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October 31, 2006
Can You Find Me Now?
RFID is in the news again – this time it’s the US government requirement of certain countries to provide citizens with RFID-enabled passports. And of course with it comes the inevitable cries that this creates incredible privacy violations. The concern is that with RFID technology, individuals and their very personal information can be tracked very precisely. While I applaud those that are trying to ensure that our personal information is safe through tight security standards (we don’t need to live through WEP applied to our personal information), tracking someone via the RFID chip in their passport seems a bit ludicrous – I’ll say, even a bit 24-like.
After all, you need a specialized reader that must be used in fairly close proximity. And since this technology is not ubiquitous, the hackers would probably also have to be in an airport. I think what this boils down to is that RFID is another technology that extends information – and there are rightful concerns about that information being used without our consent.
This leads to general thoughts about the role of location services in networks. More and more, location services are available to both consumers and businesses. Nokia, as an example, just announced that they are embedding GPS technology into multiple handsets. Motorola and Samsung offer this for some of their models as well. The purported purpose is to enable consumers to get maps of their location to help with navigation. However, I can’t imagine that this has escaped the bright minds at Google who are figuring out how to deliver location-based context sensitive advertising on mobile devices.
Businesses already use location services for field service and logistics applications, sometimes to the chagrin of their employees. Long haul trucking companies have used GPS for years to ensure that their drivers are complying with federal regulations for work hours per day. Similarly, your local cable company may be tracking their service personnel to see when they arrive and depart a customer’s home to ensure timely service.
The Cisco Location Appliance provides location services for any Wi-Fi-enabled device. With this capability manufacturers have increased production efficiency by tracking needed parts, and hospitals are improving patient care through efficient use of scare medical equipment, or simply being able to find a wheelchair quickly.
Like RFID, location services in and of themselves are not bad. As with any technology, it’s the usage policy that ultimately creates problems.
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October 27, 2006
That rabbit's got a vicious streak. It's a killer!
"That is not an ordinary rabbit ... 'tis the most foul cruel and bad-tempered thing you ever set eyes on."
Monthy Python and the Holy Grail
OK gentle readers, it’s Friday and we are closing in on Halloween. For your Wi-Fi weekend, I would offer up one of the strangest toys to hit he market, Nabaztag, the first smart (read Wi-Fi) rabbit. Recently introduced this RF bunny uses a Wi-Fi connection and text-to-speech software to read things like RSS, e-mails and weather reports out loud. http://new.nabaztag.com/en/m-2-nabaztag-how-does-he-work.html
As reported in CNET and other sites, some Nabaztag users in France have created their own online community with a MySpace.com-like atmosphere in which they share photos of their smart rabbit and its environment. Nabaztag members apparently have been orchestrating flash-mob-type happenings. Up to 100 people often show up with smart rabbits in tow
No only is this the first convergence device to blend unlicensed spectrum and Pokemon-like cuteness. Don’t take my word for it, check out the photo gallery on TechRepublic. http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-1035_11-30628.html
OK, I like Wi-Fi as much as the next RF nut, but this is a trick or treat must. Caveat emptor: it’s a $150 to play.
Happy Halloween.
Posted by Alan Cohen at 10:52 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
October 26, 2006
Wi-Fi Security and the State of California
The California State Government recently passed a bill to mandate that manufacturers of consumer grade Wi-Fi products attach labels to warn consumers on the dangers of not securing their wireless networks. The hope is that with more visible warnings, consumers will understand the need for wireless security and take steps to enable security settings.
Education is always a good thing. Thus educating consumers on the need for greater wireless security cannot be a bad idea. Still, the extent to which the government needs to be involved is up for debate. I can see the value in advising consumers on how to protect their sensitive information. Let’s face it; I don’t want my next door neighbor taking a peak every time I log in to do some online banking. Yet selfishly, as an avid “borrower” of free Wi-Fi, I hate to see too many networks locked down – for fear of never being able to find free connectivity again.
The good news is that many municipalities are working diligently to provide Wi-Fi everywhere which means I won’t have to sneak about looking for free networks. Cisco is leading the push to take Wi-Fi outdoors as illustrated by the recent Silicon Valley Metro Connect win. Cisco technology will be used to deliver wireless connectivity to 2.4 million residents across 42 municipalities in Silicon Valley. But, I digress. Until such time as pervasive Wi-Fi is a reality, borrowing a few wireless bytes here and there certainly makes life easier.
