"QANTAS is poised to buy a range of BlackBerry-like devices that will be used by aircrews on its new Airbus A380, according to one of the airline's senior systems architects... Mr Gurjar said the wireless devices would make cabin crews more accountable to Qantas's back-end customer relationship management systems... Qantas was already using database intelligence software to assign passengers a customer value based on their travelling patterns."

I'm not sure whether having them mine data on me is cool or creepy, then again, it's not like I travel enough to be a VIP anyway.

"So you liked Logitech's MX and VX Revolution mousers, did ya? Then check the VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse with that crazy-small 2.4GHz USB receiver for laptop users. The VX Nano features a mini, hyper-fast scrolling MicroGear scroll wheel along with forward and back buttons mapped to your browser, five programmable buttons, and is said to run for up to 6 months of a pair of AAA batteries."

Not a big fan of laptop mice, but how goddamn small is that receiver!

"Belkin is finally adding some action to the wireless router game with its newest entry, the N1 Vision. Instead of the uninformative and confusing blinking lights which adorn most routers, the N1 has a full monochrome LCD display which tracks your upstream / downstream speeds, logs your bandwidth, displays date, time and network access key info, and also shows you what devices are connected and how much bandwidth each one is eating up."

Finally, a router that is the 'household appliance' it is, not looking like some geek toy only for those with massive geek cred.

"Australian company CSIRO has been on the offensive in an attempt to establish their role in the creation of WiFi. Last Friday, CSRIO won another round in the battle by bringing an injunction against Buffalo, promptly halting sale of products in the US and making it very difficult for Buffalo to continue scoring tons of easy money from 802.11a/g-based gear."

Not a company per se, but hey, we're on the map for something technological! :)

"The idea of offline web applications is getting an undue amount of attention. Which is bizarre when you look at how availability of connectivity is ever increasing. EVDO cards, city-wide wifis, iPhones, Blackberry’s. There are so many ways to get online these days that the excitement for offline is truly puzzling."

Seriously mate, you have to get out sometimes. Maybe in your little world it is like that, but in reality everywhere else isn't. And I'm not holding my breath for the day Melbourne gets city-wide wifi, or cheap mobile data access...

Oooh...Telstra offering something for free, no-strings attached? Granted you have to be a Qantas Club member to get into the area (which is very, very nice), but still a big step.

I wonder if you can get close enough outside to be in range to use it... I know the Melbourne lounge is upstairs, which makes it a bit more difficult (especially with the posh, arrogant prick there), but the Brisbane one's not.

Now if only they can match the HK International Airport, and possibly others, who with PCCW offer free wifi anywhere in the airport.