Integrated bluetooth
Hi there!
Does anyone have inside info on when Bluetooth will see the same sleek integration Airport has?
Is it actually possible to build a card that has both and can be put into the existing Airport slot on any Mac? They both use the same frequency spectrum so the antennas work fine.
Does anyone have inside info on when Bluetooth will see the same sleek integration Airport has?
Is it actually possible to build a card that has both and can be put into the existing Airport slot on any Mac? They both use the same frequency spectrum so the antennas work fine.
Comments
Next PowerBook revision, as cellular internet access is seen by the corporates as the holy grail atm. Desktops, although they could do with Bluetooth for eg. PDA synching, have plenty of ways to get cheap data in.
But I don't expect Apple to offer bluetooth keyboards and mice, because Jobs hates (rightly) the idea of using up batteries, and if they were rechargable, they would still need to be plugged in! Remembering to plug in your keyboard to recharge it is actually more of a pain than leaving it plugged in all the time.
<strong>
But I don't expect Apple to offer bluetooth keyboards and mice, because Jobs hates (rightly) the idea of using up batteries, and if they were rechargable, they would still need to be plugged in! Remembering to plug in your keyboard to recharge it is actually more of a pain than leaving it plugged in all the time.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Uness, Apple has made a battery that never needs to be recharged! It it self is a small cold fusion power suply!!
[note: we need some new Future Hardware news in a bad way]
<strong>With a LiPolymer battery like the iPod, I don't see any reason why Steve wouldn't do it this way... </strong><hr></blockquote>
My hunch is that even if good battery technology were used and the focus group people found that consumers would put up with docking their mouse after use, there would still be the lag issues exhibited by all current wireless mice. (Wireless mice have to "sleep" when not used actively to conserve power. Thus there's a lag in response every time you use them after letting the mouse sit for a little while.)
Escher
A scroll wheel could be used and it could charge the battery too.
Wireless induction charging is possible.
Lithium Polymer batteries can take on any shape, which means you can fill the mouse with battery.
I think if done right, a wireless mouse and keyboard could run for months before a needed recharge, and if it can be chareged over USB, then so what if you have to wire your keyboard and mouse for a few hours every other month.
Also, why not also have a solar charging keyboard and mouse. They're just sitting on the desk most of the time anyway.. And they've got nano semiconductor crystals that you can spray onto anything, fabric, mice... that acts as a solar cell. They're still under 10% efficiency though..
You mean like coloured translucent computers? LCD on a chrome arm and white dome base? "no button" optical mouse? Or do you mean like cartoony OS interface? the genie effect?
Open your eyes man, Apple is all about gimmicks!
I don't want to get into a semantic argument about gimmicks and design, but Apple could totally make these wireless devices.
In fact, it fit's into their digital hub stragety really well.
That is, if charging over USB is possible (á la FireWire). Not a technology I know.
<strong>That is, if charging over USB is possible (á la FireWire). Not a technology I know.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Power over USB is possible. But I don't know if your battery charges when the computer is shut down.
[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</p>
<strong>Who the hell cares about this?
[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
I for one do and a lot of people that like elegant solutions - do you like all that dust collecting cable scattering behind your setup?
Cordless keyboards and mice match perfectly with video beamers - wish I had one...
<strong>
I for one do and a lot of people that like elegant solutions - do you like all that dust collecting cable scattering behind your setup?
Cordless keyboards and mice match perfectly with video beamers - wish I had one...</strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> The only thing elegant about cordless mice is how they look either when fully charged or when the computer is turned off. That intermediate step involving actually plugging in a cordless mouse to recharge it seems totally defeating. Why the extra hassle? Inclusion of this feature as standard with all Macs exemplifies the anti-Apple movement's strongest criticisms- form over function. Why give them this?
[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</p>
<strong>That intermediate step involving actually plugging in a cordless mouse to recharge it seems totally defeating. Why the extra hassle? Inclusion of this feature as standard with all Macs exemplifies the anti-Apple movement's strongest criticisms- form over function. Why give them this?
[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
I also am no friend of the "plug-to-charge" solution. This sure is inelegant.
But cordless sure is not form over function - or do you think Airport or Bluetooth cellular connectivity or even cordless phones qualify as such?
<strong>As far as integration goes, doesn't the new iMac have an internal USB port? What else could it be used for?</strong><hr></blockquote>
If Apple wanted to get REALLY funky, they could always consider little robotic features within the mouse that had it creep up to the base unit or the keyboard via tiny low powered motors and get power by induction so the worry about remembering to recharge would be gone. Sure it would drive the price astronomically high, but look how many people still continue to buy their gear!
The other option would be not to power the mouse at all. Have low power microwaves from the base unit remotely monitor the device's location via optical properties or harmonics (yah you heard me).
Use a ultra-high frequency to set off a harmonic resonance within the mouse and the base unit track the resulting resonance via triangulation. It may just drive all the pets in the house insane and be the source of a terrible tooth ache, but it's theoretically possible. Now that would be funky.
The keyboard? Well, there's mechanical strokes generated by each key tap. Underlay a grid of dual-tone harmonics that change frequency with each location vertically and horizontally on the keyboard and have the computer's base station interperet the variations in the dual tone frequency.
Well, that's it for the dreaming side, but until someone considers the horrendous security nightmares of un-encrypted keyboard strokes and remote mouse manipulation (WEP? Hardly a gould alternative to a serial cable) all of this conjecture regarding wireless abilities is a little moot.
Pardon my spelling!
Bon appetit!
R
<strong>Battery operated, cordless, Bluetooth mice and keyboards are gimmicks that Apple will not produce. They'll let other develop them.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You must have confused Michael Dell with Steve Jobs...
Apple == innovators bringing new technology and ideas to the public.
<strong>What about a mouse dock sort of thing that plugs in to the USB port? When you're not using the mouse, you pop it onto a cradle and the battery is fully recharged. With a LiPolymer battery like the iPod, I don't see any reason why Steve wouldn't do it this way... a 10 hour battery that recharges in 1 or 2 hours would work great!</strong><hr></blockquote>
I love this idea! I like my cordless mouse, but I do hate the battery thing (more for the landfill that is), but this idea of yours would let me have my cake and eat it too!