Michael Fortson
10-04-2002, 01:59 PM
I hate when standards bodies do silly things like this (http://news.com.com/2100-1033-960880.html?tag=fd_top). Now when larger quantities of 802.11a devices hit the market (sporting 54Mbps speeds), they'll be buried under the identical WiFi name carried by all of the (incompatible and shorter range) 802.11b devices that have proliferated for years.
Which means wireless shopping for non-geeks becomes an exercise in treasure-hunting for specs on the packaging. Apparently people really enjoy that, and don't get to do it enough. Sarcasm aside, it's not a very smart decision if they're trying to make this easy for people and encourage the adoption of wireless in general.
In rejecting WiFi5, they really should have come back with another suggestion rather than just deciding to continue using the same name. Something like "WiFi Enhanced", etc :p
Gotta love this quote:"A single brand name for both products will reduce confusion and help consumers with their buying decision," Eaton said
No, Chuck, it won't. If they were actually the same (or even compatible), perhaps. But you just obfuscated your products. Wtg.
Which means wireless shopping for non-geeks becomes an exercise in treasure-hunting for specs on the packaging. Apparently people really enjoy that, and don't get to do it enough. Sarcasm aside, it's not a very smart decision if they're trying to make this easy for people and encourage the adoption of wireless in general.
In rejecting WiFi5, they really should have come back with another suggestion rather than just deciding to continue using the same name. Something like "WiFi Enhanced", etc :p
Gotta love this quote:"A single brand name for both products will reduce confusion and help consumers with their buying decision," Eaton said
No, Chuck, it won't. If they were actually the same (or even compatible), perhaps. But you just obfuscated your products. Wtg.