Bluetooth

A client just made joke about how wonderful all the things on his lap-top are and how one day he might even work out what Bluetooth was for...

This is a computer literate person with years of buying and using the lastest gear still not using nor valuing something I take for granted.

Bluetooth is the name, coined by Ericsson, for an 'open-standard wireless communications protocol aimed at point to point high speed secure data communication'.

Doesn't mean a thing does it?  So let's break it down into something we can all understand and put a value on:

So it connects box a to box b and is

1. Open Standard - this means how it works is public knowledge and agreed world-wide with the people that check these things are good for us

2. Wireless - no wires needed up to about 300m range a bit like your DECT wireless phone system at home

3. communication protocol - an agreed language is used - like French or English at both ends so they understand each other

4. point to point - it is purely to connect box a with box b

5. high speed - it sits on top of a communication type so the speed is limited only by the type - it's speed will keep pace with the other wireless standards - 2/11/50Mb/s etc...

6. secure - it uses a very special method a bit like sending a message to a friend in the post a digit at a time in different envelopes and using different couriers for each envelope plus having some checks at the other end so a missing envelope is resent automatically - how cool is that

7. data - it carries bits of electronic information - does not care what they are

8. communication - box a can send to b and b to a

Where is this useful? - well if I wanted to say yes on my mobile and pay for goods in a shop I'd want to use Bluetooth to do it.

If I was concerned about someone picking up and listening to my communication I'd use Bluetooth.

If I just wanted an excellent quality connection - eg to do a wireless backup or copy stuff between my PC and my PDA I'd use bluetooth.

So you see it is as secure as a cable connection...

But here is the catch - if you set your PC with bluetooth to accept incoming bluetooth connection requests from any local device - you have just let anyone around see the shared areas of your PC.

Use with care it says on the tin!!!

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