Using Open Source development software and a hardware port for Freescale development of Wireless Mesh Networking may just be entering the disruption zone. In one example, the wireless controller for a toy tank was developed in less than 30min. This could be te technical opening to push mesh wireless technology into the datacenter, releiving the necessity for the mish mash of command and control cabling.

(06/24/2008 12:52 PM EDT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Designing mesh network software for embedded processors using radio-frequency wireless protocol just got easier for original equipment manufacturers, according to Synapse Inc. (Huntsville, Ala.), which said it has re-hosted its Snap Pro 802.15.4 wireless mesh networking protocol for use on any RF module based on microcontrollers from Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (Austin, Texas).

Tapping an embedded virtual machine written in the easy-to-use Python language, Synapse demonstrated that applications could be developed in minutes, instead of weeks, by creating an embedded program during its presentation at the Freescale Technology Forum (FTF), held here June 16-19.

More here.

The Inquirer has a dilly of a piece on the move by Nokia to take the Symbian handheld OS Open Source. Link here. As the lede intones, I think there are a few hurdles. –
 
 
 

Is this a good move? Well if the Foundation is open to all AND they move eventually to a GPL based licensing I would say yes. Is it a Android killer? Time will tell. Android has not hit the market yet in a physical manifestation. Till we see a head to head comparison in the marketplace all bets are off. But I would offer the following — if Android is even close to Symbian in capability, the advantage is to Google. They have a nest of free development providers and Google Widgets to support warp speed deployment cycles.

But there is one thing I agree with in the Inquirer article — MicroSoft’s Mobile Phone platform is in trouble. No developer is going to pay when they can use a competing tool for free.

Right now US auto sales are flagging with the high cost of fuel. Chrysler is not immune to the effect though they are probably not as impacted as Ford or GM as SUVs, even Jeep, is not a huge segment of their sales. Even so, Chrysler is offering UConnect in future cars.

The concept of UConnect is to provide a ‘wireless’ car which assumes WiFi and Bluetooth enabled assets in the cabin. There are auto uptrippers that do this today installing anything from car pcs to Wifi and 1000w amps.

Washington, June 23 : American automobile manufacturer Chrysler has plans to equip its cars with a system that will enable people to surf the Internet while driving.

The UConnect Web system is what the company says can bring wireless Internet access to cars’ dashboards.

Frank Klegon, the company’s vice-president, says that they wants to gain a reputation for high-tech cars.

“In today’s market, Chrysler’s mission is to bring innovation to market more quickly,” Wired News quoted Klegon as saying.

Here’s an assessment –

Boon

• If there was ever a reason to implement WiMax this is it. Wifi is ok but the ranges are too short in most cases. One ends up with a lot of dead spots or deploys hundreds of AP’s. WiMax with its longer reach reduces both problems.
• Real Time traffic reporting. Done right this could be a fuel saver. If the developers work with the Garmins and TomTom’s of the world alternate routing would help alleviate the effects of traffic. No it won’t eliminate it.
• Knee drivers disappear. You know this type, cell phone in one hand, cup of coffee in the other. Last I heard we haven’t sprouted a third hand so they have to be using their knees.
• This stuff will be cheap. Volume is the name of the game in electronics. A million units spreads R&D. Not only that but what a hacker dream. “Dear I am going to the electronics store…”, which just happens to be Bill’s Wrecker and Salvage.
• Death of “Are we there yet” disease. What better distraction for the kiddies than a live internet connection?
• The third party marketing opportunities I expect to be viewed as endless.

Bane

• Just what we need, another distraction for the driver.
• The automobile as living room experience I have never quite understood. I take a very euro view to driving. Its to get you there, not lull you to sleep.
• First introduction cost will probably be high. Not only that with high fuel costs can one get a full utilization out of the entertainment value of the system.

As usual this development is a two edged sword. With a little common sense applied it can be a great tool to improve fuel efficiency, improve driver performance in strange locations, etc. If it is going to be treated as a gimmick well, that’s a waste.

HT: Big News Network

One very big reason that Wimax has not gained any fans with the wireless cartel is that it does not coexist well with current 3G infrastructure. A new variation in the Mobile Wimax spec will change that, and will likely be ready for prime time before 4G gets off the ground.

Unlike 3G and upcoming 4G technologies (like LTE), WiMAX uses Time Division Duplexing (TDD) for two-way communications. TDD allows both upstream and downstream data use the same frequency, but the data is sent and received during different time slices. It’s useful for applications that are confined to narrow bits of spectrum, but current 3G and upcoming 4G technologies use Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD). FDD uses separate frequencies for sending and receiving data simultaneously, which has the advantage of reducing interference between towers.

