WiFi, Light Bulbs, And The FCC

JFMulder writes "According to Cringely, 802.11 WiFi wireless networking is going to get in lot of troubles when Fushion Lightning starts marketting low-power light blubs which causes interferences with Wifi signals. Read about it at I, Cringely. Supposedly the new kind of light bulb is a real electricity saver and can wreck havoc to wireless networks in a half a mile radius. So what would you prefer? Wireless networks or low cost light bulbs all around the country to save more and more on electricity?" Update: 06/13 03:52 GMT by M : Cringely confused the FHSS-or-DSSS 802.11 standard with the DSSS-only 802.11b standard, but the general warning about the potential for interference is certainly troubling.

Uh, oh...

[TheDanish]

Light or WiFi? Light or WiFi?! Aaah, can't...choose...*head explodes*

Actually, I already have a few energy efficient lights around, and I don't really use WiFi, sooo... guess it doesn't apply to me.

Did you really think this was going to last?

[ObviousGuy]

Until the geeks of the world learn to curb their appetites for lower power and roaming Internet, we are going to see these clashes.

Unfortunately, it's likely we'll see the death of one or the other before the geeks ever learn to use what they are provided in moderation.

How many people here

[unsinged int]

could do without the lights and just rely on the glow from their monitor?

12% of slashdot judging from the current poll: Preciousss, the sunsss hurtssss.....

:)

Huh?

[GafTheHorseInTears]

WTF is a "light blub"?

Radiation in my brain..

[Axe]

..my monitor.. my cell phone.. my brain hurtz and I can't do math.. numbers escape me..

Dude, do not tie you panties in a knot. 400 people around you will need to shove their wi-fi up your ass and wrap you in tin foil for you to absorb all that energy. Not that it is entirely impossible, it's for you to tell, but for most of us - highly unlikely usage pattern.

Some data HERE [mcw.edu]

Re:Isn't this illegal?

[illerd]

It's perfectly legal for these lights the "wreck" havoc all over your WiFi networks because the spectrum was set aside for industrial use long before anyone thought about WiFi. Part of the agreement the 802.11b people made with the FCC was that if some application came up in the future that interfered with 802.11b, they would just have to deal with it. I read all this on some site that was linked to from a /. article a few weeks ago. I forget where. Search in the archive for "fusion lighting" or "microwave lighting" or something. Long story short, WiFi was betting that no one would come up with an interfering device, and they did, so WiFi is screwed.

on a related note, where the hell did this WiFi acronym come from and why does it stand for Wireless Fidelity? My dad mentioned was reading a news paper and he says "Son have you heard of this WiFi or Wireless Fidelety?" and i laughed in his face and made fun of him for getting suckerd by an ignorant news reporter who was just assuming what WiFi stood for (HiFi means High Fidelity, so WiFi must mean Wireless Fidelity) The logic seemed assinine to me at the time, even though I didn't know what the Fi stood for. Turns out _I_ was the rube. Does anyone have any idea what Fidelity has to do with computer networking? Isn't fidelity sort of implied when you're dealing with digital transmission? Am I getting too worked up over a stupid marketing ploy?