Maltese walls: always weathered, but not always permeable to Wi-Fi

Sometimes, it’s difficult getting technology and Maltese houses to get on together. None more so than when it gets to Wi-Fi, thick limestone walls and a bewildering choice of terminologies you have to navigate to find a solution to a simple problem: I want to access the Web in my home without getting tangled in wires. In this piece, Steve Hall navigates through the options for ubiquitous Wi-Fi in the home.

As with all computer technologies, Wi-Fi outfits come in several relishes. Selecting the one most suitable for you can be a chore in itself.  Sure, you can pick up any Access Point and USB Wi-Fi stick from your local computer store, but if you’re after a reliable connection with decent coverage and sufficient speed, read on.

To have devices from different manufacturers talk with each other requires some form of a standard to be in force.  The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)  has been responsible for some of the world’s greatest technical standards including Wi-Fi.  Continuous development of the standard over time has resulted in a number of incarnations identified by a single lower-case letter suffix to the numeric identifier of the standard ‘802.11’.  Each variant has its own set of speed, range and interference characteristics.  In order to maintain the fast-facts objective of this article we’ll keep our focus on the milestone incarnations.

The original standard was established in 1997. It was designed to provide a bandwidth (speed of data transfer) of 2Mbps (Millions of bits per second).   This may come across as pretty quick if you’re unfamiliar with this unit of measure.  Truth is – it’s pathetic.  This standard was upgraded within less than two years to provide much higher speeds exceeding even the wired equivalents of its time.

802.11a & 802.11b were established at around the same time and provided 54Mbps and 11Mbps respectively.  The 11Mbps ‘b’ standard was targeted for domestic installations and offered a greater coverage.  Two typical nine-inch Maltese walls were just about the limit. The 54Mbps ‘a’ standard was more expensive and therefore more exclusive to business installations.  Ironically the ‘a’ standard had a shorter range of coverage than the ‘b’ standard however a business’s craving for faster speeds simply added more Access Points all over the place to overcome this drawback.

802.11g emerged in 2002 combining the speed of ‘a’ with the coverage of ‘b’.  This standard is currently still the most popular and is used in both business and domestic systems.

802.11n is the latest incarnation and claims at least double the speed of ‘g’ and three times the coverage!  I’ve witnessed this get past four typical nine-inch Maltese walls! You’d be right to think that 802.11n is the obvious way forward but as with everything else’ tech’ there’s still some substance going for the older 802.11g.

Compatibility – each standard is only compatible with its own sort. So having an access point that’s ‘n’ won’t talk to a device that’s ‘g’.  Luckily, the better manufacturers have pre-empted this and made most Access Points support the major previous standards.

Speed – How much do you really need? With internet speeds currently peeking at around 20Mbps even the 54Mpbs provided by 802.11g will suffice for the foreseeable future.  If on the other hand you’re operating a LAN on your Wi-Fi infrastructure then you may need the impressive performance offered by 802.11n.

Cost – 802.11n devices carry the higher price tag even when compared to 802.11g. So unless you absolutely need it you may well be spending your change on some extra internet bandwidth.

Coverage – Nothing compares to the penetrating power of 802.11n so if coverage is a priority ‘n’ is the way to go.  Keeping security in-check however, you wouldn’t want your signals to travel too far!  So do keep 802.11g on the cards.

OK, enough said – You’ve forked out for the more expensive 802.11n Access Point. You set it up and like everyone else who’s been down that road, you only achieve a speed and range of the 802.11g standard!  Disappointed?

You may be surprised to note that most of the devices (laptops, smartphones, internet radios etc.) are equipped with 802.11g interfaces at best and therefore associating them to a faster ‘n’ Access Point simply doesn’t magically transform them into ‘n’ capable devices!  In order to get the faster speed and Maltese wall-blasting power of the newer 802.11n Access Point you will need to add an external 802.11n network interface to your device.  These 802.11n interfaces come in several formats. Two of the most popular formats are PCI Cards particularly suitable for standard desktop PC’s and USB Sticks which are generally used for Laptops but may also be used for desktop PC’s.

When upgrading to 802.11n it is generally advisable to stick with a single brand for both the Access Point and Device Interface.  This ensures maximum reliability, performance and practically guarantees that the setup will work straight out-of-the-box.

If your lovely Maltese walls are hindering your Wi-Fi coverage, go for 802.11n but remember, you’ll also need to budget for upgrading all your devices!

