The future is wireless...
In 1932 Marconi said, “It is dangerous to put limits on wireless”. Of course, he was talking about radio and related technology rather than the Internet or computers, but it was still an incredibly long-sighted thing to say - and it holds true as much today as it did back in the first half of the 20th century.
The importance of wireless communications, not to mention its prevalence, is only going to grow bigger as time goes on. Last week’s laboratory experiments became yesterday’s high-priced gizmos, but today the results are high-speed wireless Internet access in your local coffee shop and pub. Tomorrow may see wireless networking become the standard way to connect computers of all kinds, with wired Ethernet becoming an add-on option reserved for specialist uses.
It seems increasingly likely that the UK government will, eventually, make a serious committment to ensuring that everyone has access to the Internet; this has been discussed in numerous policy documents. Those at www.dti.gov.uk/converg/, particularly in the Public Policy Objectives chapter, state this fairly clearly.
Figuring out how to do this is the trick, and it is arguable that one of the best ways to achieve this could be via strategically-placed wireless hotspot broadcast units. Today’s equipment won’t cut it, but the increased range and bandwidths being demonstrated in technology labs around the world will soon make this seem like a logical, sensible suggestion rather than a hairbrained scheme. The cost of adding wireless hardware to computers is dropping, and, as we’ve just mentioned, it is likely to become standard fare rather than an optional extra pretty soon.
As any student of science fiction knows, the biggest mistake anyone can make when predicting the future is being too conservative. Or, to paraphrase Marconi, imagining limits is dangerous. The future is wireless, and it has already started.
The importance of wireless communications, not to mention its prevalence, is only going to grow bigger as time goes on. Last week’s laboratory experiments became yesterday’s high-priced gizmos, but today the results are high-speed wireless Internet access in your local coffee shop and pub. Tomorrow may see wireless networking become the standard way to connect computers of all kinds, with wired Ethernet becoming an add-on option reserved for specialist uses.
It seems increasingly likely that the UK government will, eventually, make a serious committment to ensuring that everyone has access to the Internet; this has been discussed in numerous policy documents. Those at www.dti.gov.uk/converg/, particularly in the Public Policy Objectives chapter, state this fairly clearly.
Figuring out how to do this is the trick, and it is arguable that one of the best ways to achieve this could be via strategically-placed wireless hotspot broadcast units. Today’s equipment won’t cut it, but the increased range and bandwidths being demonstrated in technology labs around the world will soon make this seem like a logical, sensible suggestion rather than a hairbrained scheme. The cost of adding wireless hardware to computers is dropping, and, as we’ve just mentioned, it is likely to become standard fare rather than an optional extra pretty soon.
As any student of science fiction knows, the biggest mistake anyone can make when predicting the future is being too conservative. Or, to paraphrase Marconi, imagining limits is dangerous. The future is wireless, and it has already started.
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