Guest Treadsoftly Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 I'm starting to get interested in Mesh Netowrking. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen an SD WiFi Card? I'm also wondering if there are any drivers that might go with it? Can you imagine an pocket full of SPV, roaming on wireless networks, surfing at broadband speed?!
Guest Firaas Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=WLAN6060 Would need drivers though...
Guest Treadsoftly Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 Thanks Firaas mate. Anybody fancy having a go at writing the drivers for it? I'm thinking about getting a WiFi AP installed, or buying a pre-made and portable solution.
Guest Firaas Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 Card's not released yet, only on pre-order. Theoretically one would be able to make cordless phone calls through PC's 56k modem if the signal was good enough, and an app was written.
Guest Treadsoftly Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 I know, theoretically, the possibilities are really exciting aren't they? The theory is that this could kill 3G dead.
Guest Firaas Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 Hmm, that would only be possible properly with 802.11a which has only just become legal in Britain, and so there aren't many products out for it (used to interfere with police radio etc), as 802.11b has a short range.
Guest Monolithix [MVP] Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 No it wouldn't. The SDIO interface on the SPV isn't anything like as fast as broadband connections, look at how long it takes to copy files back ond forth. Nice idea, and would be faster than GPRS, but with 3G having a max conn speed of 2mbit/s is going to be hard to beat...
Guest Firaas Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 Is it the SDIO interface that's slow or the software that controls downloads onto it?
Guest Monolithix [MVP] Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 I seem to remember reading somewhere that it only has a slower MMC interface (stil compatible with SDIO)? That of course could be a load of bull... Not sure if the software would slow it _that_ much...
Guest Treadsoftly Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 I was thinking about hooking the SPV into a broadband node, and using that bandwidth for VoIP? I'm not sure- I don't know much about this stuff - can you tell? ;>
Guest Monolithix [MVP] Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 That ~is~ a good idea, although it would piss O off as for the small investment in a WiFi SD card on your part would bypass the need for both GPRS and voice calls through Orange :) VoIP would need extra SPV-side software on top of WiFi drivers to work though...
Guest fraser Posted February 22, 2003 Report Posted February 22, 2003 WiFi might just kill 3G, just as Threadsoftly mentioned. And I really really want that to happen. There is an increasingly large movement creating community wireless projects, creating open access points. The theory is that anyone in the area will get free broadband. Anyone passing through will also be able to get it. This is scaring the hell out of the telcos. While they will still be providing the same bandwidth as before, it will be going to more less locations. The oppertunity to charge each customer individually like the status quo is much more attractive to them. If the coummunity system takes off, the internet will explode. I really do believe that it's still in the very early stage as it is now...it's currently more of a novelty really. More and more devices will become WiFi capable. It might also kill Bluetooth, it does much the same thing, only better. The throughput is comparable to 3G, in fact much better. All the pre-release literature for the SDIO WiFi cards says they are capable of the full 11Mb/sec. The bottle neck in the memory cards is the memory itself. 3G is a very risky proposal at the moment, the two technologies are pretty much in competition. And which one can you buy and deploy in your home/office for less than the telcos would charge for a couple of months line rental of the alternative? And from that point it's free? No competition. Firaas mentioned making cordless phone calls through a traditional analogue line, using a PC as a gateway. Forget that! VoIP is the way ahead. Free calls, to anywhere in the world, anytime. Again, the telcos are really scared on that count. Some countries have actually banned VoIP due to telco pressure! If you were using a device like the SPV in an area with WiFi coverage, you would get free access to voice and data. There are a lot of issues still to be sorted out, such as roaming between different coverage areas. It's a long way down the line, but the communication industry is up for a big shake up over the next decade and beyond.
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