Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bluegoof On Its way To The Grave Yard-

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:59:30 -0400

Bluegoof On Its way To The Grave Yard-

Bluetooth was hyped, as most wireless technologies, but it failed to build a case
for itself. Businesses have very little need for the technology, according to
Probe Group LLC. Companies have no plans to promote or discourage the use of the
technology, with most using it for syncing handhelds and other similar
applications. While the technology isn't popping up everywhere, it does have some
benefits. Security is tight and includes encryption to protect data.  Bluetooth
uses less power than Wi-Fi, making it a good choice for devices that run on
batteries. It is less expensive for companies if they are switching wireless
providers since employees would use phones as modems, which are less expensive to
replace.
====================================================================================

Bluetooth stuck in the doghouse
Wed Jul 23, 8:00 AM ET

Jim Rendon, SearchMobileComputing.com News Writer
Flowserve Corp. sees potential value in wireless (news - web sites) applications.
It is interested in wireless local area networks and is testing wireless wide area
data applications. But the one wireless technology it has no interest in is
Bluetooth.
Still, while Bluetooth is not likely to
threaten Wi-Fi, in time it may take its place
alongside it.

Just a few years ago, Bluetooth, the
short-range, low-power wireless air link
technology, was supposed to show up in
everything from pens and keyboard to gas
pumps and cars. Today, businesses seem
to have little need for the technology, said
David Chamberlain, research director with
Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based research firm,
Probe Group LLC.

Pieter Schoehuijs, director of worldwide IT
infrastructure at Flowserve, a Dallas-based
manufacturer of pumps, valves and other
flow management products, said that there
is some limited use of Bluetooth in the
company's global offices. Some employees
use it to sync their phones and PDAs, or
as a modem for their PDA when they are on
the road.

But that use is limited, and the company has no plans to dictate how employees use
Bluetooth. "We have no plans to stop it or to endorse it," Schoehuijs said.
Flowserve's approach to wireless technology mirrors that of many other
corporations today. While Wi-Fi and wide area networks are getting a lot of
attention, most haven't adopted Bluetooth. That is, in part, because it is not
really a networking technology like Wi-Fi, said Mike Disabato, an analyst with the
Midvale, Utah-based research firm Burton Group.

Bluetooth and wireless LAN technologies are not competing, Disabato said, and are
actually compatible.
But just because Bluetooth is not showing up on every device in the office, that
is no reason to ignore it. Disabato recommends setting policies for Bluetooth,
particularly since the security is so flexible. Employees should know how
Bluetooth security works and be given guidelines on how to set it, he said.
Bluetooth has a range of only 30 to 150 feet. It was originally designed as a way
to replace the cables that link computers with keyboards, and someday it will fill
that niche, Disabato said.
It is also a useful way to sync among cell phones, laptops and PDAs.  Unlike radio
frequency (RF), Bluetooth does not require a line of sight between devices. So a
phone in a user's pocket could act as a modem for a laptop without ever being
removed from the pocket.

Though companies are mostly ignoring Bluetooth, it can offer some benefits,
Chamberlain said. With all of the varying air interfaces for wireless wide area
networks, a company can spend a lot of money replacing devices and modems if it
switches from a carrier using General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) to one using
code-division multiple access (CDMA (news - web sites)) 1xRTT. If employees
instead used their phones as the modems for their laptops and PDAs, then switching
wireless vendors would only mean replacing relatively inexpensive phones.
Bluetooth also uses much less power than Wi-Fi products, making it preferable for
devices that use batteries, Chamberlain said.

Plus, it is relatively secure. Bluetooth sends the encryption key in the first
packet of its transmission. So, unless a hacker is waiting to sniff out a
transmission before it begins, which is unlikely, the security risks are minimal,
Disabato said.
Bluetooth includes two types of security; users can choose between them based on
how stringent their security requirements are. One is link security, which sets
the level of encryption on the air link. The second is pairing security, which
determines how high to set the bar for devices to connect with one another. At one
extreme, a user must enter an identification code for every device he connects to;
at the other, the device will connect to anything running Bluetooth.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1632&ncid=1632&e=2&u=/techtarget/20030723/tc_techtarget/915883

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Free shipping on all inkjet cartridge & refill kit orders to US & Canada. Low prices up to 80% off. We have your brand: HP, Epson, Lexmark & more.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5510
http://us.click.yahoo.com/GHXcIA/n.WGAA/ySSFAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/