As a matter of principle, I have always left my personal Wi-Fi unsecured. I love the idea of Wi-Fi for the masses. A good neighbor shares his Wi-Fi. Of course, I’m quick to use my VPN for sensitive applications. But as long as my network isn’t being abused, I’m happy to promote the use of Wi-Fi by extending my service to others.
Perhaps the answer lies in innovation. Imagine a consumer solution that offers the ability to segment network access for different user types. The owner segment could be secured and guaranteed a higher level of quality of service while the guest segment is open and delivers best effort service only. These types of guest services are currently offered as a standard feature within Cisco’s enterprise wireless solution. Extending them into consumer products would be technically trivial and present consumer manufacturers with another point of differentiation to fight the ever downward pricing slope.
Of course, it’s fair to assume that a user who is unaware of the security risks presented by open Wi-Fi is unlikely to understand the intricacies behind guest services. Still, consumer vendors have done an okay job at making home Wi-Fi more digestible by the technically illiterate. They could certainly do the same with a guest feature. While the California government is correct in wanting to protect sensitive consumer information, let’s hope we don’t over rotate and kill what to date has been a fantastically socialist Wi-Fi experience.
Posted by Chris Kozup at 02:37 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
October 15, 2006
RF and the Highway System
Over the past few months there have been 2 distinct technical threads in the wireless industry regarding RF. There are those who claim all RF problems will be solved in the standards bodies, a rote exercise for chip and system manufacturers building wireless products. There are others – including myself --who believe the real RF challenges are still in front of us and still remain to be solved. At the Bard of New England, Robert Frost suggested, oh Mobility Blog faithful, there is your role: “a jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.”
The explosion of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth mobile (and stationary devices) attaching to RF networks continues to explode, particularly increasing issues in the unlicensed 2.4Ghz band. ABI Research predicts that the 40 million+ devices that ship with Wi-Fi today will explode to 250 million in the next 5 years. This means computers, smart phones, infusion pumps, sensors, game consoles, etc. That’s a lot of beaconing going on. That’s a lot of devices sharing a limited set of frequencies.
The 160,000 miles of roadways in the U.S. are critical to the nation’s economy and security much as our precious spectrum is. Hence I believe increasingly these frequencies will face the same challenges of our nation’s highway system, which for the most part was the brainchild of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt but really took off under President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/50interstate.cfm
Think about all of these 802.11 devices like cars. In 1950, there were less than 50 million vehicles on the road. Today, there are over 250 million passenger vehicles in service on America's roads.
Frequencies are a lot like roads. They are not easily added (there are other uses for the land, even with the power of eminent domain) and crowded during rush hours. Even if we could more frequencies, it is not the answer.
Just as smart traffic management systems including car pooling, public transportation and intelligent routing will play a key role in keeping the flow of vehicles on the road flowing -- lest we constrain our children to a future of endless gridlock -- smart RF management systems are required if we are going to realize the future pervasive wireless networks. An excellent view on this is provided by our own Bob Friday and Cognio's Neil Diener in a short video http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=54768&redir=YES&userid=(none)
Jury, you choose.
Posted by Alan Cohen at 07:14 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
October 13, 2006
A wireless shopping experience
Wireless LAN, RFID, 802.11, Wi-Fi all these words ring a bell but you still have a hard time figuring out how this will impact your daily life and what is so exceptional about Mobility. This video should help you understand how your shopping experience can be transformed...
If you cannot see the video in the screen below, click on the following link http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2760900956201083818&hl=en
Posted by Isabelle Guis at 07:00 AM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
October 06, 2006
Finding the Right Mix with Wi-Fi
Communications has been irrevocably changed by Wi-Fi. For a great example of how far we’ve come in just 10 short years, take a look at My Life B.W., Before Wi-Fi.
But while Wi-Fi in mobile devices is becoming more and more commonplace, Wi-Fi infrastructure is not yet ubiquitous. Cellular networks have Wi-Fi beat today, despite 125,000 (and growing) public hotspots. So I'm puzzled over the target market for the Sony mylo (My Life On Line). It's billed as a “personal communicator" but it’s only connectivity is Wi-Fi.
