Mr. Bad Timing.

Leave it to me to go out and buy a new computer ( I had too, of course, but that's not the point) two months before Intel unveils a new super-charged wireless chipset.

Intel, the primary backer of WiMax technology, plans to announce today the availability of the first-ever WiMax product -- an Intel chip set that will be used to run modems and other equipment.

But getting the first WiMax product out the door doesn't bring the long-awaited miles-long ``hot zones'' that would allow users to wirelessly surf the Internet on high-speed connections. That could take at least another year.

The spread of WiMax would enable service providers to sell wireless broadband connections in areas that are currently not served by DSL or cable Internet technology.

Intel's new WiMax chip set allows the Internet signal to reach out over longer distances, creating a "fixed connection'' between a base station and a specific building. The next step would be to create a hot zone by distributing the signal over a wider area, allowing for mobile Web surfing.

I have played a game with myself over the years where I put off purchases until the "next" new thing come out. So far, my track record is intact. I always get the last technology just as everyone else is adopting the new. I still love the new machine and I like working on my porch with the WiFi network I set up. I just would have liked to be on the cutting edge, just this once.

Then again, I have been harping to Sherry that she needs to get a hands free cell phone. She drives around the city all day - she drives a stick - talking on her phone. I don't know how she shifts, steers and talks at the same time.

Finally, she got this phone with this nifty bluetooth headset. She had originally picked out a Plantronics headset (costs less - this was being paid with company money, after all) but found that it would "unpair" from the phone at very unfortunate times. The Motorola headset works like a dream. Sherry pushes the silver button, says the name of the person she wants to call and she's connected. The phone never leaves her purse.

So she's driving safer and I can worry less. So we're kind of on the vanguard of bluetooth adopters. But only kind of. Next thing you know, the whole damn phone will be inside that little earpiece.

Comments

[Older Bro]

"Next thing you know, the whole damn phone will be inside that little earpiece."

Maybe, and, then again, maybe "The President's Analyst" wasn't that far off? ;-)

[Daniel]

Shhhh. They're listening.