Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), the storied institution backed by Xerox that has spawned easy-to-use technologies including Ethernet and the computer mouse, still remembers how to invent things that busy users can just plug in and forget about. PARC researchers announced Tuesday they have come up with a device that lets new users securely sign on to a wireless LAN in less than five minutes, as well as a way for otherwise incompatible digital consumer devices to exchange data.

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