Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
while, it seemed that Bluetooth might end up in the historical dustbin of
wireless networking — a great idea that never panned out — but these days
Bluetooth seems to be everywhere. Watch a few TV cell phone ads and you
hear the term — or check out the ads for new Lexus, Toyota, BMW, or Acura
cars, which have Bluetooth built right in for hands-free cell phone operation.
The most common use of Bluetooth these days is connecting mobile phones
to hands-free systems. You’ve probably also seen an even more popular
example of Bluetooth in action: the cool cordless Bluetooth headsets that let
you leave your phone in your pocket while making a call. Now you can finally
talk on the cell phone and use both hands to gesticulate!
Discovering Bluetooth Basics
Let’s get the biggest question out of the way first: What the heck is up with
that name? Well, it has nothing to do with what happens when you chew on
your pen a bit too hard during a stressful meeting. Nor does it have anything
to do with blueberry pie, blueberry toaster pastries, or any other blue food.
Bluetooth — www.bluetooth.com is the Web site for the industry group —
is named after Harald Blåtand (Bluetooth), king of Denmark from A.D. 940 to
981, who was responsible for uniting Denmark and Norway. (We’re a little
rusty on our medieval Scandinavian history, so if we’re wrong about that,
blame our high school history teachers. If you’re a Dane or a Norwegian, feel
free to e-mail us with the story!) The idea here is that Bluetooth can unite
things that were previously un-unitable.
The big cell phone (and other telecommunications equipment) manufacturer
Ericsson was the first company to promote the technology (back in the
1990s, as we mention earlier), and other cell phone companies joined in with
Ericsson to come up with an industry de facto standard for the technology.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) — the folks who
created the 802.11 standards that we talk about throughout this book —
have since become involved with the technology under the auspices of a
committee named 802.15.
The initial IEEE standard for PANs, 802.15.1, was adapted from the Bluetooth
specification and is fully compatible with Bluetooth 1.1, the most common
variant of Bluetooth. (There are 1.2, 2.0 + EDR, and now 2.1 + EDR versions of
the technology, as discussed in Chapter 3. They’re compatible with Bluetooth
1.1 and add some additional features and performance.)
If you’re looking for a few facts and figures about Bluetooth, you’ve come to
the right chapter. Here are some of the most important things to remember
about Bluetooth: