Lowell Deeds

Let me quote this morning’s Boston Globe directly… “A new version of the popular WIFI wireless data network system” (blah-blah-blah, that’s me not the Globe) “performs at up to five time faster than current gear” (blah-blah-blah), “and the computer industry expects it to spawn a new era (blah-blah-blah) of networked home entertainment”…Home Entertainment!, did someone say Home Entertainment!? Now you’ve got my attention. What about Home Entertainment? Well…with this new device it won’t be long before consumers are listening to music and watching movies over their home wireless network. The device is called “WIFI-N” ( it’s technical name is 802.11n, pretty dry, I know). Advancement in TV technology has lagged far behind the computer world. The last significant improvement was High Definition TV, which really hasn’t become as popular as expected…but TV makers are thrilled with WIFI-N. It will allow a single recording device to feed all the TV’s in a home…Last week I blogged on ABC’s plan to provide free downloads of its top TV shows starting in May… and the movie studios have already begun to make their hits available for download. WIFI-N allows a consumer to wirelessly send these TV shows and movies to his HDTV. What’s really remarkable is WIFI-N does this using only a fraction of its maximum speed. Wow…high quality video and music connected wirelessly at home. I know what you are thinking…”I can’t even get a good cell phone connection, this signal must be susceptible to bad weather, trucks and my dog’s bark”. Wrong… WIFI-N’s signal is not only faster; it is less susceptible to interference. It (802.11n) is expected to be available by the end of the year.