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Microsoft To Make Wireless Networking Hardware
traskjd writes "Microsoft are looking to increase their strength in the hardware market with wireless and conventional networking hardware according to this story on cnet. Microsoft has always been slow at moving into the hardware market... could they be testing the waters for making things like switches and routers in the future? Lets hope not..." There's also a Reuters article. There was a story last year that mentioned Microsoft was working on Win-WiFi - 802.11b hardware that exported some of the processing to the CPU in much the same manner as a winmodem, and thus was cheaper to produce. These stories don't mention anything about that, so probably these are conventional 802.11b devices.
Will Microsoft make this equipment or just slap a logo on somebody else's?
I do like my Microsoft keyboard, it's great when it sits in my lap.
That's because they just buy or license existing hardware from quality manufacturers, at least in the case of mice and keyboards.
You're probably thinking of the Winmodems of old. They used to have badly programmed drivers which caused problems. Most of all, computers used to be many times slower than they are today. With a modern computer, a Winmodem can run as well as a normal modem, and without sacrificing ping times and system speed. I should know, I've got one, and it works fine.
I don't trust anything wireless. Not even a wireless mouse. Sorry, I just like having cords... it makes me feel more secure. Microsoft + wireless is NOT a good idea. However, it might be a great way to show Joe Sixpack that MS products are not secure, when he gets hacked by the script kiddie across the street.
Happy New Year, it's 1984!
Not to be a troll or anything, but how different is this from Apple and AirPort?
M$ just wants to see if they can get a piece of the WI-FI pie
I'd only be concerned if they decide to come up with their own flavor of 802.11 that only works with the latest version of the OS and forces you to upgrade to be able to keep using it.
Given Palladium, one should expect MS to start making networking hardware.
by producing hardware that refuses entry from any non-certified applications and hardware, they further secure their world (aka, pockets) within the constraints of their Palladium (money-making) scheme.
Can anyone who is competent in Windows 2000/XP administration/setup honestly remember the last time they got a core dump? If I get one it's usually because of a shoddy (beta) video driver.
Come on, find something valid to make fun of.
Yes...I get one about 1 a week. Random BSOD that don't seem to follow any particular pattern. I notice it slightly more occasionally when running WinMX then other applications, but not often enough to conclude it's the application. And I'm running your typical system, not 75 fibre channel drives like the other guy is.
2K and 98SE never seemed to have any problems with the same setup.
MS have gone on record as saying they want to secure home wireless networks, their solution for this is going to be PEAP, yet another variation on EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol).
This is a PIA, already we have the certificate based EAP-TLS (supported in XP & CE4.0), EAP-MD5, the Cisco LEAP (supported everywhere but only with a Cisco client card), 802.1x - now a standard but not supported in it's vanilla format anywhere much yet, etc.
Guess what the cross platform support will be for PEAP ?
I'm just glad Linksys and Dlink exist, because it's going to be difficult for MS to displace them in the market, and dominate with a non-standard product.
These may also have a variation on uPnP, but I don't see how that will fit in with the security focus.
Palladuim is miles off, look for that in the updated Christmas '03 product range.
Sorry, keyboards, mice, and joysticks don't control your data. Bottom line is I don't trust Microsoft - for very good reasons. They have continuously proved they are untrustworthy, before/during/after being found guilty of illegal monopolistic practices by the Department of Justice. I don't trust them - not because I am some zealot - but because they have proven over and over again that I have no reason to trust them.
Yes, I use one of their mice, because
a. it is a good product
b. it doesn't have anything to do with security
Microsoft sucks at security, they even admit that their products aren't engineered for security. Sure, that was in reference to their Operating Systems, but do you think they will suddenly see the light when it comes to hardware? Microsoft is crafty, they wouldn't be getting into networking hardware at this stage of the game just for the sake of doing it. There is a reason, and they are trying to weasel their way in to gain control. Period.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.