Thursday, March 21, 2002
Bluetooth's Springboard
Posted by Tycho Morgan in "THOUGHT" @ 08:46 PM
I've had the words "Bluetooth's Springboard" scribbled in my notebook (yeah, I know the paper kind) for a few weeks now, and I think it's about time I wrote this thought.
As some of you may know, I used to have a Handspring Visor. We're talking 18+ months ago, and a 2 megabyte model for which I had a stowaway keyboard, and that's about it. I didn't own any Springboards, and the reason I left was that it struck me that if I wanted to make any upgrade I had two options. I could get a number of springboards with a new Visor and pay an ungodly sum of money for them, or I could pay an ungodly sum of money for a Pocket PC and not have to fuss with springboards because the Pocket PC did it all and it was integrated. (I supose with this argument I've just contradicted my last thought post, oh well.) Even though I've faithfully used a Pocket PC and never seriously contemplated buying a Palm, I think the idea behind the springboard is edging on brilliant.
Ultra-compatible and about as plug and play as they come, springboards were a wonderful idea that suffered poor execution, and unforeseen oddities in drivers and battery requirements. But the idea of drivers and requisite software that just installs itself on instillation is, in my opinion, a great one that I think could have amazing affects on the Pocket PC platform, as well as on desktop platforms. I think the springboard slot itself was poorly thought out, and I would hate to see it licensed, but I think the ideas could potentially be applied to Bluetooth with great success.
What if Bluetooth devices all came ready to transmit their drivers and/or required software to your Pocket PC, Palm, desktop, laptop, or similar device? No hassle, no fuss, it just worked. What if there was some kind of protocol that let every Bluetooth device talk to each other without needing kind of special software. What if you never had to go to your desktop and it all worked instantly the moment you walked into range? Not having to deal with compatibility, drivers, or setup hassle is a Zen quality I could get used to.
The Springboard philosophy is used fairly effectively in the case of the Compaq iPAQ sleeves, but again these are bulky proprietary contraptions that only cater to a small group of users, and are limited to a small fraction of one platform. In addition to Bluetooth, it would be cool to see CF and CF Type 1e cards (what the springboard should have been), PC cards and SD cards all provide this kind of functionality.
Realistically, however, it is unlikely that we will see compatibility at the required level to produce such technology. The reason the Springboard and to a lesser extent the Compaq sleeve technology has been gotten to where it is, is that both have companies that provide guidelines and relatively simple standards: benefits that Bluetooth and other forms simply don't have.
It's nice to dream though. Thoughts anyone?
As some of you may know, I used to have a Handspring Visor. We're talking 18+ months ago, and a 2 megabyte model for which I had a stowaway keyboard, and that's about it. I didn't own any Springboards, and the reason I left was that it struck me that if I wanted to make any upgrade I had two options. I could get a number of springboards with a new Visor and pay an ungodly sum of money for them, or I could pay an ungodly sum of money for a Pocket PC and not have to fuss with springboards because the Pocket PC did it all and it was integrated. (I supose with this argument I've just contradicted my last thought post, oh well.) Even though I've faithfully used a Pocket PC and never seriously contemplated buying a Palm, I think the idea behind the springboard is edging on brilliant.
Ultra-compatible and about as plug and play as they come, springboards were a wonderful idea that suffered poor execution, and unforeseen oddities in drivers and battery requirements. But the idea of drivers and requisite software that just installs itself on instillation is, in my opinion, a great one that I think could have amazing affects on the Pocket PC platform, as well as on desktop platforms. I think the springboard slot itself was poorly thought out, and I would hate to see it licensed, but I think the ideas could potentially be applied to Bluetooth with great success.
What if Bluetooth devices all came ready to transmit their drivers and/or required software to your Pocket PC, Palm, desktop, laptop, or similar device? No hassle, no fuss, it just worked. What if there was some kind of protocol that let every Bluetooth device talk to each other without needing kind of special software. What if you never had to go to your desktop and it all worked instantly the moment you walked into range? Not having to deal with compatibility, drivers, or setup hassle is a Zen quality I could get used to.
The Springboard philosophy is used fairly effectively in the case of the Compaq iPAQ sleeves, but again these are bulky proprietary contraptions that only cater to a small group of users, and are limited to a small fraction of one platform. In addition to Bluetooth, it would be cool to see CF and CF Type 1e cards (what the springboard should have been), PC cards and SD cards all provide this kind of functionality.
Realistically, however, it is unlikely that we will see compatibility at the required level to produce such technology. The reason the Springboard and to a lesser extent the Compaq sleeve technology has been gotten to where it is, is that both have companies that provide guidelines and relatively simple standards: benefits that Bluetooth and other forms simply don't have.
It's nice to dream though. Thoughts anyone?
