Bluetooth is Dead

[TalynOne]

Thanks Intel,

[Dan East]

I read that on Slashdot yesterday. While that doesn't help the long-term survival of bluetooth, we certainly won't see bluetooth come to a screeching halt (just like we didn't see bluetooth explode onto the market - its taken years for the trickle of new devices to appear, and it would take years for them to go away). I'm not sure what this Wireless USB is about, but it sounds like it is competing head to head with bluetooth.

Dan East

[jongjungbu]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. Microsoft pulled the plug on USB years ago, but USB 2.0 still came around and in the PPC world where do you see a device that doesn't support USB as its primary sync method. Or millions of other devices out there. Backing may go away but the technology won't.

JJB

[TalynOne]

The problem is that, like with Apple machines, PocketPCs OS's and to some extent hardware is controled by Microsoft. Meaning it is Microsoft that chooses what they will support or not support in later versions of their operating system.

Heck, anyone who was an early adopter of USB 2.0 can tell you that Windows XP didn't really support it until service pack 1, Microsoft was forced to support it because the hardware was controled by third parties.

Remember also how many times we've have been screwed by Microsoft when our PocketPcs become obsolete because of a new standard for hardware or software that they choose to support. When they do that they also tend to immedietly drop support for anything older. (IE. dropping MIPS and SH3 processor support, not creating a remote desktop client for PocketPC 2000, dropping support for media player for older PocketPCs, not including ability to make file shares on older pocketpcs, etc...)

Microsoft and Intel tend to have a pretty close relationship, so we'll see how this plays out.

[RICoder]

I saw this yesterday too. My curiosity revolves more around the idea that Bluetooth is a netowork protocol and USB is an interface protocol...

I have not been a big fan of Bluetooth, but I am slowly coming to like it. The thing is, I like it for the DEVICES, not for this "PAN" idea. In that regard, my guess is that USB will be superior because of the market it attacks.

[Dan East]

Well, here's an article that came out today describing WUSB (Wireless USB):
http://deviceforge.com/articles/AT9015145687.html

Two sentences from that article say it all:
At the Spring 2004 Intel Developer Forum, formation of the Wireless USB Promoter Group was announced.

The Wireless USB Promoter Group is chartered with defining the wireless USB (WUSB) specification.

So they're just now starting to define the specification. So we won't see WUSB for a year at the very, very soonest. Plus, any specs mentioned in the article (480 Mbps) are just a pipe dream that this extremely early stage.

Dan East