Delta Air Lines has become the latest carrier to announce plans for in-flight Wi-Fi, and in a big way. It intends to switch on the service across its U.S. flight schedule by mid-2009 (about 330 mainline aircraft, its smaller planes not included).

Price: $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.

In-flight broadband isn’t a new concept. If you’ll pardon the pun, I’ll hasten to add that it’s an idea that hasn’t yet taken off. However, Delta is partnering with Aircell and its technology is said to be easier and cheaper to deploy.

Marguerite Reardon over at CNET has posted a well-done roundup article on the subject. Now definitely deal me and my laptop in for surfing the net and staying in touch at 37,000 feet. But Ms. Reardon’s readers are weighing in and, at least initially, they aren’t too high on the idea … citing things like annoying Skype conversations and cramped working quarters. What do you think?

That’s the headline atop Tom Steinert-Threlkeld’s ZDNet column today. He’s quoting a well-placed source as saying we’re about to find whether the Internet can, or will, break down under the strain of all that video streaming from Beijing starting tomorrow. So what are the odds? Check it out here.

A while back, I had mentioned how excited I was about how the vmcNetflix add-in brought Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature to my Xbox 360. Now, Microsoft is making it official over at E3. Several folks like Todd Bishop,  Dean Takahashi and John Biggs have confirmed an agreement between the two companies coming later this Fall.

Beyond that, looks like Live Groups will make it even more compelling. Good stuff… a few things on my wishlist: better video quality, faster performance from the Xbox 360 interface, and a bigger portion of the Netflix library to choose from.

This new development could present a solid challenge to the Apple TV. Come on Netflix and Microsoft… I bet you can do it.

Home networks are complex.  Really complex.   Mind boggling complex in fact.  The typical household has multiple computers at this point.   Home wireless networks are very common.   Additionally, there are a growing number of devices that are pinging your home network:  DVRs, smart phones, gaming consoles, printers and hard disk storage.    These devices constantly check for e-mail, send diagnostic information, request patches, etc., etc.  Despite the extra complexity, most people don’t optimize their network for these changes.    I’ll briefly discuss why this may require some optimization for your home network.

Take this example:  I was streaming a TV show via the Media Center program, when the video began to slow and freeze.   Shortly thereafter, the “network problem” message occurred.   It was well past midnight, so I wasn’t sure of the problem.   The Internet access to my house was working.   My Media PC wasn’t otherwise being used.   What was the issue?   Turns out another PC on the network was backing itself up to my NAS.    Certainly, streaming my TV show should take precedence over a routine backup.   That’s where QoS (Quality of Service) comes in.

Your typical home network has a single router, and configuring it for QoS is fairly simple.   By doing this, you can modify the bandwidth and priority for the traffic on your network.   By changing the priority, you let preferred traffic network pass through the network first.   By changing the bandwidth, you let more of that traffic pass.

Linksys largely rules the home networking market, and this link will give you fairly easy instructions on how to configure their most common wireless router.   Other brands typically work the same way.   The router I use has three ways to configure QoS:

• Device – Every device on a network (in your home and in the world) has a unique MAC address.   You can enter this address, to ensure these specific devices receive a higher priority.

• Router Port – You may choose a port on the back of the router to optimize traffic.   This Ethernet port might lead to a single computer or a hub connecting it to another group of computers.

• Application Port – The software and games that connect over the network typically do so by a certain application port number(s).   To give yourself an edge in gaming, or to configure for LAN gaming, you’d probably want to use this.   Since VOIP is starting to replace land lines, most routers are preconfigured in this manner.

This is fairly simplistic, in the greater scheme of QoS.   However, the options above give you some flexibility depending on your network setup.   In general, you want real-time network applications, i.e. video streaming, VOIP phone calls, to take precedent over long term, less urgent Internet activities, i.e. BitTorrent downloads, receiving e-mail, etc.

Hmmm, sounds too good to be true.  What can go wrong?   Your router, connected to your ISP’s modem might not be able to operate efficiently with your upstream bandwidth.   In other words, you might want to make requests that people over the Internet can’t (or won’t) honor in a timely manner.   Every network is different, and by observing results over time, you’ll find that improvements can probably be made.

Maybe I’m jaded.  I consider homes with a mere single PC quaint.   A throwback to a simpler time, if you will.   In such a case, QoS really isn’t so necessary.   But for the dorms, small businesses and LAN parties out there, making some simple adjustments can really improve your home network.

It’s all over the interwebs already, but in case you haven’t heard, Dell made a pretty big –and colorful – splash today with the launch of Studio—a sleek, colorful and nicely loaded new product line designed to unleash the blogger/poet/novelist/artist/scrapbooker/YouTuber/Annie Leibovitz in all of us.

The first tranche of systems in the new line is two laptops – Studio 15 (15.4”) and Studio 17 (17”). John Biggs at the New York Times notes, “It’s summer, so why shouldn’t one’s laptop match one’s hot-pink bikini?… Optional Blu-ray or DVD recording drives ensure you can watch a movie under your beach umbrella, while built-in Wi-Fi, cellular broadband and Bluetooth keep things connected.”

For a quick overview of these systems take a look at this video with John New from Dell’s notebook team:

Of all the color options (seven different solid lids, plus four graphite with color insets), pink seems to be the most popular callout. The fashionable gearheads at GQ made note of the pink option, but were also impressed with Dell Dock, a simple, customizable task bar that replaces multiple icons on the desktop and sorts applications by category, that’s premiering with Studio. Wilson Rothman’s overview and very nice slide show on Gizmodo even hit the front page of Techmeme. To answer your question, Wilson, you can move the dock around.

