The Bluetooth Wireless Office

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0209/tec-bluetooth-02-09-04.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0209/tec-bluetooth-02-09-04.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"The tangle of computer cables around, behind and between desks in an agency or department can be a major obstacle to productivity for today's highly mobile workforce. Wireless Bluetooth technology has promised to eliminate the clutter by connecting local devices securely and without cables. That promise may be on the verge of fulfillment."<br /><br />Bluetooth has quickly become a <b>must have</b> feature for a lot of us. When I purchased my laptop in the fall of 2002, I made sure it was Bluetooth enabled. At the time I didn’t own anything that supported Bluetooth, but I wanted to make sure that my baby would support it. For the longest time Bluetooth was left disabled, and I wondered if I made a wise choice, until a couple months ago when my iPAQ 4150 arrived. It’s hard to imagine lift without it now. I have had my fair share of Bluetooth headaches, but it’s all worth it in the end. <br /><br />This is a good article if you are new to Bluetooth and are just starting to get a feel for things, or if you are a long time user trying to create the ultimate Bluetooth office.

[Robert Levy]

You are a better man that I ;) After getting my iPAQ 4350, I bought a bluetooth USB dongle for my PC. I spent days trying to get it to do simple things like ActiveSync over bluetooth. I even enlisted help of experts like David Shier and Chris De Herrera via IM with no luck. In a moment of rage, I ripped out the dongle, through it across the room, and now I can't find it. Oh well... it's less frustrating to have lost a device than to not know how to use it 8)

[ClayMJohnson]

Bluetooth can be a pain. For most cases I will take 802.11 because it has more range and better speed. Bluetooth does use less power and does have its place though. With 802.11b and Bluetooth it looks like the 2.4GHZ is going to be crowded. Throw in a 2.4GHZ phone and nothing will work. I have all three in my house and seems like the phone always wins. Time to go to 802.11g (5GHZ).

Clay Johnson-

[Mike Temporale]

You are a better man that I ;) After getting my iPAQ 4350, I bought a bluetooth USB dongle for my PC. I spent days trying to get it to do simple things like ActiveSync over bluetooth. I even enlisted help of experts like David Shier and Chris De Herrera via IM with no luck. In a moment of rage, I ripped out the dongle, through it across the room, and now I can't find it. Oh well... it's less frustrating to have lost a device than to not know how to use it 8)

I never said it was easy. I spent the better part of 2 days getting everything working right. Most of this was because it was my first Bluetooth expereince and I had no idea what I was doing.

With that being said, I know computers, software, and hardware very well. This is a long way from being usable by the average user. Bluetooth has a long road to travel if we are going to see it being used as the author of this article dreams. I think a large part of this has to do with Bluetooth not being built-in to Windows and that is all expected to change in WindowsXP SP2.

[Kris Kumar]

Hi,

Bluetooth is P.A.I.N..and not having Bluetooth is an even a bigger one.

My colleague at work bought one of these
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=646,CONTENTID=7110

Its a Logitech Bluetooth Mouse & Hub, technically it enables ActiveSync and File sharing etc...but he had a hard time getting it to work. Its a cool product for $99 (less in stores), wish it was plug and play.

And as for me, I am eagerly waiting for Bluetooth enabled Smartphone 2003, so that I can do some serious net surfing on the road with my Bluetooth enabled iPaq.

Kris

[ClayMJohnson]

Article on Bluetooth security holes

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0,39020348,39145881,00.htm

Clay Johnson-

[Kris Kumar]

Interesting article on resurgence of Bluetooth...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20040215/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc

I didnt know that Acura TL, Chrylser Pacifica, and Toyota Prius have bluetooth built into the audio system for Cell phone headsets. This is cool. Can't wait for it to become mainstream.

Kris