Wireless USB potential Bluetooth Killer?

[OskiO]

Just read this article and thought I'd pass it along. It is interesting to say the least. Makes me wonder how long BT will be around or if it will go through a metamorphasis to become competitive.

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/41049.html

[PDANEWBIE]

It depends on a few things I bet.

1) Will it easily be able to be setup? (this is one minor downfall of bluetooth as some people just "don't get it")

2) Will it truely be connect and use? (This is another major issue of bluetooth all these different stacks and drivers and homegrown things has made it more ocmplicated than it should be).

3) Are there plans to make PPC's utilize this technology and also be USB host compliant? (MANY of the PPC's are not host compliant).

In all sounds good but then again thats the same thing I said about Bluetooth and it ended up working for me but not many of the other users.

[John Blasdell]

Three thoughts:
1) Intel announced they were working on this last Spring. I wish them well, but Bluetooth Press Releases also read like, "Heaven On Earth Has Arrived." Note the article says they aren't finished with a release version yet. Since this is Intel, they will probably ship a product near the announced release time. But what will it really do? What will Bluetooth do better? So far, this is just vaporware.
2) Like everything else in Computerdom, this will likely perform badly in v1.0. Subsequent versions will actually work somewhat as advertised. Meaning it will likely be a year from now before a "good" version is available.
3) >> will go through a metamorphasis to become competitive? "Become" competitive? BT is currently the 800 lb. gorilla of this segment. It's Intel that has to become competitive. An article on Brighthand talks about how Bluetooth awareness has grown. BT will continue to grow in awareness and popularity by next fall or winter, when Intel's product is released. It's Intel that will have the hard task of educating, then selling the masses. Look at how long some of us have been talking about BT, and how few people knew or cared what BT is. Will the Bluetooth consortium work hard on improving Bluetooth -- they have a long head start and can see what Intel is doing -- or will they bury their head in the silica?

As I said, I wish Intel the best. This may turn out much better than BT, and will likely push the BT developers. Either way, we win.

[OskiO]

Three thoughts:
1) Intel announced they were working on this last Spring. I wish them well, but Bluetooth Press Releases also read like, "Heaven On Earth Has Arrived." Note the article says they aren't finished with a release version yet. Since this is Intel, they will probably ship a product near the announced release time. But what will it really do? What will Bluetooth do better? So far, this is just vaporware.
2) Like everything else in Computerdom, this will likely perform badly in v1.0. Subsequent versions will actually work somewhat as advertised. Meaning it will likely be a year from now before a "good" version is available.
3) >> will go through a metamorphasis to become competitive? "Become" competitive? BT is currently the 800 lb. gorilla of this segment. It's Intel that has to become competitive. An article on Brighthand talks about how Bluetooth awareness has grown. BT will continue to grow in awareness and popularity by next fall or winter, when Intel's product is released. It's Intel that will have the hard task of educating, then selling the masses. Look at how long some of us have been talking about BT, and how few people knew or cared what BT is. Will the Bluetooth consortium work hard on improving Bluetooth -- they have a long head start and can see what Intel is doing -- or will they bury their head in the silica?

As I said, I wish Intel the best. This may turn out much better than BT, and will likely push the BT developers. Either way, we win.

I agree we'll win but I'll stick with my "become competitive comment." Look at USB and 1394. Firewire is almost dead, everything is jumping on USB 2.0. I think a wireless USB will catch on simply because Intel will put in on they own MBs and force it down our throat. The lack of integration of BT I think will be similar to the lack of integration that plagued 1394.

C