New Standard 802.11n
802.11n is an upcoming specification for wireless LAN (WLAN) communications. An addition to the 802.11 family of standards, 802.11n is intended to increase network speed and reliability and to extend the operating distance of wireless networks. Raw data throughput is expected to reach as much as 600 Mbps, or more than 10 times the throughput of 802.11g.
802.11n is based on MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, which uses multiple antennas at both the source (transmitter) and the destination (receiver) to minimize errors and optimize data speed. The standard may also use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing to increase speed, as well as coding schemes that transmit multiple redundant copies of data to boost reliability.
Progress in ratifying 802.11n has been stalled by the formation of competing vendor groups backing different proposals within the IEEE. The groups agree on most technology aspects but support different usage of the wireless spectrum. One group recommends using the 2.4GHz band and the same 20MHz channels as 802.11b and 802.11g for compatibility, while another proposes using the 5GHz band and boosting channel width to 40MHz to increase data rates. Experts predict the earliest the standardization process can be completed is by late 2006.
There are "pre-N" products on the market based on early drafts of the specification. This equipment works at relatively low speeds (around 100 Mbps) and may not be compatible with the finished standard.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Why is it called Bluetooth?
Harald Bluetooth was king of Denmark in the late 900s. He managed to unite Denmark and part of Norway into a single kingdom then introduced Christianity into Denmark. He left a large monument, the Jelling rune stone, in memory of his parents. He was killed in 986 during a battle with his son, Svend Forkbeard. Choosing this name for the standard indicates how important companies from the Baltic region (nations including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) are to the communications industry, even if it says little about the way the technology works.
Harald Bluetooth was king of Denmark in the late 900s. He managed to unite Denmark and part of Norway into a single kingdom then introduced Christianity into Denmark. He left a large monument, the Jelling rune stone, in memory of his parents. He was killed in 986 during a battle with his son, Svend Forkbeard. Choosing this name for the standard indicates how important companies from the Baltic region (nations including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) are to the communications industry, even if it says little about the way the technology works.
Monday, January 09, 2006
When Technology is not About Customers
What happens when technology becomes more about egos than it is about what customers want? You have HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. I guess the only thing they could really agree on was to put dashes in their names. News.com has more:
"We are frustrated," said Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson on Friday on the sidelines of a panel discussion at CES, the industry's biggest U.S. trade show. "We are going to wind up with some number of consumers probably buying a format that dies, and we are probably going to wind up having to sell it to them. They are not going to be happy with us."
My personal opinion: HD-DVD will win, because it delivers the #1 feature customers want: legal copies. I asked several Blu-Ray vendors at CES about their support for legal copying, and they said it's nonexistent. This basically says to me that next gen vendors were too busy fighting over egos to notice that we're standing on the sidelines saying "hey guys, this is what we want, build it."
These are situations where capitalism should not have to take its course. There should be one format, to eliminate consumer confusion and save us from wasting money. But it's not about us... it never was. We're not customers to most of these companies, we're just faces to shove movies in front of, as long as we remember that, though we pay money for it, we don't really own it. But instead, the market will have to decide the winner, which will be a protracted war that the loser won't concede easily.
Whichever format wins, the customer loses, and that's sad. With stupid battles like this, it's no wonder "technology" people can't figure out why "normal" people hate us.
"We are frustrated," said Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson on Friday on the sidelines of a panel discussion at CES, the industry's biggest U.S. trade show. "We are going to wind up with some number of consumers probably buying a format that dies, and we are probably going to wind up having to sell it to them. They are not going to be happy with us."
My personal opinion: HD-DVD will win, because it delivers the #1 feature customers want: legal copies. I asked several Blu-Ray vendors at CES about their support for legal copying, and they said it's nonexistent. This basically says to me that next gen vendors were too busy fighting over egos to notice that we're standing on the sidelines saying "hey guys, this is what we want, build it."
These are situations where capitalism should not have to take its course. There should be one format, to eliminate consumer confusion and save us from wasting money. But it's not about us... it never was. We're not customers to most of these companies, we're just faces to shove movies in front of, as long as we remember that, though we pay money for it, we don't really own it. But instead, the market will have to decide the winner, which will be a protracted war that the loser won't concede easily.
Whichever format wins, the customer loses, and that's sad. With stupid battles like this, it's no wonder "technology" people can't figure out why "normal" people hate us.