IEEE logo is a registered trademark of the  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. WIFI Certified Logo is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Photo: Andrew Galea Debono

For more on which Wi-Fi options suit your Malta home, contact:

Your iTdept 53 Norfolk Street Sliema SLM 2014 Web: www.youritdept.biz Email: info@youritdept.biz Tel: +356 2133 0879 Mob: +356 7932 4522 Skype: youritdept LinkedIn: Your iTdept Facebook: Stephen Hall Twitter: twitter.com/liveITsupport

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Pointed comments in a blog. But who will come out of all this walking tall?

A week is a long time in politics, they say. But it’s more like thirty years if you’re talking about Malta. Because this week has seen some thirty years of dirty laundry (including juicy bits that leave Sex & the City seeming bland) washed in public by Malta’s very own A-list blogger, political and social pundit, commentator and doyenne of the media columns – Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Who? Say the name ‘Daphne’ to anyone who’s been more than a few months in Malta, and they will not be thinking of a middle-aged mother of three grown-up sons, but of a razor sharp pen, no-holes-barred approach to writing about anyone and anything, and a publish-and-be-damned approach to the media. Daphne this week became the ‘Daily Daphne’ and I would hazard a guess that the majority of Malta’s 400,000 population was reading her next installment. Daphne grew up writing print columns, but what we’re all reading is her blog. That’s where her power base now lies.

Malta’s past has seen institutional powers try to censor and even close down print media; the last few days has seen the powers that be get to grips with the blog. We’re all waiting to see if the daily Daphne will be gagged, switched off, sued or whatever else can shut her off.

So, as the word got around this week, Daphne’s blog was getting more hits than the mainstream media, such as the Times. If you click on the ‘Most viewed’ and ‘Most commented’ section of her blog, you will find out why.

But what’s of real interest is that in Malta, blogging and citizen media are finally coming of age. You could opine that the furore this week is an exception, that Daphne is simply a trusted, trained journalist who has managed to migrate her skills sets and social capital seamlessly to new media; but you cannot fail to notice that something is changing as far as media production and power systems in Malta are concerned. That while only a couple of years ago, you had to rely on a letter to be printed in a newspaper for you to have ‘a voice’, you can now set up your Web 2.0 stall somewhere and become a media producer in a matter of a few minutes. As long as you have something to say, even in a micro-market like Malta, you have a chance to connect and engage with people who would not necessarily be buying a newspaper. And perhaps more importantly, to say things that the mainstream, for various reasons – including concerns about libel – would simply not support.

It’s been the week when the term ‘global village’ really resonated in Malta.

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Storm in a tea cup-sized island - Malta's news on most days

Malta has completely schizophrenic weather in winter. A friend took her daughter to the beach to romp around for an hour today and said it was wonderful. But by 6.30pm, we had storms and right now it’s lashing and blowing a gale outside. This has been the pattern for the past days. All or nothing.

Just as unpredictably predictable is the news here too. Like the weather, it is astonishing for the schizoid impression it gives of the country; the two faces it can give of the self same Islands. Mondays can be lean news days, unless there’s been a flurry of political party podium pieces or photo opportunities for local politicians on the Sunday before. This Monday’s news then had the same podium pontification to it as usual.

I found myself killing an hour in a Valletta café this morning between meetings. With this rare downtime, and finding a copy of the local newspaper on the table, I bothered to read print for once rather than my online news. By page four or so, I was beginning to wonder what kind of place I’d imagine Malta if I took today’s ‘news’ into consideration. The few articles I read, gave me these snippets of insight into the country.

1. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of the ruling Nationalist Party (PN) was making responses to the usual jibes by the now well seasoned opposition Labour Party (he implied that they excelled so much as opposition that it was their métier and job to stay there). Among his responses was one about abortion. In the early 2000s, a Labour Party politician had suggested that abortion should be legally allowed in cases of rape, if there were danger to the mother’s health or if the child would be born severely disabled, for instance. Note, we aren’t saying he was out and out pro abortion, just in very rare and specific cases.

Apparently, the man has now modified his views – probably from undue pressure from pro life groups and his party – and is against abortion in all circumstances – a volte face that did not go unnoticed by the governing party. The PM of course said the Nationalists were and always would be resolutely against abortion in any circumstances. Any legalisation would be the thin end of the wedge. So steadfast is the rock of Malta, that nothing will split it asunder now on the topic of abortion.

2. Pro life campaigning isn’t quite strong enough when it comes to protecting birds in Malta though. Apparently, there are indications that government will seek dialogue with the European Union on reopening the spring hunting season this year. The season was closed abruptly in 2007 after a flock of honey buzzard, a protected species under the EU Bird Directive, was gunned down. Malta can employ, legally, a derogation to allow spring hunting. Legalities aside though, it doesn’t give out the right signals. Plus ça change.

