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Unencumbered and Insecure 08/03/2005 09:38:13
If the wireless revolution has taught us anything, perhaps the single most important lesson is that people who design radio systems are notoriously bad at designing systems that are secureYou can wirelessly sync your mobile phone with your laptop. You can use the mobile phone's built-in modem to put your laptop on the Internet. With speed. Without cables. But be aware, even with security built in from the get-go, Bluetooth has problems - +
New Twist on LCD Displays 26/04/2007 16:25:24
A number of companies are working on developing alternative technologies to enable the production of flexible displays, including reflective "e-paper" and emissive organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technologies.Over the next 10 years, thin-film polymers and other flexible substrates could change how people think about and use displays. In the future, you may "print out" reports to sheets of e-paper: flexible polymer displays about as thick as a sheet of paper that can be spread out on a desk for easy comparison and analysis and then reused when the work is done. - +
De-nerding Your Geeks 03/05/2006 12:45:06
Having expelled every last shred of geek-hood from their own bearing, CIOs must now find ways to start purging any symptoms of same from their staff.The need to align with the business forced most CIOs to change from geek to chic - jettisoning their old school mentality toward IT and swapping their Dockers for Hugo Boss in the process. But convincing the rest of the IT department to follow suit may prove to be a much tougher job . . .
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Microsoft 2008 Mission Critical IT
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Bluetooth and ZigBee have much in common. Both are types of IEEE 802.15 "wireless personal-area networks," or WPANs. Both run in the 2.4-GHz unlicensed frequency band, and both use small form factors and low power.
At the Wireless Communications Alliance's February meeting in Silicon Valley, Bhupender Virk, president and CEO of WPAN components maker CompXs, sorted out the application and technical differences between Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) and the ZigBee specification (based on IEEE 802.15.4), which was ratified in December.
ZigBee protocols define a type of sensor network for residential and commercial applications such as heating, air conditioning and lighting control. It combines IEEE 802.15.4, which defines the physical and MAC protocol layers, with network, security and application software layers as specified by the ZigBee Alliance, a consortium of technology companies.
Imagine the freedom if light switches were to become wireless, eliminating the electrical cabling through your walls, for example.
Bluetooth, as you likely know, eliminates cabling between electronic products and accessories, such as between computers and printers or between phones and headsets. Bluetooth users with handhelds or laptops can exchange files, business cards and calendar appointments. Bluetooth is more oriented toward user mobility and eliminating short-distance cabling; ZigBee aims more for grand-scale automation and remote control.
The first ZigBee products are now in interoperability testing through April, says Virk, who expects alliance-certified products to be available in the third quarter (when he says CompXs will ship a ZigBee protocol analyzer). Industry reports imply that, eventually, ZigBee might be built into mobile phones via dual-function ZigBee-Bluetooth chips for remote control of nearly anything you can think of and for buying items from vending machines.
Finally, for the geeks among us, Virk pointed out some technical differences between the two protocols:
Modulation technique
Bluetooth: Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
ZigBee: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Protocol stack size
Bluetooth: 250K bytes
ZigBee: 28K bytes
Battery
Bluetooth: Intended for frequent recharging
ZigBee: Not rechargeable (one reason batteries will last for up to 10 years)
Maximum network speed:
Bluetooth: 1M bit/sec
ZigBee: 250K bit/sec
Network range:
Bluetooth: 1 or 100 meters, depending on radio class
ZigBee: Up to 70 meters
Typical network join time
Bluetooth: 3 seconds
ZigBee: 30 milliseconds
Computerworld Member Login
Beyond Virtualisation - The Roadmap to 2012
CIO Breakfast Briefing
8:30am - 10:30am
Brisbane | 22 July | Sofitel Brisbane
Sydney | 23 July | Four Seasons Hotel
Canberra | 24 July | The Hyatt
Attend and discover:
- What happens after virtualisation
- The benefits automation drives
- When automated infrastructures will emerge
- What the roadmap to 2012 looks like
- How to deliver an automated architecture
- How to maximise your investment in virtualisation
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Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future. - +
Data Management Edition #9: Data centre makeover 24/04/2008 07:43:06
This week CW Live looks at the death of the old style data centre which is undergoing its first makeover in more than 30 years.
WD’s New My Book® Mirror Edition™ External Hard Drive Provides The Safest Place For Valuable Personal Content 2008-07-09 15:00:00+10
Zepto release the Mythos, the 2nd installment in the Centrino 2 refresh 2008-07-09 12:05:00+10
Symantec Data Protection Solutions Preferred by Users and Industry Experts 2008-07-09 11:56:00+10
Residential VoIP: Let’s Get Naked, Declares IDC 2008-07-09 10:43:00+10
Frost & Sullivan: Australia’s Mobile Advertising Spend to Grow 300 Per Cent in 2008 2008-07-09 07:57:00+10
Tools and techniques for superior test management
In recent years, the field of application testing has evolved. While the pressure to deliver high-quality applications continues to mount, shrinking development and deployment schedules and high turnover rates for skilled employees make application testing challenging. Read on to discover how to combat these problems and complete your application testing successfully.
