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Wi-fi 'to get a whole lot easier'

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    Wi-fi 'to get a whole lot easier'

    By Maggie Shiels
    BBC technology reporter, Silicon Valley

    The world of wi-fi is to become a whole lot easier thanks to a major technology upgrade, says an industry group.

    The Wi-Fi Alliance said it would soon finish work on a new specification called Wi-Fi Direct.

    It will let wi-fi devices like phones and laptops connect to one another without joining a traditional network.

    The Wi-Fi Alliance - whose members include Intel, Apple and Cisco - hopes devices with the new technology will be on the market by the middle of 2010.

    Owners of devices without Wi-Fi Direct will be able to upgrade through a software download, says the technology consortium.

    The Wi-Fi Alliance's marketing director, Kelly Davis-Felner, told BBC News: "This is going to be a quick and convenient way to use wi-fi in future to print, synch, share and display.

    "The consumer is going to experience this as a very easy-to-use mechanism that will be quite seamless."

    Threat to Bluetooth?

    Wi-Fi Direct will automatically scan for local existing hotspots and any wi-fi-enabled devices, such as cameras, phones and computers.

    The Alliance says the specification will search for both consumer electronics and office applications, enabling devices to connect from across a home or workplace.

    Victoria Foote, senior analyst at In-Stat, said it was a "terrific innovation".

    Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable.com, told BBC News the potential impact could be far-reaching.

    But industry watchers also say the technology could pose a threat to the future of Bluetooth and perhaps do away with the need to use wi-fi routers in some places.

    Link Credited to BBC Article Here

    *****

    That's going to be interesting, with regards to the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1974, as I seem to recall that it was a prosecutable offence to connect to a private network without the owner's explicit permission.

    Or would it be a case that since the technology automatically connects now to whatever it can find, that this would be a suitable defence ?

    (Sorry M'lud, but it's not my fault my I-Poo connected to the Atomic Weapons System and let me play this funky new game called "Wargames")

    Ok, so a bit fanciful there, since we all know that Government Security Systems are fully locked down and protected by the best security products at plenty cheapness.
    Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

    C.S. Lewis

    #2
    I bet I still get issues with my router at home........

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by BrilloPad View Post
      I bet I still get issues with my router at home........
      Indeed. There'll still be a few folks who traditionally cannot get their heads around WiFi or RTFM.

      /In cheeky pup mode
      Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

      C.S. Lewis

      Comment


        #4
        Don't forget to turn off all your wi-fi devices if you are being targeted by a swat team, unless you have anti-wi-fi paint. Wow, two wiphens in a row - is that allowed?

        Comment

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