3. The third news item I had time to read was about the EU appointments of two veteran Nationalist Party politicians – one is already an EU Commissioner; the other now Malta’s appointment to the Court of Auditors. A renegade PN backbencher suggested ulterior motives for their shifting to EU institutions (out of sight, out of mind seems to be an appropriate phrase here). Their presences in Malta were too close for comfort for some perhaps. There’s nothing like an EU appointment to put people out to grass; it’s been the norm for decades in all EU countries. Malta is just following suit, at least on this, if not on birds.

And so ended my five minute news digested over coffee and croissant. It all sounded familiar; I could have sworn the topics came up last year. I felt same way I feel when a storm catches me by surprise after a blue, clear, warm day, before I remind myself that, well, it is winter in Malta after all so it’s expected.

Malta, unpredictably predictable. That’s my verdict on the place that I call home.

Photo: Leslie Vella

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Plenty of space to share

Next week, Malta Inside Out has its first birthday. This week saw us notch up 1,000 Facebook fans. So first, this to say a huge thanks to all our followers, friends and fans and to those who comment and contribute.

We’ve seen visitors from 84 countries. We’ve no real definition of insider-outsider as this changes with each topic we write about. There are overseas ‘insiders’ (people who’ve holidayed here or are Maltese emigres for instance) and local ‘outsiders’ (newly-arrived expats are one such group).

But today’s piece isn’t for us to talk about statistics or give ourselves a pat on the back now we’ve been alive for a year. Since you are the reason we started Malta Inside Out, it’s about time we gave you more voice; the space to chip in, contribute, chat back, complain, help, point out our errors, chastise us, provoke and generally make Malta Inside Out the shared space it needs to be.

We’ve been very aware that sometimes we may be guilty of talking at you. Many of you have given us great ideas of topics to cover, and we’ve taken the plaudits for the write ups. So, the next year sees us launch some add-ons to this site to help nurture the Malta Inside Out community.

We’ll start with a Malta Inside Out Forum. A place for you to talk with each other rather than via us, the gatekeepers. We’re also thinking of a monthly newsletter that will feature some goodies that go beyond what we normally feature on the site. Just some ways we can say a thank you to those who’ve listened to us for a year!

The Malta Inside Out Forum will be up and running in a few weeks. Do stay with us.

And thinking of snails, anyone an expert on collecting, cooking and eating this most common of Maltese delicacies?

Photo: Therese Debono (thanks for sharing!)

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WiFi coverage - if only it were as simple as painting it on

Blasting WiFi to all corners of the office or home has become the passion of many who exercise a parallel existence within the virtual world. Malta presents its fair share of unique challenges, so here’s a quick guide on how best to go about getting the job done right first time.

First, a quick primer on the essentials
A WiFi link is created to ‘do-away’ with running a wire or network cable between two network-able devices. These two connected devices could be your laptop to your internet modem, or to your printer or to another computer or for business users to a network of computers. The advantages of not having yet another cable to trip over doesn’t take much brain processing power to figure out. But it doesn’t always follow that wireless means painless…not in Maltese buildings, at any rate.

To get a WiFi connection working you will need a minimum of two components – a ‘WiFi Access Point’ commonly referred to as a ‘WiFi AP’, and any WiFi enabled device’ a catch-all phrase that can potentially represent your laptop, Smartphone, internet radio, gaming console or whatever else the industry throws WiFi at! washing machines included.

On a good day you can expect to plug in you newly procured WiFi AP and establish a connection between your devices within a couple of minutes – literally. But wander around the building with your live stream and you’ll soon realise that there’s a nasty side to WiFi – Coverage!

The Walls between you and your WiFi
Walk away from your WiFi AP in an open field and you’ll still be connected to it a whole 95 metres away! That’s nearly goalpost to goalpost! Pretty good stuff you may say. But take it indoors and for the first measly 9 inch thick concrete brick wall the signal has to pass through, you sacrifice 35 metres in equivalent ‘open-air’ distance. The second wall, an additional 45 metress due to the now weakened signal and the third wall totally obliterates the last remaining waves altogether leaving you with a ‘wave-free’ side of the wall. A good thing, but only if you’re into EMF free environments.

