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Wireless Alliance Touts 'Magic Touch' RFID Tech
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia, Sony and Philips have launched a new wireless technology, called Near Field Communication, that could be a threat to Bluetooth. Based on RFID, they say it will enable electronic devices to interact -- for m-commerce, file-swapping or to download info from the Web -- when touched together."
Of course, unless they're very careful, it will also enable devices to communicate when they're within a couple of feet. Still, as long as the software folk treat it as "always chatting" communication, and build in the proper safeguards, rather than assuming that every conversation is spawned by a dedicated request to speak, things should be fine. This will be fun to watch.
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
Can I implant one of these in my gf, so when I touch her, it will tell me how many guys she has been with lately?
Good touch? Or bad touch?
... Shouldn't the radio part of that imply wireless? If they have to be touched, that to me just seems like having wires. Albiet really short ones, but you get the idea.
But really... radio-frequency identification
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
So now your electronics can get more than you do. How depressing is that?
True story.
...and all you have to do is touch a "male" and a matching "female" "connector" together.
666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
the article doesn't make clear what (if any) advantage this system posesses over bluetooth?
Is this product announcement just capitalising on negative bluetooth security publicity and the RFID buzzword, or is there more to it than that?
As bluetooth is already in millions of devices, it seems churlish to ignore this.
SURELY NOT!!!!!
Just a thought.
Huxley
The article claims that this is not competition for Bluetooth, IR, or Wi-Fi. Unlike what the summary claims.
is unquestionably "This is a new paradigm based on touching." Someone needs to tell these guys about the laws we have in place.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Bluetooth has a usable range up to 300ft (there are also specs for 30ft and 3ft); it is commonly used for laptops and handhelds to connect to modems, printers, GPS receivers, and access points from across the room. Something that has a range of only a foot or so won't compete there.
I don't see much use for these new short-range wireless technologies--they aren't short-range enough to use their range limitations for security, and they aren't long-range enough to move into Bluetooth territory. Furthermore, there are short-range versions of Bluetooth.
For secure communications, IrDA would still be a better choice. For anything else, you might as well use Bluetooth.
But, hey, with enough marketing and sales muscle, these companies will probably manage to force another proprietary standard upon us, whether it is a good idea or not.
m-Commerce? Did we really need another x-Commerce variant? I swear, the marketing heads that come up with these buzzwords need to be taken to the woodshed.
>RFID, they say it will enable electronic devices >to interact -- for m-commerce, file-swapping or >to download info from the Web -- when touched >together."
It's a good idea. Imagine trading business cards with a handshake. Of course, it is likely to become more popular for kids trading files. If security is lax in these devices the old chestnut of computer viruses being transmitted by touch may become a reality.
Great, now a savvy pickpocket armed with a 0-day exploit can empty my bank account just by rubbing up against me in the subway.
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. -Oscar Wilde
I can just imagine it now RIAA chaperones on every street corner making sure there's no touching and p2p file exchange ...
called Near Field Communication, that could be a threat to Bluetooth.
But in the article it states clearly:
While NFC will handle identification of users through RFID, it appears that wireless protocols such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi will still be used for the data transfer.
"NFC won't replace Bluetooth or infrared. This is a new paradigm based on touching, and it will complement these existing wireless technologies," a NFC spokesman explained.
-Ted
-=-=- Quantum physics - the dreams stuff are made of.
Corporate monkeys, start your lawyers! Ready... Set... GO!!!
Hate me!
I wasn't trying to sexually harass her, I was just scanning her ports!!
sooo many meanings for that, well two or three at least...
So, with a very sensitive receivers you might be able to eavesdrop at maybe twice the intended distance but that will be about it.
So, instead of pushing a button to automatically sync our devices, we'll just touch them. oh, ok, that's just lightyears ahead of anything we could *ever* do today...
