WFAA-TV

This story came to you via a cell phone attached to a notebook computer.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The first-ever Computer Corner videoblog aired today. Our weekly segment is almost always presented in-studio, but an unanticipated out-of-town trip made the alternative version necessary.

This week's segment focused on how it's getting easier to use computers while traveling. I observed a lot of people popping open their notebook computers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and more than ever are now able to connect to the Internet while waiting for the boarding announcement.

Most take advantage of Wi-Fi, the short-range wireless Web access scheme that relies on a network of "hot spots" in airports, hotels and coffee shops—the same Wi-Fi you may use to establish a wireless network at home.

The primary problem with Wi-Fi is consistency. There are countless providers of the service; most require payment or a subscription and there's usually only one service in a given location.

For instance: At the D/FW terminal where I was waiting, there was a hotspot maintained by T-Mobile, which claims to have more than 8,000 Wi-Fi locations around the U.S. But travel elsewhere and you may encounter hotspots hosted by companies like Boingo (with more than 100,000 hotspots worldwide) and Wayport (based in Irving, with more than 30,000 access points).

The problem is, you have to deal with each access provider separately, and chances are you won't have a choice in any given location.

One solution for frequent travelers is to make an end run around Wi-Fi and use a wireless broadband service from a cellular provider. With the rollout of 3G ("third generation") broadband networks, these connections are very fast—with the distinct advantage that you can get a hookup from anywhere in the carrier's coverage area, from a waiting room to a beachfront patio.

You need a special cellular modem for this kind of connection. While a tiny group of elite notebook computers have this modem built-in (and tied to a particular carrier), you can also get external modems that plug into a USB port. The advantage here is that your computer isn't permanently wedded to a cell phone company that might not have the best coverage in your area.

Another way to go involves a piece of hardware you probably already carry around: your cell phone. Using a Samsung Blackjack from AT&T, all I needed was the provided USB cable and the press of a few buttons to initiate "Internet sharing" with my notebook computer. The phone doubles as a wireless modem.

In locations where AT&T hasn't yet launched 3G service, you'll still get a connection; it will just be a lot slower (sort of like a speedy dial-up session). Earlier this month, AT&T reduced the price it charges for unlimited wireless access on your phone and computer to about $60 a month.

Sprint and Verizon offer similar high speed data networks; T-Mobile has wireless Internet service, but it has not yet rolled out 3G speeds in Texas.

Air travelers looking for a relative fortress of data solitude have been able to find it in the flight itself: No cell phones, no Internet.

Sure, you can try to flip open your notebook screen (if you can maintain it at a workable angle in today's claustrophobic coach cabins!) and noodle with a spreadsheet or play a few rounds of solitaire—but for a few glorious hours, you are untethered from e-mail and Web surfing.

Already, though, some smaller airlines have begun to offer Wi-Fi in the sky, and American Airlines is planning to roll it out starting this year.

I've had several e-mails from WFAA-TV viewers who enjoy listening to Channel 8 on the radio. They've heard about the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting and want to know whether their radios will still work.

The simple answer is, "no."

While traditional analog TV sets can continue to function with the addition of a digital converter box, there's no product available that can turn an analog radio into one capable of receiving the new digital broadcasts.

Radios that receive TV broadcasts (usually only VHF channels 2-13) generally are also able to receive AM and FM transmissions, so they won't be entirely useless, and they'll continue to pick up TV sound until the end of analog telecasting on Feb. 17, 2009.

If you want to continue to listen to TV on the radio after that date, you'll have to spring for a new set. While I haven't seen any yet, I'm confident you'll begin to see some models in stores before the end of this year.

Watch Computer Corner every week on News 8 Midday at noon (usually seen on Wednesdays), or online any time.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com