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    Tales From Wireless Users Anonymous

    By
    Rob Fixmer
    -
    March 11, 2002
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      Hi, Im Rob, and Im a wireless junkie.

      IT professionals everywhere should be wary of me and my ilk because the biggest problem with wireless is that it cuts the connectivity leash, and like all flavors of liberty, its highly addictive. I know this from firsthand experience, and I also know the numbers of wireless junkies are snowballing.

      The first time I linked up with an 802.11b system, at a conference in California, I was hooked. I quickly graduated to an unauthorized access point at the office. The ability to keep my laptop connected to Internet, WAN and LAN whether at my desk or anywhere else on my floor, in a conference room, a lounge, the mens room—wherever—gave me the kind of giddy rush I recall feeling at 16 when I got my drivers license.

      OK, so I never actually used my computer in the mens room, but the point is I could have. To anyone with even mild geek tendencies, thats empowerment!

      To an IT department, its a security nightmare—fortunately, a relatively small nightmare in my case—since no access point was able to spread a signal beyond the walls of the building. Still, there was always the remote possibility a savvy visitor could run a quick hack, and technology publications do tend to attract savvy visitors.

      But security is a relative concept. Within weeks, I had set up an access point at home. A month later, I added a wireless router and second access point, just to be sure there was no single inch of my home or yard inaccessible to 11M bps of unchained connectivity. The router included a respectable firewall, so while the industry was buzzing with concerns about 802.11b security vulnerabilities—and the renegade office system was surreptitiously and permanently unplugged by agents unknown—I was feeling more secure than ever.

      And freer than ever—a sensation that only grew when Linksys offered me a chance to evaluate its new wireless print server, a crucial link in the invisible chain of a wireless network. I had tested Bluetooth solutions and liked them, but the sheer speed, distance and flexibility of 802.11b easily trumped Bluetooth. Likewise, while I was impressed with the broadband functionality of Metricoms Ricochet wireless modem, I never believed in the economic viability of the infrastructure behind it—a skepticism reinforced by the collapse of Metricom last year.

      The junkie in me salivates at the prospect of my next fix—the even faster and more secure 802.11a technologies that will hit the market this year, coupled with the prospect of wireless broadband services in airports, hotels and conference centers. Give me more! IT pros should be worried. Indeed.

      Are you like me? Let me know at rob_fixmer@ziffdavis.com.

      Related stories:

      • Best Way to Build Your Mobile Enterprise
      • Ultra Wideband Is Important Step Forward
      • Palm Gets It Right (Almost)
      • Sizing Up Early Bluetooth Devices
      • Handspring Dials Up The High End
      • 802.11a Five Times Faster Than 11B
      • Mobile App Development For Less
      • Mobile Apps in Sight
      Rob Fixmer
      Editor-In-Chiefrob.fixmer@ziffdavisenterprise.comRob joined Interactive Week from The New York Times, where he was the paper's technology news editor. Rob also was the founding editor of CyberTimes, The New York Times' technology news site on the Web. Under his guidance, the section grew from a one-man operation to an award-winning, full-time venture.His earlier New York Times assignments were as national weekend editor, national backfield editor and national desk copy editor. Before joining The New York Times in 1992, Rob held key editorial positions at the Dallas Times Herald and The Madison (Wisc.) Capital Times.A highly regarded technology journalist, he recently was appointed to the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism's board of visitors. Rob lectures yearly on new media at Columbia University's School of Journalism, and has made presentations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab and Princeton University's New Technologies Symposium.In addition to overseeing all of Interactive Week's print and online coverage of interactive business and technology, his responsibilities include development of new sections and design elements to ensure that Interactive Week's coverage and presentation are at the forefront of a fast-paced and fast-changing industry.
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