Section 6.1. Hacks 6268: Introduction

6.1. Hacks 6268: Introduction

It's a fun and promising time for wireless Internet access. 802.11 Wireless Networking, or WiFi, is growing at an explosive rate, and metropolitan-area networks are being deployed with new technologies such as WiMax, a proposed wide-range evolution of WiFi technology. Mobile phone providers are also beginning to deploy their own broadband wireless networks, using solutions under the banner of 3G (third-generation wireless).

Wireless technology allows data to flow freely between the car PC and its surroundings. Wireless technology already lets cars pass through tollbooths without stopping, and future trials have been announced to download movies directly to the car as it pulls up to a gas station. But while it may be years before we can purchase an audio book, movie, or song at the pump, the technology to get the information we need into our cars today is already at our fingertips.

From real-time traffic updates to videoconferencing to auto-downloading MP3s to the car, this chapter will cover some of the fantastic features that are available when you bring wireless networking and the Internet to your car.