The Wi-Fire can rotate 360 degrees on its base, but positioning the device becomes a two-handed operation once the USB cable connector, which protrudes from the bottom of the unit collides with the adapter base (beyond about 150 degrees). The Wi-Fires built-in plastic base has been redesigned and provides a very stable platform from which to aim the antenna on a flat surface. (Windows and Mac OS X drivers are included in the box, while Linux software can be downloaded.) The Wi-Fire adapter and antenna are housed within a single trapezoidal plastic package which connects to an available USB port via a three-foot cable (the kludgy retractable cable of the previous model has thankfully been jettisoned). The Wi-Fire is a USB-based 802.11b/g adapter (alas, the Wi-Fire's Atheros AR5007UG chipset doesn't do 802.11n) paired with a high-gain directional antenna and compatible with Windows, Mac, or Linux systems. We first the Wi-Fire over a year ago, but theres now a new iteration (the third generation, model HFWFG200)-a more refined version of the previous design, which it replaces.Ĭonsiderably more compact than its slab-sided predecessor-hField says the new model is 40% smaller and 30% lighter-at $59, the new Wi-Fire also rings up $20 less expensive. Fire in the sky The from hField Technologies can greatly improve the ability of a notebook-or a desktop, for that matter-to find and make use of evanescent Wi-Fi signals.
A good example (albeit fictional) is in 'Jaws,' when Chief Brody tells shark-hunting fisherman Quint, 'You're gonna need a bigger boat.' Similarly, when you want to access a distant Wi-Fi network or one with an otherwise feeble footprint, you can't always count on a notebooks internal wireless adapter and antenna to find it or pull in enough of a signal to make for a usable connection. Sometimes you come to the realization that the equipment you have isn't quite up to the task at hand.
Adapter The launch coincides with introduction of hField’s Wi-Fire Connection Manager 2.0.
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