Cellular carriers that are more comfortable with FDD are leery of TDD technologies like WiMAX, or so it’s believed by some of WiMAX’s backers. Paul Senior, a founding member of the WiMAX Forum and CTO of Airspan, told the Telecoms Blog Informer earlier this month that the Forum has been working on FDD-flavored Mobile WiMAX for the last year on the hush-hush. “The WiMAX forum will have an FDD profile for Mobile WiMAX inside six months,” Senior said. “We’ve been a bit quiet about it because we wanted to get [WiMAX approved for use in the 2.6GHz spectrum]. And if we had gone to [International Mobile Telecommunications] with an FDD profile, we probably couldn’’t have got it through.” (from ARS Technica)

Australia. It appears that Telestra has hit a regulatory snag on their way to conversion to 3G. The signal reach of the new infrastructure is not as good as the old CDMA signal. –

The planned January 28 closure of the regional CDMA mobile network has been deferred until April 28, offering signal-starved rural phone users a temporary reprieve and delivering Telstra its first governmental bitch slap for 2008.

Despite expensive research claiming that Next G offers better coverage than the older CDMA network and a frenzied pre-Christmas sales push for rural users, a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that there was not absolute network equivalence and that Telstra hadn’t taken sufficient steps to help customers make the transition.

“I have notified Telstra today that at this point in time I am not in a position to declare equivalence between the Next G network and the CDMA networks,” Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy said in a statement.

Probably won’t be the last time we hear of conversion difficulties. But at least the move is being attempted. Better than I can say for the US of A.

Linky.

We reported earlier about Malaysia’s ambitious plans to use an aircraft based platform to provide broadband service to its far flung masses. Now it seems that BT is also considering an airborne broadband platform, only in their case the platform is a blimp.

Ian Rose, head of BT’s satellite systems team, said so-called high altitude platforms (HAPs) had a number of advantages over satellites in space.

He said: “One of the advantages is that you could lay down fairly high-capacity networks fairly quickly. And because they can be brought back down easily, you can alter the payload to deal with new technology.”

Satellites tend to stay up for 10 to 15 years, by which time their equipment may be out of date. But blimps could be altered to handle advances such as fourth generation phone networks.

Rose said: “Because satellites give broad area coverage, they are likely to continue being used for continents. But HAPs could be used at a regional level. It’s a trade-off between the two different technologies.”

The cost of launching an airship could be a fraction of that of launching a satellite system into space, communications experts believe. (from Scotland on Sunday)

It will be interesting to see if this plan materializes. It could be the answer many backwater broadband wannabees are looking for, including a big chunk of the Rural US. Imagine no tower license and no fixed line right of ways. You’ll only have to fight with the FAA and the FCC.

Ofcom is taking the third round of input moving toward a spectrum auction in 2008 that will included 10 and 20 MHz blocks - great for broadband use.

This latest consultation (pdf) incorporates the comments on that draft, and Ofcom’s responses to them, as well as some changes to the details of the auction process. (from ARS Technica)

The LG Viewty is probably a close a rival to the iPhone without geting into legal hot water about infringement issues. The unit combines a cellphone, 5mpix camera, internet access and handwriting recognition in one slick unit. For someone of the multimedia bent this might be an excellent choice. All for under $600.

Fair warning the link to the LG site below has rich graphic content. If you have a slow connection be patient.
Linky.

It appears that Wall Street has gotten their wish with a new CEO for Sprint coming from the old school fixed line and legacy wireless business.

Sprint has announced that they’ve selected Daniel Hesse as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately. Hesse was formerly the CEO of Embarq Communications. Before Embarq was spun off from Sprint, Hesse was CEO of Sprint’s Local Telecommunications Division for one year. Before that, he spent 23 years at AT&T. (from Broadband Reports)

It will be interesting to see if Hesse gets behind the Wimax business or of he focuses on improving the cell phone business. Conventional wisdom says he could do both, but that’s not what we are hearing from Wall Street. We send our congratulations Mr Hesse, and wish him the best of success in his new assignment.

World adoption of Wimax is really on a roll, yet Wall Street keeps talking it down, and running down the technology’s top US based deployer. For an example:

Things rapidly came unglued during the fall. Shareholders became increasingly aggravated about Sprint’s disappointing financial performace and the cost of deploying the WiMax infrastructure. This first led to the ouster of CEO Gary Forsee in October and the dissolution of the Clearwire-Sprint accord earlier this month. (from Unstrung)