It’s an incredibly easy device to use – the UI is simple, the design is gorgeous, the form factor is cool. It comes preloaded with many applications I like to use while out and about. You can surf the web, IM, play music, look at pictures and videos. It even has Skype and Google Talk for calls. But….I want to do those things when I want to do them. Meaning, now. Especially phone calls. And Wi-Fi connectivity isn’t omnipresent to allow me to do that at the drop of a hat.
Clearly they seem to be aiming for the teen and college youth market, but it doesn't have the pull of an iPOD or gaming device. (Nor the affordable price tag, with the mylo over $300.) Why didn't Sony didn't take these same features and integrate it into their gaming platform? Nintendo has already surpassed 2 million unique Wi-Fi users with their gaming device.
Still, what Sony did get right is simplifying finding a hot spot by including JiWire’s hotspot finder. For how prevalent embedded Wi-Fi is in laptops, I’m surprised that none of the major laptop providers have bundled in a hotspot finder. After all, for most of us, notebooks are about communication, not computing.
Posted by at 05:56 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
October 05, 2006
The Long Tail of Mobility: Connecting Trillions of People and Devices on the Human Network
In his book on changing economics of web commerce, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson illustrates how the Internet is changing the laws of distribution from digital products from entertainment (movies and CDs) to manufactured products
Wireless networks are, too, growing a long tail, as billions, maybe even, trillions, of devices are being connected to an increasing pervasive and integrated array of wireless networks powering the mobility generation.
Traditionally, networked devices have been high value, powerful computers of various sorts or very expensive mission-critical data access and retrieval devices such as bar coders (at $2K per pop). Over time, the largest number of wirelessly-networked, mobile devices will come from non-traditional forms, including billions and billions of RFID tags as well as hundreds of billions of tiny sensors providing small amounts of data into the network. Moreover, although these devices are not all on the same wireless network, there is no reason these networks cannot be federated.
I believe as the number of mobile devices increase in the network, the value/cost of each device will drop proportionately to the amount of data they carry. To illustrate:
• Millions of bar code scanners led by supply chain industries (manufacturing, distribution, retail): thousands of dollars
• Tens-Hundreds of millions of laptops, riding the Intel Centrino curve: hundreds of dollars to a thousand dollars
• Billion of cell phones (and over time, dual-mode, e.g., Cellular and Wi-Fi): tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars
• Billions of Active RFID tags: dollars
• Tens of billions of Passive RFID tags: cents
• Hundreds of billion of sensors: ???
What is driving this curve? An avalanche of new applications and services built on top small bits of information that are context and location aware.
While we are some time off from an economics point of view, you can see the antecedents of this coming wave. A good example of this is a series of location-based services we built with partner Appear Networks for the Stockholm Subway, based on the contextual information such as time of day, job role, and current physical location. Based on this data, the solution is able to access the right information, which is interpreted and pushed out in real time to the right users, and to the right location. Federating RFID Factor and Sensors to the Internet
Today most wireless networks connect people and computing devices, but over time, objects and new applications will come into the Internet. In particular, RFID and sensor devices:
RFID has suffered deeply from the hype cycle, it is clearly coming and will play a key role in a range of applications. The work underway to create standards around RFID tags and networks are akin to the IEEE or IETF a few decades ago with the rise of IP networking. A catalyst for the growth of RFID networks is the emergence of cross-over approaches to networking RFID, including adding Wi-Fi networking to support RFID data collection.
The wireless sensor industry, although in its infancy, has good momentum. One company that is pioneering in this is space is Crossbow Technologies http://www.xbow.com that is today delivering wireless sensor solutions based on TinyOS an open source research project driven out of Berkeley.
The Internet grew out of DARPA in the late sixties and it was only 21 years ago that the RFC for “subnetting” http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc950.html helped standardize the creation of a network of networks appeared. We have a similar opportunity in front of us with the emergence of so many powerful wireless technologies.
We tend to see wireless networks “looking down” on to computing devices (by its nature, wireless networks are deployed from a height to provide broader coverage) To paraphrase Mark Twain, “the human being always looks down when he is examining another person's standard; he never finds one that he has to examine by looking up.”
We may have to look up to see the emerging possibility of a trillion wireless devices all connected to the human network
Posted by Alan Cohen at 12:27 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
