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Will 802.11 Kill Bluetooth?
joshwa writes "NYTimes (free reg. required) has an article about the struggles of the Bluetooth folks to fine-tune their technology and get the costs down far enough. The most interesting part is that analysts seem to think that 802.11's (what is this new 'Wi-Fi' moniker?) growing popularity will overshadow Bluetooth's entrance into the marketplace, and will beat Bluetooth into the small devices market. Can 802.11 actually work in a Palm or a cell phone?" The article, IMHO, misses the difference in uses - if you've got a small device that you want to conserve power on, and only communicate small distances, Bluetooth's ideal. If you've got a lot of power, a la a notebook computer, and want to communicate 150 ft., then 802.11 is what you want. Imagine that: Different uses! Different standards! Amazing!
Why doesn't "Big Blue" GPL some of the AIX code and incorporate it into Linux if they are so behind it? That would prove their dedication and help make Linux the platform IBM says they want it to be.
Whenever I speak to anyone in the IT industry, they always try and confuse me with technological terms like 802.11b and 'bluetooth'. Did consumers ask for wireless access ? Is there ANY evidence at all that this is a good thing ? What about the dangerous levels of radiation that are involved with high frequency data transmission ?
> USB was supposed to reduce the rats nest around my PC too and hasn't so far - I'm still waiting for monitors with USB ports that your keyboard and mouse connect to - I knwo they exist, but its not widely done (nor are keyboards and mice over USB)
Haven't you ever used a Macintosh? My 7 years old 60MHz Apple PowerMac 6100 (still going strong) has one cable to it's screen, the keyboard connected to the screen, and the mouse to the keyboard. The screen also has connectors for speakers/headphones and microphone. WITHOUT USB.. Tada! (-8