Mardy - Top of the morning to you. Sorry I haven't posted, have been searching and lurking - things got a little testy over on the Fool thread! Looks like they understood the real intent - to spread the word on a hot new technology. Still, I understand the paranoia - I have invested in illusory technology that I first found out about on SI - fortunately, further investigation prevented a serious loss, and I only got toasted, not burned!
My vote's in, Hatim - send Mardy a hat!
Have been searching for info on the implications of the Philips/Wi-LAN deal, and turned up a few links for the thread. If I understand correctly, the future of home networking/entertainment is likely to gravitate to the IEEE 1394 (Firewire) standard - most bandwidth. Also, the HAVi standard appears to supply the easiest interoperability of all. While all of the pieces are not in place, and IEEE 1394 is only beginning to be a PC norm, I think it's clear that is where things are headed. What does that mean? You'll be able to take your new device (say, digital TV) out of the box, plug it in, and it will seamlessly integrate with your home RF network - just like that. No configuring, no wires, no problems - and all the bandwidth you need (especially with the next iteration of WOFDM). You'll be able to watch the news on your monitor while the kids play a video game on the TV, and type your resume while the the wife listens to a CD. If you move, it all goes with you to your new home - no rewiring required.
At first, I discounted the revenue stream that this might create. In fact, for Philips, and its drive to the home networking/entertainment market, this is enabling technology. Concurrent technology streams are: future processing power increases, Rambus memory architecture, and fuller implementation of IEEE 1394 technology. But make no mistake, in 2 years, this will be "must-have". In 3-4 years, it will be the de facto standard for in-home networking, and WECA devices will be a fading memory, or at least, low-end.
Make no mistake folks, this will be important... and because it represents a departure from Wi-LAN's traditional business, it has been a little harder to understand (at least, for me!) Enough blather - to the links:
ebnews.com
- old news, but it restates the case in a different way.
techweb.com
- some info on HAVi
www-us.semiconductors.philips.com
- another restatement of old news, from Philips' viewpoint
www-us.semiconductors.philips.com
- yet another - note the "multifaceted working relationship" remark
And finally, back to Wi-LAN's more traditional business model, this link to an American company, Informatics, advertising the new WOFDM technology and product (great, even if they can't deliver yet!) Mardy, I hope this link will help to authenticate Wi-LAN to the unbelievers on other threads.
wirelessmall.com
My apologies for the long post, "reading the tea leaves" is wordy business!
Best to all, JK |
