This week, the Wi-Fi Alliance, a tech industry consortium, said its members will release technology that effectively turns gadgets into mini access points -- or "hotspots" -- able to create wireless
connections with other Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets or broadband modems within a radius of about 300 feet. The alliance includes Intel, Cisco Systems, Apple, and more than 300 other makers of the equipment
that runs Wi-Fi networks, often used to provide wireless Web connections in homes, cafés, hotels, and airports. Until now, consumers have been required to hook up some gear and create their own
hotspots to enjoy Wi-Fi. They'll still have to wait until mid-2010, when a tech upgrade is expected to make the Alliance's dreams a reality.
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