It seems that companies have been promising powerful wireless computing technology for years now, vowing to not only get rid of all those cables behind our desktops but also vowing to allow for a new era of mobile computing. Most of the recently implemented technologies, as exciting as they may have seemed upon announcement, have all but proved useless. For example, let's take the infrared port, first introduced in laptops about quite some time ago.

Promising a new revolution in wireless computing, IR ports eventually found their way into vast majority of laptops sold today. Infrared technology pledged to finally make wireless printing, file transfers, and synchronization possible, all through a device that costs very little money to make. Although the technology looked like a solution to our wireless needs, IR never delivered what was promised.

The problem was two fold. First off, the transfer speeds of IR communication is rather slow by today's standards, making large data transfers nearly impossible. Secondly, and perhaps the largest problem, is the range of infrared communication. Able to travel only over a very limited range, IR communication needs to be done almost exclusively on a line-of-sight basis, meaning that the infrared ports on the communicating devices must not only be within a short range of one another, they also must be pointed at each other This proved to be a large stumbling block, as the communication between devices was easily interrupted by interfering objects. Although it is almost certain that any high-end laptop purchased today will include an infrared port, it is just as likely that the user will never take advantage of its limited features. Obviously a second technology, one not based on light, would need to be implemented in order to make wireless communication a reality.

With this fall's IDF over, we were able to get a glimpse of what Intel has up their sleeve in terms of bringing wireless communication to the home. Making the same promises as infrared made upon its release, Intel's upcoming HomeRF and Bluetooth technologies vow to revolutionize the way our devices communicate. This time, however, it looks like the technology can finally deliver, making wireless data transfer, internet access, printing, and more finally become reality.

In order to further determine the extensive possibilities of both Bluetooth as well as HomeRF, let's go over a bit about what we learned about the technologies at this fall's IDF as well as discuss some possible applications.

Bluetooth

The most crowded track at this year's IDF seemed to be those centered around wireless technology, and the Bluetooth track was no exception. With the room filling to capacity over 20 minutes before the presentation, it seems that Bluetooth technology is a hit, not only with the press but also with OEMs.

Bluetooth technology was actually launched in May of 1998 by Bluetooth Special Interest Group which now includes nine major partners, including 3com, Microsoft, IBM, and of course Intel. As with all newly announced technology standards, Bluetooth took quite a bit of research in order to launch, with the final 1.0 specification reaching approval on July 26th of 1999. What exactly does this specification call for and how does Bluetooth communication work? Let's take a look.

Bluetooth is a targeted to be a high speed, short distance wireless technology. Working in the 2.4 GHz radio spectrum, it took quite a while for this radio frequency to be approved in all parts of the world, with France and Japan just signing on. The concern was over interference with other preexisting wireless technologies, where two devices working in the 2.4 GHz range could interfere with one another. Bluetooth SIG worked closely with these preexisting companies and ensured that no interference would be experienced on any device.

Bluetooth devices essentially come in two classes, both using point-to-point communication to speak. Class 3 devices operate at the 0 dBm range and are capable of transmitting 30 feet, through walls or other objects. Class 3 products are expected to include USB and PC-card devices, as we will discuss in just a bit. The second class of devices are class 1 products. These devices operate at 20 dBm, which allows for the signal to travel about 300 feet through walls or other solid objects. It is likely that common class 1 devices will be cordless phones and wireless modems. Both Bluetooth classes are rated at traveling at about 1 Mb/s, with next generation products allowing anywhere from 2 to 12 Mb/s, to be determined at a later date.

Intel sees two main uses for Bluetooth technology. First, Bluetooth is to serve as a simple cable replacement technology, eliminating the need for USB cables, parallel cables, and serial cables. A perfect example of this use would be a USB CDROM drive. By using a prototype USB dongle plugged into the CDROM's drive USB port, it would be possible to use Bluetooth technology to allow for wireless data transfers between a host computer (one that has a Bluetooth transmitter/receiver) and the CDROM drive. The USB dongle shown to the right is expected to run under $100 and be available for use in every type of USB peripheral. This would be useful in situations where a user has more than one computer, lets say a desktop and a mobile one, and he does not want to get two separate CDROM burners, one for each system. Instead, the user would opt for a single USB CDROM burner with Bluetooth technology. Using Bluetooth, it would be possible to burn CDs from the laptop while sitting on a couch at the other end of the room. Extend this technology to printers, PC Cards, digital cameras, and all physical USB devices and it is easy to see how Bluetooth can be extremely beneficial.

