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Date April 22, 2002
Section: Top Stories
Gates Opens Desktop to Bluetooth
The global Bluetooth developer community received an unexpected fillip last week when Microsoft Corp chief architect and founder Bill Gates revealed that his Redmond, Washington-based company is finally ready to put its commercial muscle behind the short-range wireless interconnect standard.
Although Microsoft is an established member of the IEEE Bluetooth special interest group (SIG), the company's failure to explicitly support Bluetooth in recent iterations of its desktop and embedded operating systems has led to speculation that it was internally debating an either/or position that was destined to come down in favor of the IEEE 802.11b WiFi WLAN standard.
In fact, this assumption was probably always flawed, as despite its decision not to rush to market with Bluetooth supporting products, Microsoft has nevertheless played an active role in the Bluetooth SIG, and has long-standing joint working relationships in place with Bluetooth pioneers such as the UK silicon IP (SIP) developer Cambridge Silicon Radio Ltd (CSR).
Last week, Microsoft wiped out any doubt that it is truly behind Bluetooth, by announcing that it will install a Bluetooth transceiver in forthcoming keyboard and mouse devices. This will not only enable the devices to connect to desktop or laptop computers without wires, it will also make it easier for handheld device users to employ full-size interface devices when in the office. It is a key step in the realization of one of the original Bluetooth concepts, the personal area network (PAN) or piconet, which allows individual users to employ a variety of peripheral devices around a single central processor, without creating a spaghetti of bothersome cabling.
Glen Collinson, a co-founder and VP marketing of CSR, welcomed Microsoft's announcement, declaring it a "very good thing" for the Bluetooth cause. In particular, said Collinson, the substance of Microsoft's first commercial endorsement of Bluetooth goes some way to burying the idea that Bluetooth is a handheld device-only technology. "It [the Microsoft announcement] is a breakthrough for Bluetooth on the desktop. Until now it has only really featured on laptop computers," Collinson said.
As well putting Bluetooth transceivers in peripheral devices, Microsoft has for the first time announced direct support for the wireless standard on Windows XP, its flagship operating system, which should encourage other device manufactures to make Bluetooth an option in a host of other peripherals, such as printers, projectors and digital cameras.
From Microsoft's perspective, embracing Bluetooth is part of the company's strategy to make Windows XP the "command center" platform at the heart of an "incredibly vibrant and versatile PC ecosystem" encompassing a broad range of connected devices. However, the company said it does not conflict with its endorsement of WiFi, which it has already embraced as part of its Mira initiative.
Mira is Microsoft's brand for a tablet device architecture, which a number of leading consumer electronics companies have already licensed. Mira-based devices are stylus-driven flat-screen displays equipped with a WLAN radio that act as remote interfaces to a PC in the home.
© ComputerWire Inc, 2002. |
