New technology could actually make Starbucks Wi-Fi usable

Researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a breakthrough technology that could actually make the Wi-Fi hotspot at your local Starbucks perform well. As IDG News reports, the new WiFox protocol was designed specifically for public Wi-Fi hotspots that suffer from degraded performance while being used by several different devices at once. Specifically, the new technology “monitors [Wi-Fi] traffic and implements a ‘priority’ mode when a router is in danger of being overloaded of traffic,” thus clearing Wi-Fi congestion and reducing packet loss. The researchers found that WiFox boosted crowded hotspot performance by between 400% and 700% overall, depending on how many users were in a particular area.