Space.  We can all use more of it.  But how much is enough?
Blu-ray is nothing like Bluetooth.
Blu-ray is an optical disc storage medium. (other optical discs are CD’s and DVD’s) that brings storage to a whole new level.  The disc has the same physical size as the standard CD but has substantial differences in reality.
The name is derived from the blue laser used to read and write to the disc.  CD and DVD use a red laser.  The beam has a shorter wavelength and so substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray disc than on DVD – up to six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD.  I remember the excitement of my uncle buying his new computer in the 80’s with a huge 20 megabyte hard drive.  This drive was so big that he was able to split it into 2 partitions and give a whopping 10 megabytes to his son for games.  I remember when the CD was released thinking that it was amazing that a small disc could hold around 700mb.  The Blu-ray disc can hold 50 gigabytes (50,000 megabytes).  The comparison speaks for itself.
In 1998 HDTV sets began to appear, however there was no commonly accepted, inexpensive way to record or play the high definition content.  Blu-ray disc physical specifications were completed in 2004 and the BD-ROM (Blu-ray player) specifications finalised early in 2006 with the first titles released in June 2006.
In January 2008, Warner Brothers announced it would release only in Blu-ray after May, leading to a chain reaction in the industry.  Microsoft however stated they would not be pursuing Blu-ray for the Xbox 360, focusing instead on their digital downloads from Xbox Live.
Developers have finalised specifications for the Quad-layer disc with 100 gigabyte capacity.
Blu-ray drives can be attached to any type of computer and the HDTV.

Whilst we have all sat in the middle of Wi-Fi networks without necessarily realising it, people using Bluetooth technology without our necessarily realising it either have also surrounded us.
Bluetooth protocol is rather different than Wi-Fi even though they use the same frequency range. A protocol is basically a set of rules that have to be adhered to – we all have protocols in our own workplace. Technology protocols are important to ensure that different brands and types of equipment will work seamlessly with others by sharing the same rules.
Bluetooth uses radio technology that chops up data into smaller chunks to transmit over short distances, with the intent of connecting multiple devices.
It is most commonly used between devices such as mobile phones, headsets, mice, keyboards, printers, GPS, digital cameras and game consoles just to name a few.
I don’t think there would be many people who could say they don’t use one of these types of technologies now, even if they don’t take advantage of its Bluetooth capabilities.
Bluetooth uses the same frequency range as Wi-Fi, however the throughput is lower as is the distance it can cover, and it is cheaper and uses little power.
Any device must have Bluetooth capabilities in order to communicate with another Bluetooth device. Most computers now come with built-in Bluetooth, and all operating systems support this.
The name comes from the 10th century king of Denmark; Harald Bluetooth who engaged in diplomacy that led warring parties to negotiate with each other and the logo is actually based on the H and B runes.
Unlike infrared, Bluetooth’s radio waves don’t need line of sight and can communicate with many devices simultaneously.
There are many ways that devices now communicate with each other and the field is always expanding. We will continue to look at methods and protocols for connecting devices over the coming weeks.

Wi-Fi technology abounds with our computers now, and wireless technology in general has pretty much become expected. Gone are the days of technicians needing to crawl around in uncomfortable ceilings and tiny spaces between furniture.

Whilst there will always be the need for some wires or cables with our technology, reducing them as much as possible simply has to be a good thing. I’ve personally always been amazed at how cords can be places somewhere and even though they are inanimate objects they can get themselves into the most amazing tangles! Besides them looking unseemly they are definite safety hazards, and are often weak links in a system - one damaged ethernet lead in the wrong spot can bring a network down!

Most modems you buy now would have Wi-Fi capability built in and basically aren’t worth anything if they don’t.
We live in a world of ‘demand for instant’, and Wi-Fi is no exception. People expect to be able to simply open up or turn on a piece of technology and have it communicating wireless with a host of other technologies.

Wi-Fi is different to simply saying ‘cordless’ - for example my phone is ‘cordless’ but it is not Wi-Fi.

To read more about what this Wi-Fi is, how it works, it’s benefits and drawbacks, spend some time checking out the links below.

