[Tfug] Wireless (BT, ZigBee, etc.)

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, John,

> > Does anyone have more than "casual
> experience" with any
> > of the wireless technologies for
> "appliances" (i.e.,
> > *not* 802.11a/b/g/n)?  For example, knowing just what
> > sort of things you could *conceivably* connect to your
> > BT phone (i.e., does the phone manufacturer limit you
> > or are the -- lack of -- "other available
> items" the
> > primary factor)?
> 
> What sort of appliances?

I.e., things like phones, not things like computers...
 
> For branded phones, the carrier will often cripple your 
> phone to allow only some of the BT profiles and features as
> designed by the manufacturer. (in the USA especially) 
> Manufacturers want to make their devices useful, but 
> carriers often don't want the onus to support the
> features, unless they can slap a fee on them.

Ah, that was what I had feared.

> I use BT GPS receiver (looks to the phone like a serial 
> port), A2DP wireless stereo, and BT headset.

So, does your phone have an application that lets it *do* something
useful with GPS data?

I assume the other "audio" accessories fit neatly into the
"phone paradigm" so supporting them is not a big issue.

But, presumably, you couldn't use your phone as a "terminal"
to talk to something *else* (i.e., in a more generic sense).
Nor have other things access your *phone* in a flexible manner
(i.e., could your GPS device initiate a telephone call?)

[Sorry, I don't *answer* my phone so the idea of *carrying* one
around with me is anathema  :-/  ]

> You could also network BT devices together and access the 
> filesystems, but I don't use that. Some laptops have BT

Are these exported, by default?  Or, do you have to rely on
the manufacturer to give you a handle to them?
 
> built in. Otherwise a USB BT dongle works too.
> 
> I have read about some autos and printers being equipped 
> with BT.

Exactly.  But, just like a PC might have a network interface
*and* a protocol stack, that doesn't mean that the PC can
talk to anything else (i.e., you still need application
layer support)

> Setting up things with BT can be a hassle. As a result 
> people are prone to ignore security. Some devices don't
> support all the latest profiles you might expect.

Understood.  I haven't looked into BT enough (too short
range for most of my needs) but the security aspects seemed
to be too "manual" (vs. automagic)
 
> Sorry, this probably classifies as casual experience...

No, thanks!  It was the sort of thing I was looking for.
I.e., your comments suggest that a phone is about as
"generic" a device as a Microsoft-branded device would be
(works only with the things MS wants it to!)

--don