Go Wireless, Go Online at Crossroads

Go Wireless, Go Online at Crossroads

MicroNews News Service
02/02/2001
The next time you’re at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, near Microsoft’s main campus, take your laptop with a wireless LAN card and get connected—not just to a wireless network—but also to Microsoft Research’s grander vision of using next-generation technology to communicate and compute in public places.

Plus, users can get a nifty shopping experience.

Thanks to the Systems and Networking group in Microsoft Research (MSR), the CROWN (Crossroads Wireless Network) project—based on wireless LAN technology called Choice—has been successfully deployed at Crossroads. MSR’s Choice offers high-speed Internet access and location services in public places.

Because of the cooperative efforts between MSR and the Advanced Strategies group, customers at Crossroads can switch on and log on. Choice advertises itself through beacon signals and picks up Internet-address requests that are sent while booting. It returns a signal giving a short-term address to the computer. When users are finished booting, they go to https://choice/ and log on to MS Passport for authentication. A temporary soft "key" is sent to the computer so that it can use the wireless services at Crossroads.

At the moment, users can get e-mail and Internet access through the CROWN project at Crossroads, but Choice technology offers many other options.

For example, Choice can use the MSN Messenger Buddy list to determine if a user has friends online and within the given area of the Choice network. So, if Buddy_01 is at a store at the other end of the mall or the airport, Choice will send an alert to the user with a map showing Buddy_01’s location.

Vendors can also opt to use the OnSale feature of Choice that enables them to send sale details—for instance, if a Compaq iPAQ is 20 percent off for 30 minutes—to the Choice network. The network instantly would search user profiles to find out if they have Electronics listed as items they are interested in purchasing. If so, the OnSale message will appear as an Instant Message Alert on the user’s screen.

For more information, go to http://choice/ or http://www.mschoice.com/.

Get Up to Speed on Wireless

How do we design, build, and test wireless services? Microsoft's wireless challenges and opportunities are featured in this month's Interface, at http://interface/.

Go Wireless, Go Online at Crossroads
MicroNews News Service 02/02/2001		The next time you’re at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, near Microsoft’s main campus, take your laptop with a wireless LAN card and get connected—not just to a wireless network—but also to Microsoft Research’s grander vision of using next-generation technology to communicate and compute in public places. Plus, users can get a nifty shopping experience. Thanks to the Systems and Networking group in Microsoft Research (MSR), the CROWN (Crossroads Wireless Network) project—based on wireless LAN technology called Choice—has been successfully deployed at Crossroads. MSR’s Choice offers high-speed Internet access and location services in public places. Because of the cooperative efforts between MSR and the Advanced Strategies group, customers at Crossroads can switch on and log on. Choice advertises itself through beacon signals and picks up Internet-address requests that are sent while booting. It returns a signal giving a short-term address to the computer. When users are finished booting, they go to https://choice/ and log on to MS Passport for authentication. A temporary soft "key" is sent to the computer so that it can use the wireless services at Crossroads. At the moment, users can get e-mail and Internet access through the CROWN project at Crossroads, but Choice technology offers many other options. For example, Choice can use the MSN Messenger Buddy list to determine if a user has friends online and within the given area of the Choice network. So, if Buddy_01 is at a store at the other end of the mall or the airport, Choice will send an alert to the user with a map showing Buddy_01’s location. Vendors can also opt to use the OnSale feature of Choice that enables them to send sale details—for instance, if a Compaq iPAQ is 20 percent off for 30 minutes—to the Choice network. The network instantly would search user profiles to find out if they have Electronics listed as items they are interested in purchasing. If so, the OnSale message will appear as an Instant Message Alert on the user’s screen. For more information, go to http://choice/ or http://www.mschoice.com/. Get Up to Speed on Wireless How do we design, build, and test wireless services? Microsoft's wireless challenges and opportunities are featured in this month's Interface, at http://interface/.