Wireless inadequate for our future of connectivity

readwriteweb.com

2 points·petesoder··3 comments

I'm of the opinion that wireless is inadequate for our current needs. Sure, in smaller, less-dense urban areas it's great. But get into a densely packed area and common frequencies become saturated. I know the freeway outside my office is backed when my phone loses its data connection. And try to find a clean 2.4GHz WiFi channel in a densely packed apartment complex.

It's nice that my TV/cable box can get it's video feed over WiFi, but it really shouldn't be the default setting. It's great that my Nook/Kindle/Whatever can grab books instantly over WiFi, but it really shouldn't alwats be on. We need to mature as data consumers or we risk losing all quality of service.

Good point - instant connectivity via wireless definitely ranks high in the convenience dept, but is less essential in stationary devices. Unfortunately, the essential idea behind RFID (for instance) is that it's not stationary ...

Also, curious more specifically what you mean by getting more 'mature as data consumers ... '

RFID isn't as much of an issue, as the tags are generally passive, and not always on and looking for a signal.

As far as more mature: 'more efficient' is really a better wording. There seems to be a culture of excess at the moment, where the amount and frequency of data our devices send is not much of a design consideration. This is part of what MQTT addresses - more devices but smaller data payload sizes. Where we can be more efficient without sacrificing too much conveinience we should be. Ex: Just because my TV's DVR can work over WiFi doesn't mean it should by default. That sort of thing.

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