For more on the Dell Dock, take a look at this vlog:

After backing in to a compliment about Studio’s “mouth watering colors” and “a few tasty extras, Charlie Sorrel at Wired also gives Dell Dock props and suggests that “The Studio is looking like a nice alternative to the MacBook.” Note to Charlie: Not exactly the way we’d put it, but thanks!

If you think beyond the box when buying a computer – read: if you accessorize whenever you can – don’t miss the color-matched Designed for Dell line of bags, mice/mouses, portable hard drives and other personalization options.

Lots of interesting ground to cover, so look for more on Studio, Dell Dock and Designed for Dell over the next few days.

I love Netflix, and I’m a big fan of their Watch Instantly feature. Like lots of folks have pointed out, there are some limitations to that functionality: it requires Internet Explorer which means you have to sit in front of a computer or laptop to watch streamed movies. That’s why there was lots of buzz since Roku and Netflix announced a set top box for $99 that lets you watch these streamed movies.

Thanks to Lifehacker’s Adam Pash for an excellent post about how you can use a Media Center PC, the vmcNetflix add-in and an Xbox 360 as an extender for watching streamed movies in your living room. Adam also includes a YouTube video from Mike K. (you rock IMHO) at hackingnetflix.com where you can see it in action. Lifehacker also shows everything you need and a step-by-step process for setting it up.

I know what I’m doing when I get home.

As more and more people buy laptops, some of the most common questions we hear involve wireless networking.  I know when we moved into our house we didn’t want long network cables connecting all the rooms, so we bought a wireless router.

We’ve all seen those commercials about Internet-ready wireless laptops and they look great.  No wires to plug in or trip over, and the ability to be mobile and connect from any room in the house.  What’s not to like about it? But there are some practical concerns to having a wireless network as well.

Wireless Internet routers use the same 2.4 Ghz radio wave range as most cordless phones.  If you’ve used one of those phones you know that there are places in the house where reception isn’t all that great.  The same thing can happen with wireless networks.  Walls, overhead lights, baby monitors and electrical wiring are examples of things that can cause interference.  Even the water in pine needles has been proven to cause problems. Anything that causes interference will slow down your wireless connection and could be enough to drop you offline. 

You will want to take all these into account when deciding where you want to set up your wireless router.  Linksys has some tips to help you decide where to set everything up. 

And it’s not just things inside your house that could be causing interference.  As wireless and cordless devices improve and have more range it could actually be your neighbor’s cordless phone interfering with your connection.

While wireless networking is great when it works correctly, it can be frustrating when it doesn’t.  If you’d like to learn more, and get help from other Dell customers, Dell has a forum that is dedicated to helping with wireless, Internet and networking problems. 

I’ll be posting more information on the different types of wireless cards as well as tips for troubleshooting and securing your wireless network.  Let me know what’s on your mind when it comes to wireless networking and I’ll be glad to try and work it in.

Frequent flyers have been waiting for the day when they can check e-mail and surf the Web while flying – making use of valuable time spent in the air. JetBlue has responded with BetaBlue, a new service that allows travelers to access Wi-Fi in-flight.

That’s right, no more sneaking your BlackBerry between flight attendant passes. You can now legitimately connect to a number of e-mail and instant message services and even shop from Amazon.com and experience a litany of other creature comforts.

To promote this new offering, JetBlue has launched the BetaBlue Connection Sweepstakes, a contest that will have a monthly grand prize winner every month until August 31, 2008. The grand prize for this month? A Dell XPS M1330 laptop.

It’s not that I intended for this week to be themed t-shirt week, but I stumbled across a goodie mentioned by the folks on Ideas and Gadgets and couldn’t pass it up. This one may not have the fashion appeal that edoc laundry’s tee’s do, but the functionality, yes functionality, of this Animated Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt is quite intriguing. The clever folks at Think Geek have done it again. They have found a way to make a Wi-Fi detector very mobile, wearable and extremely affordable (only $29.99). No more turning on the PC to see if there is a connection. You can now light up, for all to see, when it detects a signal. Nothing says, “ I am Grand Geek Poobaa” at the local coffee shop quite like this shirt.

If you’re scoping out Father’s Day gifts, I highly recommend adding this one to your list for the Gadget-Geek Dads.  Batteries not included.  Conversation starting, guaranteed.

This definitely got me to thinking: if we can put a Wi-Fi detector on a shirt, where else could we put it?  How do we “doll up” this functionality to make it Chic-Geek friendly? First thoughts are on one of my fav Hermes scarves:

 
I would proudly wear this scarf with Wi-Fi lights without geek shame. Detect away, in haute fashion.

What accessory would you put this detector on? Looking forward to your comments and thoughts.

There’s a pretty cool event going on as you read this out in Carlsbad, Calif - the D: All Things Digital conference. Conversations from it have been lighting up the front page of Techmeme since last night. For those who aren’t familiar with it, D6 is a two day-event during which tech industry leaders and luminaries share the stage with Walt Mossberg and/or Kara Swisher and participate in frank discussions about their companies, their products and prognosticate about the future.  Michael Dell chatted with Walt earlier today and they covered a wide range of topics.

Hats off to Brian Lam of Gizmodo as he seems to have caught Michael roaming the halls between sessions and saw he was carrying something our Ideastorm contributors will recognize. Michael positioned it as the perfect device for the next billion internet users.  While we can’t share any details, we can share these (click on them to see a larger version):

Stay tuned for details.