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Bluetooth Continued

The second use that Intel sees for Bluetooth is for the formation of a personal area network (PAN) or an ad hoc network. In this instance, Bluetooth would allow for many devices within a room or set area to communicate with one another wirelessly Not only would the Bluetooth technology allow two computers to communicate, but it would also allow for wireless internet access via a DSL or cable connection located at another location in a given room. Cellular telephones could also play a part in this PAN, with a cell phone communicating with a laptop to not only provide internet access to the laptop but also allowing the laptop to send contact information to the cellular phone. Personal data assistants and other devices could be a part of this network, making a truly wireless environment almost possible.

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Although all of this may sound promising, wireless communication is only as good as its receiver and transmitter. What good would such a system be if it costs $200 to produce and required quite a hefty retail space? Well, luckily with Intel behind this project, you will have nothing to worry about. Enter Ambler, Intel's mobile solution to Bluetooth technology. Roughly about the size of a dime and a half and about as thick as two dimes stacked on top of one another, Ambler is just what OEMs are looking for in notebook Bluetooth integration. The projected cost of Ambler right now is about $30, meaning that it will likely only find its way into higher end laptops upon its release. Intel expects this price to drop drastically when the manufacturing process improves, with prices falling below $10 in the not too distant future. On top of the Ambler laptop solution, companies such as 3com, Motorola, and TDK are working on PC Cards and PCI cards that will allow for Bluetooth connectivity, meaning that finding hardware support for Bluetooth technology should be no problem at all.

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HomeRF

Yet another wireless technology that is beginning to enter homes now is HomeRF. The HomeRF sessions proved to be crowded as well, meaning that there is definitely interest in both of these technologies.

HomeRF differs from Bluetooth because it was designed to solve a different problem than Bluetooth targets. While Bluetooth serves to be more of a cable replacement, HomeRF is about getting midrange wireless technology for network use. Able to travel a distance of about 165 feet, HomeRF transmits at 2.4 GHz spectrum, putting it right at the same operating frequency as Bluetooth. HomeRF is actually able to get 1.6 Mb/s out of the frequency, making it a bit faster than Bluetooth.

HomeRF has its origins in the 802.11 wireless internet protocol, as well as DECT voice technology, which means that HomeRF is capable of not only transmitting data packets but is also able to support up to 4 voice phones. Able to do this by dynamically allocating bandwidth to voice transfers, if necessary, HomeRF serves to wirelessly solve not only computing communication but all forms of communication in general. The system works with one device acting as a control box, sending out signals to other HomeRF devices in the area. This control box can be any HomeRF device and will typically be the first device installed in a HomeRF network. The control can send out packets that wake up other devices from a low power state, making them ready for communication. This allows many devices to use HomeRF, even ones that will remain idle for the majority of the time such as internet appliances. The majority of HomeRF devices will be laptops, desktops, printers, modems and such, serving to act as a personal home network.

With a range of 165 feet, the developers of HomeRF knew that other devices outside of one PAN may interfere with other PANs. Take an apartment building, for example. The vast majority of apartments will not span a sphere with a radius of 165 feet from a HomeRF source, meaning that HomeRF devices in one apartment could potentially interfere with another apartment's HomeRF system. To prevent this from happening, HomeRF incorporates a unique learn feature. Essentially what this does is teach all existing and new HomeRF devices that the user defines the information for the users PAN. This is done by placing one existing HomeRF device to the "teach" mode and a second, new device to the "learn" mode. This way, devices within a given area can only communicate with the HomeRF devices that it has been taught, preventing conflicting Pans

A few HomeRF based devices already exist now, such as the Intel AnyPoint wireless home network and the Motorola AL 200 Multi-User Wireless Modem. With HomeRF transmitter/receiver units running about $25 in parts and coming in a device about the size of a compact flash card, HomeRF looks like it will not only be rather cheap but also small. The $25 mark still makes the device too expensive to be found in every laptop, however look for system integration to come in higher end laptops. In addition, some low cost PC cards will be sold shortly, allowing HomeRF technology to extend to many devices.

One interesting thing that Dr. Kevin Negus of Proxim Inc. spoke to us about is HomeRF's ability to withstand interference from none other than the microwave oven found in 97% of homes. Dr. Negus stated that the 2.4 GHz radio frequency range is very susceptible to interference from a microwave oven, which throws out a myriad of frequencies into the air when it is operating. HomeRF is able to deal with the interference by altering the frequency at which it transmits; hopping which all but eliminates any data interference. In addition, each packet sent to a device on a HomeRF network must be acknowledged, so even if a a packet is lost due to interference, the sending device knows this and re-sends the lost packet before proceeding.

