Wire-free life at Tech Ed
I really love wireless. I’m wandering the conference
halls here, most of which are flood covered by 802.11 wireless. Almost every
attendee has a Compaq Ipaq with wireless card fitted, because you can borrow
one for free for the week, and each PDA has a custom application for the
TechEd event. It's easy to use, reliable, fast and so much nicer than
queuing up for one of four hundred desktop machines lined up in rows. In
fact, I think I’ll just pop out into the sunshine for a moment.
Ah, that’s better. This is from my Apple
Powerbook Titanium, fitted with the Airport card, running OSX. Naturally,
it's working just fine with the network here. In this sentence I have
switched to my Ipaq, complete with the folding keyboard and wireless card.
With the new double-card jacket, I have a 2Gb hard disk fitted into the back
as well. If I was feeling really swish, I could have SQL Server for CE
installed, and be running a line of business application too, maybe doing
stock control. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – 802.11 is here to stay,
and it is fantastically powerful technology. I have flood wired my home and
offices with the stuff too, and few things beat sitting under a tree in the
garden, GSM phone to hand, pretending to be hard at work in a busy office.
Hats off to Compaq and KPMG for putting together
a stunning technical demonstration of what can be done with portable
wireless technology. It's transformed the information usability of this
TechEd compared to previous Microsoft conferences. And long may they
continue to build on this.
Next year, of course, each device must be half
the size, have a battery life measured in days, the screens must work under
direct Mediterranean sunlight, and then all will be well. Actually, no –
they should let us take them home for free too. That would be perfect!
Jon Honeyball
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