Try tackling the ‘more established’ buildings of our country and the waves simply don’t stand a chance. Once they hit the first limestone wall standing at a full 24 inches thick its total absorption on a mammoth scale. There is one good feature with these buildings however, and that’s the ceilings. Since most are based on slabs across beams (xorokk) they do allow a signal to go through one level quite comfortably. Modern ceilings based on in-situ concrete with iron mesh act as a barrier to the waves and don’t, allow much signal thru. The more steel mesh there is the worse it gets. In techie terms it’s a bit of a Faraday Cage.

It’s all in the planning
Strategically locating the WiFi AP is key to getting maximum coverage. Don’t get into the thinking that the only place to locate the AP is in close proximity to the internet modem simply because it needs to be connected to it. You’ll have to see the big picture if you want any descent coverage.

Begin by defining which areas need coverage in all directions, vertically and horizontally, and then try to establish a point most central to this coverage.

Fire-up your AP at this location and take a walk round the intended coverage area. Internet connectivity isn’t required yet because all you’re doing is testing for AP coverage. In each area you require coverage, attempt to disconnect and reconnect to the AP since this is the process which fails if the signal isn’t strong enough. Compromises will inevitably have to be made but once you’ve found the best spot for you AP your next challenge will be to connect it to your internet modem. Traditionally we do this by means of a cable running between these two devices however since we gave totally disregard to the internet modem location in relation to the AP, I’ve got a wee trick in store for you.

Power sockets: the answer to wall problems
It’s a relatively newer technology to the AP called PowerLine. In a nutshell it allows you to pass network signals through the standard power lines. These devices come in pairs. Plug one of the devices in the wall socket closest to your internet modem and connect a network cable from your internet modem into this first power line device.

All of a sudden, all the power sockets around the building have become potential network points! So all you need do now is plug the second of the PowerLine devices wherever your AP is and hitch up a network cable between this device and your AP.

Now your AP is connected to the internet.

Getting past those walls isn’t such a problem anymore, now that we’re passing network signals through the power lines. Simply add another PowerLine device and another AP wherever required. Have a good shop around and you will find a combined PowerLine with AP device saving you unsightly wiring.

If the budgets are tight take the combined PowerLine & AP device and plug it in whenever and wherever you require coverage!

Happy WiFi-ing!

This post was sponsored by:

Your iTdept 53 Norfolk Street Sliema SLM 2014 Web: www.youritdept.biz Email: info@youritdept.biz Tel: +356 2133 0879 Mob: +356 7932 4522 Skype: youritdept LinkedIn: Your iTdept Facebook: Stephen Hall Twitter: twitter.com/liveITsupport

Photo: Palagret

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University of Malta: open or closed to exploring the limits of a nation's morality?

On 29^th October, the Rector of the University of Malta banned the publication of Ir-Realta’, a student magazine, and reported the editor, as well as the writer of a piece within its covers, to the police.  The ban triggered a national debate about censorship and freedom of expression:  our view was (and remains) that this was yet another side-effect of the smallness of the nation.  On the 4^th December, the Rector wrote in a national newspaper to explain his decision and students held protests on the University campus on the same day.

Andrew Galea, a University student and writer, wades into the debate with his personal opinion on the matter.

Isn’t it fair to say that people expressing opinions in public should do so responsibly?  And that they should disseminate their messages having considered their audiences carefully?

So far, these question have been lacking in discussions on the censorship of Alex Vella Gera’s  ‘Li Tkisser Sewwi’, published in the student magazine Ir-Realta’. The debate should not be focusing on the piece’s literary worth – that is purely subjective – but rather on the propriety of publishing so graphic a story in a freely-accessible journal.  It worries me that no one seems to have picked up on this.

There are specific reasons why films are age classified.  And it doesn’t take a background in psychology to appreciate the effect of so vivid and colourful a story as ‘Li Tkisser Sewwi’ on young minds.  This is why such material is legally designated in most countries as unsuitable for dissemination to those below the age of 18.

The argument of the editor of Ir-Realta’, for whom I have a tremendous respect, is that he has ‘never seen a child roaming about university campus’.  I find his argument falls short.  If, by child, he means primary or middle school students, then I too have only seen children in the context of school excursions to the university library, or science week on campus, or being walked from the crèche.  However, he appears to exclude the prospective sixth form students and occasional secondary student, who are usually below the age of 18. Quite apart from this though, I believe that Ir-Realta’ is distributed at Junior College.

However, this is more than an issue of age classification, because, in any case, the appropriate classification for such an article can be disputed; some might say 18, some 16.  The point is more that no effort at all was made to give readers advance warning of the nature of the story in the now infamous Issue 8.

