Kiss Your Wireless Router Goodbye

Thunderbolt is super-fast and should eliminate wire clutter

(NEWSER) - Apple quietly announced a refresh in its MacBook Pros this week, but the little-heralded machines might bring a big change with them. The computers will be the first to have a Thunderbolt port and protocol, a data system so blazingly fast it might just finally resign USB to the dustbin of history, Fast Company reports. Thunderbolt can transfer up to 10 gigabits per second, making it 20 times faster than USB 2.0. More»

Australian company revives 3-year-old plan

(NEWSER) - A plan to bring cellphone and wireless Internet service to New York's subway is set to start after years of delay. The $200 million project was hobbled by the recession but has been made viable again by a large financial commitment from Broadcast Australia, Bloomberg reports. The firm bought a majority stake in Transit Wireless, the group of phone and construction companies that took on the contract. More»

Expert tips for using free wireless without irritating others

(NEWSER) - Now that Starbucks has free WiFi , nothing's keeping you from making the local branch your away-from-home office—except perhaps money and social conventions. Om Malik of GigaOm , a successful startup that incubated at a Starbucks, offers some pointers:

• Buy something: And not just one tall black coffee per 8-hour shift—"at least three times a day."

Unlimited Internet access comes with new content system

(NEWSER) - Starbucks will offer free unlimited Wi-Fi at its company-owned stores starting July 1. Battered by the recession and the successful challenge mounted by McDonald's, the coffee giant will also plug its customers into customized content—including free access to pay sites like the Wall Street Journal's, Frank James blogs for NPR . The goal is to draw users in and keep them around, notes the LA Times . More»

Google hired 786 employees in Q1

(NEWSER) - If you went to MIT, the economy shouldn’t look half bad. Tech companies are hiring again, often even fighting over top recruits, the Wall Street Journal reports. Yesterday, Google announced that it had hired 786 employees in the first quarter, and said it expected to “continue hiring aggressively throughout the year.” The announcement came alongside a stellar earnings report that showed a 37% profit jump for the company. More»