Dynamic Web Solutions WiFi

How Stuff Works

Wikipedia

Wi-Fi . org

One of the important aspects of technology today is that so many pieces of technology connect wirelessly. I know that in my home I have dozens of wireless items, yet only some of them are connected through my computer network.
There are many technologies used to achieve wireless communication between technology and we employ a combination of them in every home and business. My iPhone for instance automatically switches between Wi-Fi and my phone carrier depending on what is available at any given location.
Wi-Fi is a popular technology, supported by nearly every new modem, computer, game console and printer.
Definite advantages are that it is so cheap and easy to set up and is so unobtrusive, however the networks have a limited physical range. For larger businesses this means multiple access points or hot spots.
An important feature is that Wi-Fi can make use of public hotspots provided either free or to subscribers. In fact, last time you were at a café, airport, hotel or library, you were probably sitting in the middle of a public Wi-Fi.
The Wi-Fi Alliance – a global non-profit industry association who rigorously test products – has provided certification of over 4000 wireless devices to date. This solves the issue of relying on products from different vendors working together seamlessly.
Wireless capabilities are becoming a standard feature of most technologies, as people are so accustomed to using wireless devices.
The cornerstone of the system is the access point that broadcasts a signal through an antenna that can be detected and ‘tuned into’ by other devices.
The network can be secured by requiring a password to join, distinguishing public from private networks.
Not every wireless devise however is using Wi-Fi.
My DVD remote is not a part of my Wi-Fi network nor is my cordless phone system. There are actually many wireless technologies in use and I will continue in the coming weeks to investigate them further.

Sometimes people confuse the concept of wiki and blog.
A blog is a journal that is usually contributed to by one person or a small collection and others can then leave comments about the entries.
A wiki is collaborated on by any number of people.

Businesses are catching on to the power of collaborative publishing and using wikis more and more for their intranets allowing staff to build the intranet and knowledge management systems. It is hard to contain the excitement that such a tool gives me!

How often have I seen the problem of one person or a select few holding volumes of corporate knowledge that is difficult to share with newer staff members. You can’t just sit a new person down and fill them with many years of accumulated knowledge and expect them to have any level of understanding similar.

You can however encourage staff to build a knowledge system.

Anyone needing this information then has a way to ‘find it’ even if the originator of that information has left.

I have seen prosperous companies go on a huge decline simply through the loss of corporate memory - the leaving of long-term staff.

Policy and procedure manuals are often seen as dull on their own and though many companies have them, they are often for the purpose of passing an audit and often not really used.

A wiki can provide an interactive manual and one beauty is that anyone can update the manual when needed and everyone immediately has the latest information. Yes this is true of the staff intranet, but if you are relying on a select few staff with the web design skills and software, or on an outside contractor there is not enough momentum.

If staff can update with little technical skill, and the result is immediate, then momentum can be easily initiated and we all know that momentum is easier to maintain once it has taken off.

Wiki’s can be hosted either by a wiki provider, or on your own server.
For example the server I use here includes Fantastico (and what a perfect name!) which includes the ability to host your own wiki, just like I host this blog.

Go WIKI

How to Wiki - a huge compendium of ‘how to information’ in a wiki

Wiki spaces - a great free wiki host

Wiki Wiki Web - the first wiki

And of course I couldn’t leave out Wikipedias say so on the wiki

Any idea what a wiki is?
I’m willing to bet that you use them online fairly often.

Often you don’t actually know what platform you are using when you visit sites on the internet, just as you probably have no idea what internal structure might be inside a particular building.

The most famous wiki is probably Wikipedia.

However, a wiki is not an encyclopedia, though Wikipedia is.
Hmmm let’s start again hey, and I’ll just explain what a wiki is.

A wiki is a page or site that is designed to allow anyone who accesses it to contribute to or change the content.
Wiki’s use their own design editors (markup language) and are exciting as they encourage the democratic use of the web to create collaborative websites (open editing).

WikiWikiWeb was the first site to be named a wiki.  It first  became available in 1995 and now hosts tens of thousands of pages.  The design was inspired by Apple’s HyperCard, which are virtual card stacks linked to each other, allowing users to comment on and change them.
Today companies use wikis instead of intranets (internal web sites for staff only information) as all staff can update the information instead of relying on a web designer.  The power of this is recognised that knowledge is constructed and built on others previous knowledge.  Time is used efficiently as additions and edits can be achieved on the fly and in small bites.
Users only need a web browser (like IE or Firefox) and relatively little knowledge of wiki principles to begin publishing.

An important aspect of the wiki is that it is designed to be continually changed through collaboration, rather than appear great to a first time visitor.

Wiki’s can be private and only allow registered users to make changes, to prevent pages being destroyed by jokers.