When Will We Get Wireless?

  • Share
  • Read Later
People here at Comdex want to network everything. Sitting down yesterday at lunch to eat an overpriced cheeseburger in the balmy Vegas sun, I ended up talking to two Danes who are visiting the U.S. to drum up business for what they called the world's smallest web server. They don't have a booth, but the company's founder pulled a half-sized business card from his pocket to show me an actual-size photo of a three-chip board that -- they hope -- will put humble devices from security cameras to battery back-up systems to toasters on the Internet.

That the show's leanest and most bloated companies are all obsessed with connectivity, however, doesn't mean that they actually talk to each other. Just look at the push to bring wireless networking to the home. The category is irresistible -- who doesn't want to be able to surf from the sofa or back porch? -- but the standards are anything but. Here's a quick run-down. MORE >>