Getting on the Bluetooth Train
by Nicki Hayes, April 23, 2002
So, not only is Microsoft finally taking the Bluetooth train, it?s also trying to redefine both Bluetooth?s engine and its destination with its vision of the PC as the hub of both home and commercial wireless networks. Having recently moved home, and with plans to move again in six month?s time, WDN?s Nicki Hayes is open to any technology that will eliminate cable clutter and simplify home networks. So, she decided to investigate.
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Bill Gates took center stage at WinHEC last week announcing support for wireless network technology and demonstrating the types of technologies he envisages becoming omnipresent in home networking. On reading the press primer about this I was particularly interested, having finally been successful in networking all my various electronic gadgets after almost a fortnight of finding, untangling, trailing and hooking up various cables around my new abode. So I read on.
Later this year Microsoft is to sell Bluetooth keyboards and mice, apparently. It will also push Bluetooth hardware, releasing a development kit in May to help programmers support the technology and posting a download that will give Windows XP built-in Bluetooth abilities this fall. Additionally, Microsoft aims to sell a Bluetooth transceiver that plugs into a PC?s USB port.
There are big plans to spread its software from its stronghold in desktops and laptops to several other devices too. These plans seem to depend on interoperability with Miras ? portable touch screens that connect to PC base stations wirelessly, store files and connect to the internet. Gates announced that NEC, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Wistron are all to be new Microsoft Mira partners, and that everyone else and his dog will be either buying, selling or making their PCs act as these devices.
Microsoft will also be creating a Consumer Experience Center crammed with various interacting bits and bobs. The purpose of this center is to educate Ed Exec and Jo Public as to where and when the Bluetooth train is going.
Today the PC is the hub for scanners, printers, handheld computers and digital cameras. That role will expand as people attach stereo equipment, TVs, phones, gaming consoles and surveillance systems,? advised Gates.
A personal area network of various interconnected gadgets that does not require finding, untangling, trailing, hooking and connecting cable. Brilliant. I?ll buy one for everyone I know!
But hang on a minute; are there not a few outstanding issues, like speed, interoperability, security, safety and public trust?
Gates touched on one of these: the availability of high-speed broadband networks to the home. He expects this issue to be tackled over the next five years.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is looking at another ? interoperability, however, it seems that essential testing of the associated spec?s have been postponed
while devices using the first usable version of the technology get established in the market.
And what about access control? Although industry players currently doing the trade show rounds claim that built-in access control prevents just anyone from accessing and interoperating with your devices, it all seems a bit fuzzy to me. Ed Exec? and Jo Public are going to need a bit more convincing than the industry is currently giving methinks.
It could also be that they?re going to need some convincing about the safety of this new technology too. Given the bad press given to radiation from masts, cell phones and headsets that has been dominating the European media at least, this is an issue the industry cannot afford to overlook.
Mmm. Taking all this into account, it looks like the Bluetooth train may not be here in time for my next move. Maybe I?ll put it off for five years, even though, according to recent research by In-Stat/MDR that would make me a laggard (they project 100 million Bluetooth personal area networks will be installed this year, a figure they predict will increase to over 900 million by 2005). Mind you, there are alternative forms of transport, so I guess I?d better investigate the potential of personal area networks using wireless LANs before coming to any decision. Got any views on this? Let me know at nicki@wirelessdevnet.com.
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About the author:
Nicki Hayes is The Wireless Developer Network's (www.wirelessdevnet.com) European correspondent. Nicki also takes on freelance writing and corporate communication projects relating to business to business internet and wireless issues and has
contributed editorial to a number of publications including Unstrung.com, Wireless Business & Technology, Guardian Online, Financial Times, Banking &
Financial Training, eAI Journal and Secure Computing.
About the WirelessDevNet (www.wirelessdevnet.com):
The Wireless Developer Network is an on-line community for information technology
professionals interested in mobile computing and communications. Our mission is to assist
developers, strategists, and managers in bridging the gap between today's desktop and
enterprise applications and tomorrow's mobile users communicating via wireless networks.
We are interested in supporting the deployment of these evolving technologies through
high-quality technical information, news, industry coverage, and commentary. This
information is provided within a true on-line community that supports developer/vendor
dialogue through message boards and user-submitted tips, articles, links, and software
downloads.
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