out of sheer curiousity, where did WUSB go? (Certified Wireless USB devices, not like connecting to the internet wirelessly)

maybe I'm googling the wrong terms but the only related items i get are the external usb hubs and adapters and the fact that A YEAR AGO toshiba included it in it's protege line (not anymore though)

again, maybe i misunderstand but I want my devices to be wireless and one adapter connected to my computer, not vice versa as it stands now

1/30/2008 10:38:32 AM

its called bluetooth

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 10:52 AM. Reason : grammar

1/30/2008 10:40:10 AM

Quote :

"The most obvious difference between Bluetooth and Wireless USB is the speed - empirically you will generally always see speeds less than 1 Mbps with Bluetooth. Wireless USB, on the other hand, is rated for 480 Mbps at 5 meters."

again i ask...

also, my ipod isn't bluetooth, my digital camera isnt bluetooth, my printer isn't bluetooth, my portable hard drive isnt bluetooth. my point being that bluetooth hasn't even taken over most devices, its just phones and the zune. yet they all have usb connections so why not just made a small adapter for the devices that can attach to a small adapter to the pc?

1/30/2008 10:52:51 AM

isn't it just a USB dongle? why do you need an internal card for this?

USB dongle -> computer
USB hub -> peripherals

the USB hub has an antenna on it that wireless-ly connects to the USB dongle right?

if you don't want the dongle sticking out, buy a 5-port USB PCI card that has an internal USB port and plug it into that

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 11:14 AM. Reason : .]

1/30/2008 11:09:41 AM

its not that i dont want the dongle, i want NO wires. as in wireless...



for example, my main use of the computer is done in the car but i want to be able to USE a device 10m away via software on the pc. if i use a dongle/hub i have to keep it in the car because it requires power and it would have to be connected by wires to the hub which negates the need for one in the first place

1/30/2008 11:44:22 AM

yea, i haven't seen that implementation yet, only the one on the right

i'm a bit confused though because a printer needs power, as do most 3.5" portable hard drives, and if a portable hard drive is POWERED via USB, no Wireless USB dongle with give it power to begin with, so in a sense you NEED a hub, or at least a power outlet in which you'd STILL need power cables

and the reason why mp3 players and cell phones use bluetooth is because it's battery friendly, as far as i know most USB devices are not powered by batteries

for printers there are wireless print servers and for portable hard drives there are NAS solutions you can put on your wireless router

actually the zune uses 802.11, not bluetooth, something apple should look into with their ipods

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 12:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/30/2008 12:09:47 PM

1/30/2008 1:49:13 PM

WUSB and USB dongle are practically the same technology.

I predict WUSB to be like the Nintendo Virtual Boy. It's just a technology that won't catch on.

It has better transfer speeds than bluetooth, but the range is VERY limited. And power consumption is out the roof.

Testing in our lab shows about a maximum radius of about 8-10 feet before you lose connection (though manufacturer's quote a maximum of 30 feet). At that distance, it's just as easy to plug your devices in with your traditional USB cord.

The practicality of it is not present. Now if you can increase the range over 30+ feet while reducing power consumption, and you might have something that may rival bluetooth.

[Edited on January 30, 2008 at 2:11 PM. Reason : more info]

1/30/2008 2:07:51 PM

^ well...comparing 480mbps to 3mbps isn't really a good judge...of course your power consumption is going to be higher with throughput that's theoretically 160x greater...as for range, well, there's a good point

1/30/2008 2:22:51 PM

i did some research and found some website offering to make your "product design" bluetooth capable with a class 1 level of 100m range but it looks like a pretty large sized board, but then again the machine i need to use is about the size of a printer anyway, maybe i could still implement it

1/30/2008 5:15:59 PM

i hope this catches on finally...

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/11/dells-xps-m1330-now-with-built-in-wireless-usb/

2/11/2008 9:25:02 AM

dude, it's the same thing... they just put the dongle inside the laptop, there's still a 4-port hub you hook your peripherals in....

like i said, this can't really happen because you still need power to your peripherals... thus meaning you will still have a power cord to either your printer or to the wireless-USB hub

2/11/2008 3:18:11 PM

They do have technologies to wirelessly power low powered devices at range though and have for a while. The only thing is you'd never want that on your laptop because battery life is already barely adequate for most computers. Manufacturers are straining to have moderately powerful laptops with 4-6 hours of battery life and not weight 10 lbs as it is. Maybe after those nano-tech super capacitors are in notebooks and all the WUSB devices.

2/12/2008 8:01:06 AM

he's talking about powering a portable hard drive and a printer, not exactly your low-powered devices...

mp3 player, camera, phone, i can see as possible

2/12/2008 10:36:24 AM

Quote :

"for example, my main use of the computer is done in the car but i want to be able to USE a device 10m away via software on the pc. if i use a dongle/hub i have to keep it in the car because it requires power and it would have to be connected by wires to the hub which negates the need for one in the first place"

no, its not the same thing but ive given up on explaining it, don't worry about it

i doubt they'll come out with the solution i'm looking for

2/13/2008 9:55:11 AM

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=205130621

3/4/2008 11:32:54 AM

^ got one of those for xmas (different brand though) and i've been playing around with it - it's got potential if it catches on

3/4/2008 12:02:19 PM

^ you know, i agree...i think the idea of having a hub that lets you connect USB devices in a different location (let's say you run out of power jacks) is attractive

3/4/2008 1:37:55 PM

warmer...lol, thanks for the link

3/4/2008 6:04:08 PM

posts 4 & 5 in this thread already covered that. it's the same thing.

basically what you want is an ad-hoc based system

[Edited on March 4, 2008 at 7:03 PM. Reason : .]

3/4/2008 7:03:27 PM

yeah but thats the first one ive seen thats actually a wireless wireless hub, not just another hub and dongle

3/4/2008 11:31:36 PM

^ What do you mean? It's got a power adapter just like the other WUSB hubs I've seen. Are there some WUSB hubs that actually require a wired connection to the computer? What's the point then?



Is still a hub that connects via wire to the devices. It's the same thing you said "do not want" in the graphic.

Or did you find adapters that actually connect to the devices? I didn't think you could draw power from the B end like that.

[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 4:08 PM. Reason : ]

3/5/2008 4:04:25 PM