The hotel and leisure industry is based on understanding and meeting customer needs. But new research from network hardware company NETGEAR suggests that this doesn't stretch to the importance guests place on good Wi-Fi connections.

The study finds that 76 percent of hospitality venues are convinced that their quality of service and facilities are far more important to customers than Wi-Fi. As many as 43 percent believe customers think poor or non-existent wireless access is a price worth paying for the experience on offer.

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Do you hate Google Glass? Does your blood run cold whenever you see one of those human cyborgs coming towards you? Well one New Zealand designer has come up with a solution: cut off their Wi-Fi.

Berlin-based Julian Oliver has released a simple program that he calls Glasshole.sh, designed to detect any Glass device attempting to connect to a Wi-Fi network and block its access.

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Accessing data on the move has become essential for business travelers. The days of being unable to do something because you were out of the office are long gone.

Demand for reliable, cost effective data access means that more business people are looking for ways to access Wi-Fi on the move rather than use expensive mobile data services.

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Aesthetics in technology matters. Historically, with the exception of Apple, many technology manufacturers have shipped functional, yet ugly products. While Windows-based desktops are more modern-looking nowadays, we aren't far removed from the days of beige boxes.

In my house, I have an Apple Airport Extreme router. Now, maybe it's insane to spend $200 on a router, but I had my reasons. First of all, it has great speeds and is reliable. The other reason? It's pretty! Yes, that matters as I keep it in my living room. Today, D-Link releases a new line of routers that can match your outfits or your living-room furniture.

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There are all sorts of home electronic devices that you can connect to the internet and control with an app -- including smart lights, intelligent thermostats and smoke detectors. But what if you don’t want to spend a fortune replacing your old devices?

D-Link’s new Wi-Fi Smart Plug (DSP-W215) solves that problem. You plug it into a spare socket in your home, connect any electrical device to it, and then use the free mydlink app for iOS and Android to monitor and control the item. Devices can be turned on and off remotely, you can set power on/off schedules, and monitor your home energy usage. The Wi-Fi Smart Plug also comes with a built-in thermal sensor that will detect when a connected device gets too hot, and automatically turn it off.

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Homedale is a straightforward portable tool which detects local wireless networks and tells you more about them: name, channel, MAC address, encryption type and so on. It’s great for troubleshooting various wireless conflicts, or just finding out more about what’s going on around you.

The Homedale interface is, well, basic -- just a single tabbed dialog box. Click "Access Points" first and you’ll see a table with details on all your network neighbors, including their name, MAC address, vendor, signal strength, encryption, country ID, mode, frequency, band, first and last seen times, supported bitrates, model and adapter.

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Smartphones may be the most popular devices for taking pictures nowadays, but there is still a place for dedicated cameras, which continue to offer superior image quality. For this reason, I, like many other photography enthusiasts, have a DSLR. It may not be small, but it is a pleasure to shoot photos with. But, mirrorless cameras are slowly catching up and may soon prove to be as good as or better than their bigger siblings, with their more pocketable design playing a key part in this.

Nikon's new 1 V3 mirrorless camera, that the Japanese manufacturer unveiled today, is one of the most attractive offerings in its 1 range. Like other, similar bodies, it is quite light, coming in at just 324 grams. And it brings impressive specifications to the table, like a 171 focus point system and 20 FPS shooting rate.

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What do you get after taking out the cellular prowess from a very, very large smartphone? The answer would be a tablet, albeit one that falls on the smaller side. It is exactly what Japanese maker Sony has done with its Xperia Z Ultra, which will be available in a Wi-Fi only version this week.

For those unfamiliar with the Xperia Z Ultra, the device was announced in the first half of 2013 with a 6.44-inch display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and 4G LTE/HSPA+ cellular connectivity, as the main selling points.

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Wireless speakers allow an enormous amount of freedom when listening to music around the home. But when you want to stream from online sources you'll often find that you're restricted to ones that are compatible with your system.

Audio specialist Pure using CES to announce an extension to its Pure Connect platform which allows its Jongo wireless stereo and multiroom music system to be used with any music streaming service including Pandora, Rdio, Deezer and Spotify, as well as any other audio or radio app.

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I frequently make resolutions throughout the year, ranging from being more patient to losing some weight. However, I give technology little to no attention in this respect, which may seem a bit unusual coming from someone who writes about it for a living. But, lately, I have been thinking about making some changes, and what I could do more in regards to tech.

I do have realistic expectations, as I am in no way trying to convince myself that I will actually work on every item from this list, starting January 1. It's a fool's errand as far as I'm concerned. Instead, these are the things I would like to build towards this following year, with the end goal of steadily improving myself throughout 2014.

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Canadian maker BlackBerry is expanding the reach of its BBM service through the latest update for the iOS app, that now includes support for non-cellular Apple-branded devices. As a result, Wi-Fi iPad and iPod users can also communicate with their BBM-using friends, as the app no longer limits access only to iPhones and 3G/4G iPads.

BlackBerry has yet to bestow non-cellular Android devices with the same ability, as BBM is still listed as being incompatible with tablets like the Wi-Fi 2013 Google Nexus 7 even in the latest version of the app that arrived yesterday. Now let's take a look at what (else) the Android and iOS updates for BBM add.

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In a bad economy, using a product for more than one thing is a necessity. In bad times, women have been known to reuse pantyhose as coffee filters. Today, my family reuses plastic Chinese-food containers as refrigerator food storage. Sadly, this is not always the case with technology -- electronics have become disposable due to low prices and a culture of always wanting the newest thing.

Today, accessory manufacturer ROCCAT bucks that trend and announces a public beta of its Power-Grid technology. This software allows a user to control games and other programs on their Windows PC with an iOS or Android device. In other words, it allows consumers to reuse existing technology for new purposes. Awesome.

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Smartphones have become such a big part of many people's lives in recent times, allowing us to stay in touch with the Internet wherever we go, that occasions when you can't get a data network or Wi-Fi signal become extremely frustrating, it's almost like losing a limb.

French developer Altheia has an answer in the form of a new app for Android phones called Be-Bound which it claims can keep you in touch with the Web even if there's no 3G, 4G, Edge or Wi-Fi signal available.

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Leading provider of enterprise mobile services iPass has launched its new iPass Hotspot Finder. The browser-based tool has a completely redesigned user interface and includes several features that help business travelers make informed decisions about hotspot connectivity.

Hotspot Finder doesn't need an iPass account, provides access to over 1.4 million hotspots in the iPass network and can be used from any browser for free.

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When it comes to fire, you can never be too safe. Sadly, I know all too well. You see, I once lived through a fire that destroyed my apartment and all of my belongings. While it was a devastating event, I came out of it uninjured and with a new respect for fire safety.

Today, Nest announces a new product that combines technology with not only fire safety but carbon monoxide protection too.

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