IEEE has finally approved the 802.11n high-throughput wireless LAN standard.

Finalization of the new wireless networking standard–which is capable of delivering throughput speeds up to 300 megabits per second (and even higher)–took exactly seven years from the day it was conceived, or six years from the first draft version. The standard has been through a dozen or so draft versions.

(The 802.11n Task Group is part of the 802.11 Working Group, which oversees WLAN (wireless local-area network) standards. Task group members include the majority of Wi-Fi chipmakers, software developers, and equipment OEM vendors. Meru Networks, one of the members, posted the blog that broke the news.)

It’s likely, however, that final approval of the standard will be publicly announced by September 15, the date when Meru Networks puts on a public Webcast to provide answers about the ratification.

According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the group that tests and certifies wireless products to ensure their interoperability, all existing Wi-Fi Certified Draft N wireless products will still work with the final standard.

A computer hacker who was once a federal informant and was a driving force behind one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history pleaded guilty Friday in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for up to 25 years.

Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, admitted pulling off some of the most prominent hacking jobs of the decade - invading the computer systems of such retailers as TJX Cos., BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority. Federal authorities say tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers were stolen.

Gonzalez entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Boston to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. He also pleaded guilty to a New York indictment charging one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for hacks into the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain.

Under his plea agreements, Gonzalez faces 15 to 25 years in prison in the Massachusetts case and up to 20 years in the New York case. The sentences would run concurrently. If he had been convicted of all the charges and sentenced to the maximum, he could have received a sentence of several hundred years.