellphone fees waived for Sandy victimsWireless carriers gearing up for nor'easterAT&T must refund overcharged cell customersJuice up phones via wireless carriers in NJ, NYPentagon: BlackBerry stays; iPhone, Android newAT&T, T-Mobile share networks for Sandy usersMobile service still not fully restored for many

Wireless technologies often tend to increase convenience and decrease ‘safety’. Wired technologies are mostly used whenever reliability is of major importance. When an idea for some kind of new technology arises and the impact on the user can accurately be estimated the question ‘Can this technology improve life quality?’ should be the go/no go criterion. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages in advance should enable someone to answer this question.

One-third of Americans streamed a movie or TV show on Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Crackle or another Net-based video service

Given that consumers store their entire lives on tablets and smartphones – from games to movies to pictures – creating a simple way to project mobile content onto the big screen is an essential capability of the digital home.

To enable seamless Internet searching, HD viewing and wireless gaming, retrofitting the digital home with superior wireless solutions is a critical step in delivering a superior mobile experience.

This is especially true for wireless technologies: cellphones have, amongst other things, been predicted to improve healthcare access in rural areas, WiFi has been predicted to spawn a myriad of portable devices to be used on hospital wards, and Bluetooth promised to bring improved sensor devices to hospitals.

A Wireless Home Theater or Entertainment system can refer to setup that simply has a set of wireless surround sound speakers to a system that incorporates wireless home networking.

One new development that is getting attention as a practical wireless solution for home theater is employing a wireless powered subwoofer.

Bluetooth technology has impacted the way consumers connect portable devices, such as headsets for cell phones. However, with the advent of wireless technology for home entertainment, Bluetooth is also a method for wireless connectivity in home theater systems.

This wave is washing up on our shores now—and it’s already reconfiguring the politics of spectrum access, as well as the future architecture of broadband networks. Although unlicensed spectrum is typically associated with home and coffee shop Wi-Fi, as well as with embattled community networks promoted by nonprofits and some municipalities, increasingly the leading broadband carriers are waking up to the cost-effectiveness of sharing public spectrum.

Wi-Fi is one of the most ubiquitous wireless communications technologies in use today, primarily because it is easy to install, easy to use and inexpensive. Wi-Fi was originally designed as a way of extending internet connections wirelessly within an enterprise. However people soon began installing Wi-Fi Access Points at home and in public Hotspots to give convenient internet access to laptops, which ended up with Wi-Fi chips installed as standard. Today there are hundreds of millions of devices which use Wi-Fi including tablets, smart phones, TVs and set tops. There are millions of public hotspots and many hundreds of millions of home and enterprise access points. The Wi-name Fi is reserved for the IEEE 802.11 standards – so far A, B, G and N, with more on the way, and use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum bands, with more being considered up to 60 GHz. Wi-Fi today is managed and policed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi reach varies with the power of the signal and the spectrum used, but will typically reach a few hundred feet and current generation devices will provide between 50 Mbps and a 100 Mbps shared between connected users.

Wireless technology makes great sense in home entertainment networks because of the relatively low cost involved in adding wireless capability to devices, and because of the convenience they give you.

The flexibility that wireless links provide also allows you to manage your entertainment WLAN from different locations and with different devices and software, shifting to better technology as time goes by.

Through the use of network shares and servers, you can access digital libraries of audio and digital video files from anywhere you have wireless coverage, resulting in entertainment and information on demand. A wireless MP3 jukebox (when they finally become available as a standard feature) would allow you to choose the music you want to listen to at any time by downloading just those tracks from your audio library before you head out the door to the gym or to work.