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USB To Go Wireless
Troy Samuel writes "The WiMedia Alliance is planning to make the technology known as 'ultrawideband,' or UWB, work among a wide variety of consumer electronics devices. Various organizations, including the Bluetooth SIG, have chosen the WiMedia Alliance's version of UWB technology as the foundation for a next-generation short-range networking technology." From the article: "UWB technology can deliver data rates at up to 480 megabits per second at around 3 meters, with speeds dropping off as the range grows to a limit of about 10 meters. Real-world speeds will probably be a little slower, but this is as fast as the wired version of USB 2.0 and much faster than current Wi-Fi networks are capable of transmitting data. 'This stuff is plumbing,' Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates, said of the newer-generation wireless technology. 'It's important that it be there, it's going to be handy for getting rid of cables hanging around your desk.'"
4. Power
*coughs*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power
And
http://www.splashpower.com/
There used to be a cool Wireless transfer microwave kit on ThinkGeek.com but I can't find it anymore...
My room mate has one of those tooth brushes that charges wirelessly which it pretty cool.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
My room mate has one of those tooth brushes that charges wirelessly which it pretty cool.
That's not wireless. The toothbrush must sit in a base that's connected to an electrical outlet. The only thing "cool" about this is that there's no exposed electrical contacts on either the base or the toothbrush. This isn't wireless power transmission technology; it's a variation of a simple transformer, it's two inductors that are situated next to each other (when the toothbrush is in the holder), so that current is transferred by mutual inductance. The plastic casings provide safety from outside elements, but electrically don't affect performance much. This is the exact same method GM used for the "paddle" chargers in its EV-1 electric cars, so that there would be no danger of electrocution to users.
I've never seen the point in the recent uptake in wireless technology. I have a wireless network, but it's just so I don't have to run network cords around my apartment. I hate my wireless network - it's unreliable and slow, despite being all alone on its channel and usually running at 54 Mbps. However, despite my own issues with it, I understand the point of wireless networking. It's great for public access or situations like my apartment where running cables cleanly is difficult. I can also see the point of a bluetooth mouse for a laptop, or a bluetooth keyboard for your PDA. It makes things faster and more portable, and gives you more freedom.
However, I draw the limit there. My keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, external storage, and occasional other things are all wired. I don't have to keep track of batteries, and I don't get poor performance near the end of my battery life. It's all sitting on my desk not moving anyway, and there are only a few cords present on my desk - the rest are hidden behind the desk. I also like the tactile effort cords provide. When I plug my graphing calculator into my computer, when I stick a USB thumb drive in, when I connect my camera, when I plug in my headphones, or when I hook up a USB card reader, there's tactile feedback. I know I have just achieved something. I also don't find it terribly inconvenient to stick my flash drive into a front USB port.
There's more than just reliability and feedback, though. When I unplug my flash drive or external hard drive, I know that the devices are powered down and safe from snooping eyes, and not experiencing wear and tear. I also know that when I sit down at the computer lab with my flash drive in my pocket, the guy next to me isn't stealing my files. I understand that the connection between the computer and device will probably be encrypted automatically, so that's fine. But what about the connection process? If I have to go through a lengthly process to associate the device before I can use it (bluetooth), then I'm not really any better off than I was with wired USB. If I don't have to go through that process, what's stopping the guy next to me from doing it? And in the same computer lab, with USB my mouse isn't going to suddenly decide to associate itself with the computer across the way. Now, we could password protect the flash drive. However, and perhaps I'm alone on this, I'd rather not have a password on my mouse. And what if I replace 'mouse' with 'keyboard?' You can't password protect a keyboard.
Computers need to explode more often.
Uhm, in my case four WXGA LCD monitors runing at 60 hz of one PC...
1440 x 900 x 32 x 4 x 60 = 7879680000 bps or 7.88 gbps
So whomever first observed that the benefit of USB was that you could power the damn things too was spot on. Take the NeXT cube, sure it was wired but it was ONLY ONE wire. So this has some of the same feel. I read this as a response to the completely messed up world that is Bluetooth (and Zigbee) because nobody can create a wireless standard that you and I can program without joining some $100,000 up front consortium and with $50,000 per annum bulk patent licensing rights. The first wireless proposal that is both "open" in the sense that its well docuemented and "free" in the sense that you can claim compliance without having your arse sued off because you implemented to the SPEC, will take all other wireless standards out. --DrC
Not really.
The geniuses doing it over there forget the fact that the usb dongles are mostly powered by the usb bus, now if they get wireless, they will all have to have power adapters or batteries & chargers. Still a mess.
I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.