Congratulations to a team from M.I.T. for winning the DARPA Network Challenge. The team located 10 red balloons planted in public locations across the United States in under nine hours by recruiting volunteers and paying rewards for tips. You can still check out the M.I.T. Red Balloon Challenge Team recruiting page to see some details of their approach.

The U.S. Department of Defense recently held this contest to celebrate their groundbreaking work on one of the first large scale computer networks, ARPANet, 40 years ago.

→ See also - National Balloon Hunt Mobilizes GPS Users (gps.about.com)

Are you knowledgeable in home automation and looking for an opportunity to write about it? Home automation is one of the subtopics here at About.com that is currently open to contributing writers, affiliated with this Wireless/Networking portion of this site. We're looking for someone who understands and is able to describe the various technologies and products of home automation to the average reader. If you're interested in working with me in this area, check out the application details below.
→ More - Apply to Be a Contributing Writer (beaguide.about.com)

PC Magazine released its listing this week of The Top 40 Free Apps for iPhone. One of the many useful apps on PCMag's list is the JiWire Free Wi-Fi Finder for locating nearby wireless hotspots. A few others mentioned provide VoIP, instant messaging or similar network and communication services.

Is JiWire's app really the single best free iPhone app for computer networking and communications out there? What about others that may charge for downloading? If you have a favorite iPhone app that helps you network, tell us about it.

→ Poll - Do You Use Wi-Fi On Your Cell Phone?

Apple iPhone - Photo: Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

Another common error you may see when working with a Microsoft Windows based virtual private network is VPN error 619 - "A connection to the remote computer could not be established." (With some older VPN servers, the error message says "The port was disconnected.") Like VPN error 800, error 619 can happen either when trying to establish a new connection to a VPN server or when suddenly disconnected. If you encounter it, check the following:

• If two or more VPN clients are installed on the computer, ensure only one is running to avoid conflicts. Check both for running applications and also for Windows services.
• Firewalls and antivirus programs may be running that block access to the VPN ports. Temporarily disable these to troubleshoot.
• Try other standard repairs and troubleshooting steps - reboot the client computer, delete and re-install the VPN client configuration settings, and find others who have working setups to compare for network configuration differences

Have you seen and/or resolved any VPN error 619 problems?

Another holiday shopping season is officially underway. Ten years ago, we might have been happy to receive a dialup modem to surf the Internet. Here's a tip: Strongly consider NOT buying anyone a dialup modem for the holidays this year. On the other hand, wireless gadgets like routers, wireless gaming adapters and Wi-Fi cameras are both practical and cool. Does your shopping list include any of these wireless gadgets?
→ See also - 2009 Holiday Gift Guide for Wireless and Home Computer Networking
→ See also - Free Wi-Fi (Not Quite) Everywhere for the Holidays

On June 25th, 2008, somebody visited a political news portal called Indymedia.us and got the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Who was this person and what did they do, or say? No one who knows for certain has come forward. Only this month have some details of the DOJ legal action been widely revealed by bloggers including one at CBS News. Read more...

Someone on our message board runs a consulting firm and is currently trying to set up an FTP server to share large files with their clients. FTP solves this problem nicely, although setting up a public FTP server should be done with care to avoid potential security issues. Another of our members recommends using SFTP for security in this case. Unfortunately, the server doesn't seem to be allowing any connections, even without SFTP. What's this all about? Follow the discussion below.
→ Discuss - Sharing Large Files via FTP
→ See also - Free FTP Server Software for Windows

Would you like to have your weight and body fat percentage automatically posted on the Internet? If so, a French company called Withings has just the product for you. Their product is the "World's First WiFi Enabled Body Scale." Currently selling for roughly USD $159 online, this scale connects to a wireless home network and manage an online database of users' body weights and related body mass statistics over time. No joke.

As an added, er, incentive, the product supports an interface that also enable automatic posting of your weigh-ins to Twitter. It takes the concept of "peer pressure" to a whole new level.

→ More - A Scale That Tweets (caloriecount.about.com)

Withings WiFi Scale - Photo: www.withings.com

A company called Mad Catz known for making gaming peripherals released this week a new wireless adapter for game consoles. The Mad Catz Wireless N Gaming Adapter supplies full Wi-Fi capability including 802.11n. It arrives on the heels of a new Microsoft 802.11n gaming adapter but differs in one key respect: the Mad Catz adapter works via an Ethernet connection while Microsoft's requires USB.

Xbox 360 owners may discover Mad Catz is a cheaper alternative to Microsoft's adapter. And Mad Catz also works with Sony PS3, which USB adapters by themselves do not. Available in white or black, your choice. Have any of you tried it yet?

→ See also - Mad Catz Wireless-N Gaming Adapter Now Shipping (gameshark.com)

Mad Catz Wireless-N Gaming Adapter - Photo: store.gameshark.com

The Vue Personal Video Network, a wireless camera package for home computer networks, began selling in September. The product ships with two battery-powered IP webcams and a gateway device that connects these cameras to a wireless router. Owners can watch live video feeds from their webcams across the Internet by setting up an account on myvuezone.com. Compared to products designed more for home video surveillance, Vue aims to provide a portable and fast to set up viewing system.

Vue Personal Video Network comes from a small private company called Avaak. Its cameras and gateway communicate via Avaak's patented FrameMesh protocols. Interestingly, this technology was developed out of earlier research into small medical diagnostic cameras designed to be swallowed by patients in pill form. Do not attempt to eat one of these new Vue cameras!

→ Discuss - Performance of Wireless IP Cameras

Vue Personal Video Network from Avaak - Photo: www.vuzone.com