The Wide World of Wireless Technology

Where would our lives be without Wireless technologies? How could we survive if we could not surf the web while having a latte in our favorite coffee hangout? I know I certainly would not. But seriously, when one look at where we are and where we are going, it is pretty impressive.

BlueTooth

BlueTooth wireless technology is a short-range communications technology intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed devices. It is sometimes referred to as a Personal Area Network or PAN. Applications are growing for this popular technology. BlueTooth cell phone headsets and computer printers are the more well known applications. More recent applications include gaming consoles and barcode scanners. One of the more interesting applications I have heard of is called Bluedildonics. go to http://www.thetoy.us/ for more titillating info.

Wireless Local Area Networks

Popularly known as Wi-Fi and WLAN, the tech jargon is 802.11b,g or n. The terms are used interchangeably for wireless networking within a home. In the recent past The Home Genius Guys were not recommending wireless computer networking in the home because the speeds were significantly reduced compared to a good old hardwired connection. That may still be somewhat true but with the maturation of wireless modems, namely “wireless N” we are seeing some pretty incredible speeds, providing “very good” signal strength can be maintained throughout the home’s footprint. This may not be necessary if you are just surfing the internet or VPNing into work but if you are streaming high definition content around your house it is huge! The increased popularity of streaming entertainment media around the house demands bandwidth and throughput and the only way to reliably accomplish this is to employ “wireless N” technology.

Wi-Max

The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances. I consider Wi-Max to be an up and comer. It has great promise but seems to be slow in taking off. The best use seems to be providing internet access over a very wide area. The State of Rhode Island has a pilot Wi-Max network called the Rhode Island Wireless Initiative Network (RI-WINS). Rhode Island would be the first to have a statewide Wi-Max network. Being the smallest state in the union certainly makes this feasible. Unfortunately, current budget constraints has put the project on the shelf. Tying together several Wi-Fi hotspots is also a plausible application. Probably the most useful application would be for areas of the world that do not have the telecommunications infrastructure that much of the developed world enjoys. If you had to start from scratch, certainly a Wi-Max infrastructure would be much more cost effective than a conventional infrastructure. Look for Wi-Max to gain more support and find its way into more applications in the near future.

GPS

Global Positioning Satellite has been around for quite a long time. Originally it was used exclusively for the military and the merchant marine industry. It found its way into the recreational boating industry and now here is an explosion in the mobile tracking market. Cell phones and automobiles are the most popular of the mobile GPS devices. My favorite application, Gold Course tracking. Prices are dropping so fast that I expect to be seeing more new and innovative uses for GPS. A new GPS chip was recently introduced that will work indoors with much more accurate tracking. Wouldn’t this be great to have when trying to find something in a Home Depot or Mega Wal-Mart?