Windows WMF Vulnerability Patched
This just went live a couple minutes ago. Microsoft has released the patch for the WMF vulnerability that has been talked about so much the past week or so. This is a really bad vulnerability, so please install this on as many machines as you have access to... and spread the word.
This is an excerpt from the e-mail that went out to Premiere customers:
Important Information for Thursday 5 January 2006
Microsoft announced that it would release a security update to help protect customers from exploitations of a vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF) area of code in the Windows operating system on Tuesday, January 2, 2006, in response to malicious and criminal attacks on computer users that were discovered last week.
Microsoft will release the update today on Thursday, January 5, 2006, earlier than planned.
Microsoft originally planned to release the update on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 as part of its regular monthly release of security bulletins, once testing for quality and application compatibility was complete.
However, testing has been completed earlier than anticipated and the update is ready for release.
In addition, Microsoft is releasing the update early in response to strong customer sentiment that the release should be made available as soon as possible.
YAY!!! Microsoft FINALLY gets it. Congrats on meeting customer demand.
This is an excerpt from the e-mail that went out to Premiere customers:
Important Information for Thursday 5 January 2006
Microsoft announced that it would release a security update to help protect customers from exploitations of a vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF) area of code in the Windows operating system on Tuesday, January 2, 2006, in response to malicious and criminal attacks on computer users that were discovered last week.
Microsoft will release the update today on Thursday, January 5, 2006, earlier than planned.
Microsoft originally planned to release the update on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 as part of its regular monthly release of security bulletins, once testing for quality and application compatibility was complete.
However, testing has been completed earlier than anticipated and the update is ready for release.
In addition, Microsoft is releasing the update early in response to strong customer sentiment that the release should be made available as soon as possible.
YAY!!! Microsoft FINALLY gets it. Congrats on meeting customer demand.
O*M*G
I've just witnessed the coolest keynote I've ever seen. My mind is going in a million different directions, I hardly know where to start. Here we go:
* Bill Gates demoed probably the most interesting setup I've ever witnessed. Remember the video from Microsoft Research a couple months ago, where an image was projected onto a table, and you touched the table to interact with it? Well, Bill demoed a souped-up version that interacted with your cell phone and business cards.
* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE where can I buy the 3 paneled screen that Bill sat at??? HOLY CRAP that thing was tight.
* The Vista MCE will be really slick. Dell will be selling a digital tuner that will work with Cox Cable later this year.
* HD-DVD will blow Blu-ray out of the water. Toshiba's $499 drive will be available in March, and will let you legally copy movies to Windows computers, to move to any device. Sure, it's huge. It's probably heavy. And it's expensive. But Blu-Ray will have a tough act to follow with that feature set. And I'll buy it.
* Xbox 360 will ship 4.5 to 5.5 million consoles by June. On average, buyers are purchasing 4 games and 3 accessories per console. That's huge. In the 90 days since launch, there have been over 400 million downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace.
* Microsoft will ship an HD-DVD external drive for Xbox 360s later this year.
* Watching Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer box is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen. I can't wait to go home and beat the crap out of my football-playing roommate.
* Bill Gates demoed probably the most interesting setup I've ever witnessed. Remember the video from Microsoft Research a couple months ago, where an image was projected onto a table, and you touched the table to interact with it? Well, Bill demoed a souped-up version that interacted with your cell phone and business cards.
* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE where can I buy the 3 paneled screen that Bill sat at??? HOLY CRAP that thing was tight.
* The Vista MCE will be really slick. Dell will be selling a digital tuner that will work with Cox Cable later this year.
* HD-DVD will blow Blu-ray out of the water. Toshiba's $499 drive will be available in March, and will let you legally copy movies to Windows computers, to move to any device. Sure, it's huge. It's probably heavy. And it's expensive. But Blu-Ray will have a tough act to follow with that feature set. And I'll buy it.
* Xbox 360 will ship 4.5 to 5.5 million consoles by June. On average, buyers are purchasing 4 games and 3 accessories per console. That's huge. In the 90 days since launch, there have been over 400 million downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace.
* Microsoft will ship an HD-DVD external drive for Xbox 360s later this year.
* Watching Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer box is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen. I can't wait to go home and beat the crap out of my football-playing roommate.
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