News.com reports that the first devices using a wireless version of the Universal Serial Bus (WUSB)connection technology will begin arriving in the third quarter. This might not be news to people in the industry, but for me, this is really a big news. The article didn't get the 'Big Impact' mark yet, but it will sure have big impact on me.
On my desktop computer at home, there are 20+ USB/Firewire devices attached. Just to name a few - keyboard, mouse, 2 memory card readers, flatbed scanner, film scanner, 3 external HDD, MIDI device, camera, bluetooth adapter, irda adapter, 2 printers and several usb & firewire hubs. You can only imagine what a mess the usb and power cables have created!
Security seems to be an obvious problem, and the article says that the Wireless Association Specification which makes sure only authorized connections are made between PCs and devices were added to the standard. It will employ a security key mechanism similar to that of the bluetooth pairing.
Here are some highlights of the new standard:
- Same 480Mbps data transfer speed
- 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz frequency ranges
- Full speed within 10 feet, 110Mbps within 30 feet
This spec is really impressive because it can truly replace the wired version of USB. I have great faith in the hardware manufacturers and I expect this standard to be adopted sooner than any other standard due to the obvious benefits. I think bluetooth was trying to do the same thing from the beginning, and I wonder why it was so unsuccessful. But who cares?
Now only if I can have wireless power!!!
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