Besides not having a damn thing to do with being a problem for bluetooth or wifi (do submitters read the articles? i thought we just didn't...) how is waving my phone at a movie poster going to buy me a ticket? Am i going to end up buying a bunch of cars, jackets and vietnamese girls when i walk downtown and go buy some food at a market? Sounds like i'll really have to configure it, go through a few dialogue boxes perhaps and do the usual thang i do today, as far as electronic device convenience goes. not to mention, it's not like anyone will ever have the proper convergence/convenience to actually make it doable to wave your phone at more than a few places and have it do something useful.
For these things to work as advertised they're going to need to saturate the shit out of the market, so businesses will want to use them *everywhere*. They'll need to come with everything, cheaply I think, for it to become some easy to use super gadget opportunity.
WIll that happen? probably not. Perhaps it will be tied in greatly with home elctronics, and personal gadgets, but it will probably be nowhere as ubiquitous (ubi..ubu...ubo...damn) as credit cards, and i doubt it will bridge the gap from bluetooth+ that it looks like it will reside in to super convenience.
- I'd prefer not to.
I was not grabbing her ass, I was giving her my telephone number and resume for a job.
Fight Spammers!
They also claim the technology will revolutionise the way people interact with their environment.
...or they could just wave their NFC phone at a smart film poster to automatically buy a ticket.
Blabitty bla bla. Show me the flying cars and renewable energy sources. Until then, I'll interact with my environment how and when I want to.
Great! Shorter lines at the movie theatre. You all go waive your phones at inanimate objects. I'll go talk to a real person. What about checking for the age of the ticket purchaser? oh yeah, your soon to be mandatory government ID will have that info in an RFID tag as well.
Alternatively, it could help a user to use their mobile phone as an e-wallet.
wonderfull! now a theif can just waive my wallet in front of a smart billboard and buy anything he wants? need two forms of RFID for that purchase? lucky him, he just stole my cellphone too.
yeah yeah, you say i have a nice origami tinfoil hat on. But what exactly are these "innovations" doing for society? It's cool that this stuff can technically be done. It doesn't mean it should permeate our entire daily lives.
From the story submission: "called Near Field Communication, that could be a threat to Bluetooth."
From the article: "NFC won't replace Bluetooth or infrared."
way to go editors! way to go A.C. who submitted the story! jeebus, if people could be honest, truthfull and accountable this world would be such a better place.
It's been, what, 10 minutes, and no Wondertwins jokes have been made.
NFD Twins... activate! Form a transaction!
My to be born kids assembling together the house toaster, microwave oven and TV sets in order to form a giant-robot that has 3 times the wireless bandwidth capability of the devices standing alone.
-><- no
The members of the NFC Forum envisage that their technology will be used to manage connections to both active and passive devices...
and get raided by MPAA & RIAA.
Well, Sony is one of the members of the forum, and both the MPAA & RIAA represent Sony, so they should have some sway to DRM the tech and to prevent the RIAA from preventing its adoption.
Then again, Sony is notorious for backing technology that is a great idea (and perhaps superior technology), but too strict enforcement of its patents prevented them from still being used today (see Betamax, miniDisc, SACD, Bjork, etc...)
So, when this technology is used for nefarious purposes, will it be called "bad touch"?
sudo eat my shorts
The article says:
While NFC will handle identification of users through RFID, it appears that wireless protocols such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi will still be used for the data transfer.
"NFC won't replace Bluetooth or infrared. This is a new paradigm based on touching, and it will complement these existing wireless technologies," a NFC spokesman explained.
What kind of threat is that? RFID is not a short rage data communications medium if you want bandiwdth you need something else.
I wonder how long it will be until kids in Japan are touching cellphones together and watching them fight it out.
"AHA! my PDA defeat your N-GAGE, AHA!"
** Chigusaaa!!! You're the coolest girl in the WORLD!!! **
RTFA, just like the submitter didn't. This isn't supposed to replace BlueTooth or WiFi or IR or anything, it's just meant to be it's own thing, possibly using BlueTooth or WiFi to transfer data. How can it replace a system that it itself uses?
Sigs are for the weak.
I could setup my beowulf cluster of RFID in the clothing department at Walmart!