I have read most of Ir-Realta’s publications keenly, enjoying intelligent and thought-provoking articles and opinions. However, I was surprised by the unusual inclusion of a story like this.  It is not something I am accustomed to reading in Ir-Realta’, and not something I would necessarily look to the paper to provide.  Given this, it’s not hard therefore to imagine someone putting it down inadvertently on the kitchen table, not having read the piece in question, and then have a younger sibling pick it up and read it.

Bizarrely, those arguing against the banning by the Rector of Issue 8, have drawn comparisons between their case and the censorship of Unifaun theatre’s production ‘Stitching’, written by Anthony Neilson, as well as the arrest of the person who created and projected weird visuals at a party, and a man arrested for impersonating Jesus at a Nadur carnival.

The parallels fail most prominently because of the reasons for the censorship. In the case of ‘Stitching’, we have a play that was not even properly read by the censors, and was thus banned on ignorant, ridiculous grounds.  With regards to the young man sentenced to six months prison with a fine for his visuals of the Pope and then of a naked woman, as well as the man arrested for impersonating Jesus at a Nadur carnival, we have cases of censorship that are at worst akin to fundamentalism and at best just downright humorless.

I would conclude by saying this to those incensed by the perceived censorship of Ir-Realta’ and everyone else jumping on the whole anti-censorship bandwagon:  your right to freedom of expression is indeed sacred, but so too is the right of others to be warned in advance that some of what you say or do may be offensive.  In short, would it have hurt so much to offer an explanation or an age classification sticker with the story?the unsuspecting public – particularly youths.

Photo: Albireo

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Choice or confusion? Whereto with Malta's digital TV revolution?

The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has chosen the onset of the digital TV era as the theme of its forthcoming annual conference, Friday 30 October, at the Westin Dragonara. A lot of us have gone digital in the past year as Melita Cable has all but switched off analogue. But while the changeover is part of technology’s advance, some might be wondering what digital means – both in the home, and for businesses.

Aptly then, the MCA’s day of speakers, panels, debate and open floor discussion is entitled: ‘Digital TV: what’s on?’. What’s actually ‘on’ our TVs now is one question; and what’s going on, now digital is being rolled out, is another.

A bit of TV history background
Maltese free-to-air television is going through the biggest technology change since the introduction of colour television in 1981. Like most other countries, we are now approaching another significant change – the switch from analogue to digital transmissions. The impact of this migration in the field of broadcasting is revolutionising the sector, opening different platforms to content and increasing the potential of current broadcasting spectrum.

What digital is expected to bring
Due to be completed over the next few years, the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting would, at face value, appear to be an easy task. Digital TV offers more efficiency and better quality, translating into more capacity for broadcasters to offer increased choice and better services for consumers, not to mention the new opportunities it can offer, such as High Definition (HD) Broadcasting and interactive services.

What the man in the street is asking about digital
Resulting from this migration is a whole new industry, from production to consumption equipment and services. Inevitably, as with all technological development, this migration to digital raises several issues, such as:

• Will terrestrial broadcasting continue to be a popular in the digital environment?
• What are the implications of Digital Switchover? Where is the digital dividend? Who will benefit from it?
• What are the main challenges to the industry in an environment characterised by more players, more media channels, competing technologies, more content distribution platforms, competing modes of entertainment and just 24 hours in a day?
• What opportunities for content producers will arise from digital technology?
• What are the new and emerging technologies and which business models are better suited to exploit such technologies?
• How is the consumer impacted by all this bombardment of technology and audiovisual media?

The conference
The conference offers a packed day of speakers, both local and international figures from the sector. Key rostrum names from overseas this year include: Daniel Pataki, Chairperson of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group; Daniel Sauvet-Goichon, Chairman, DigiTAG; Jerome Colin, TDF Group; Marco Gaeta, Solution & Marketing Director for Italy, Greece, Israel & Malta, Alcatel-Lucent; Roberto Viola, Secretary General, AGCOM and Dimitris Logothetis, Technology Manager, Ericsson – Greece, Cyprus, Albania and Malta.

The conference will also be addressed by Ing. Philip Micallef, Executive Chairman of the Malta Communications Authority and the Hon. Austin Gatt, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications.

Registration costs €70. Group offer: for every 4 participants in a group registered, a fifth can attend free of charge.

More information: For the full programme, booking form and online registration, see the MCA website. Or, contact Mandy Calleja or by phone on: 21 336 840.
Deadline for registration is Monday, 26th October 2009.

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