Common Threads

As you can tell, both Bluetooth and HomeRF wireless technologies share more in common than just their radio frequency. Since both devices serve to cut the cables we have become accustomed to, many of the issues with the devices are similar. Perhaps this is why some experts expect HomeRF and Bluetooth technologies to merge in the future. For now, let's take a look at what issues the two wireless technologies have in common and what each plans to do about them.

Health

As with every new technology that seems to come along, the public is concerned with the safety of HomeRF and Bluetooth. Although in some cases the health concerns with products may be validated (asbestos, for example), the vast majority of products turn out to be completely harmless. Both Bluetooth and HomeRF claim that they, along with the government, have investigated the safety of radio frequency broadcasts in the 2.4 GHz range and all three sources promise that they are safe.

Although this is almost certainly the case, public perception may be different upon the time of the technologies release. Both companies plan to support the safety claims with medical research, hoping to alleviate some of the concerns associated with wireless transmissions. Rest assured that both technologies note safety as their number one priority.

Transmission Laws

Each country has its own governing body that essentially regulates the air waves, meaning that this body acts to say what can be transmitted where and when. In the case of the Untied States, this body is known as the Federal Communications Commission, or more affectionately, the FCC.

The FCC has a world wide reputation as being very strict on what can be broadcast and when. In some instances this is a very good thing, in others it inhibits the development of technology. Take Bluetooth and HomeRF devices, for instance. Both of these devices are known to the FCC as "radiators," as they emit radio frequencies in all directions. As a result of this classification, the restrictions on HomeRF and Bluetooth devices will be rather strict.

Although this should not prove to be a problem for home users of this technology, travelers may experience some headaches from the strict FCC regulations. This is due to the fact that FCC regulations strictly prohibit any "radiators" from being used on airplanes. Luckily there are ways of getting fixed radiators onto airplanes, as one airline carrier currently uses a radiator in a fixed location to provide the duty free cart with information. Both Bluetooth and HomeRF developers hope to find a way to mount their respective systems on airplanes to allow for wireless web surfing and more at 31,000 feet. Don't expect to see this any time soon, as the current regulations have been in place since the 1970's and have barely budged. The risk of interference due to the use of either HomeRF of Bluetooth systems is extremely small, if nonexistent.

Ease of use

Perhaps one of the biggest things that both technologies are pushing, besides all of the applications, is ease of use. Companies producing Bluetooth and HomeRF devices want to make them as user friendly as possible, as ease of use usually equates to profit. Wanting to stay as far away from the techie only crowd as possible, HomeRF and Bluetooth devices want to be as user friendly as they can make it.

This is because companies understand that in order for HomeRF and Bluetooth technologies to become popular, they must be accessible. As a result of this, both technologies promise full integration into Windows 98 and above, including Windows 2000. By supporting very intuitive shell extensions, such as a "find remote devices" button, both technologies hope to make the user's experience as painless as possible, much like USB strived to do a few years back.

Security

As with all wireless technologies, there can always be someone listening. Since privacy is a primary concern for many wireless technology users, both Bluetooth and HomeRF hope to put the user at rest by making their information as secure as possible.

While we did not get the full scoop on the security of Bluetooth, we did get quite an extensive rundown on how HomeRF deals with security issues. The first form of security in HomeRF devices is a 24-bit network IP that is specific to each personal area network. This key prevents devices that are outside a users PAN from intercepting and using the information sent from a remote PAN. In addition to this network IP, data is sent with a 56-bit encryption algorithm, keeping out the neighborhood hackers. Expect the next generation of products to implement 128-bit encryption, a feature that was left off of this specification due to the fact it was written before the government decided to allow its use. The final protection method is against denial of service attacks. Due to the fact that HomeRF devices are constantly switching frequencies, a denial of service attack on a specific device would be very difficult, if not impossible. Dr. Negus at Proxim suspects that denial of service attacks will continue to grow and thrive as the hacker's tool of choice.

With the computing age also came the lack of mobility. It is no wonder that most of us are stuck at a desk all day, hoping to get up and move around once in a while. Luckily, companies realize the opportunity for this. Take the wildly popular cordless phone. No loner must one sit near a wall outlet to talk on the phone, but one can easily move around, doing two things at once.

However, sending a voice signal over a 900 MHz frequency to a base that simply amplifies to signal is much simpler than sending information for not only one computer, but many devices to use. It is for this reason that wireless technologies have been lacking from our daily computer life. Previous stabs at mobile technology for the home have all been met with failure: IR due to it's limited capacity, and larger radio type devices due to their cost. Hopefully with Bluetooth and HomeRF entering the scene with a force later this year, wireless connectivity can finally become a reality. Until then, we are stuck with our ethernet cables and our USB ports.