> It seems to me from this discussion that the best option for everybody would be a > medium client which would be > able to switch to thin client operation when supporting infrastructure is > detected, and to offer normal operation > when out of coverage, combining ubiquitous environments with mobile users. There is a new (mostly vaporware) technology out there that attempts to follow this mode of operation. It is called Jini (pronounced "Jeenie") from Sun. It is supposed to be able to connect all sorts of devices to a network transparently and in realtime. So if you walked into a room that had a Jini-enabled printer, for example, and your wearable was Jini-enabled, then you would automatically have access to that printer, even if you had never been in that room before. The URL is http://java.sun.com/products/jini/index.html While I'm on the topic of Sun (or Sun-ish) products, has anyone heard of I-buttons? They are buttons that contain tiny little processors and memory and such, and can be used for authentication and security, as well as to hold info like medical history. In a wearable situation, they could be used to allow access to sensitive information, and maybe even act as a "key" to start the wearable. IOW, without the I-button and it's secret key, the wearable would do nothing past a boot but show who the owner is and how to contact him/her. Check out http://www.ibutton.com for more info. Paul Archer ---------------------------------------------------- A key to the understanding of all religion is that a god's idea of amusement is Snakes And Ladders with greased rungs. -- Terry Pratchett, "Wyrd Sisters" ---------------------------------------------------- -- Subcription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" toWear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.ml.org
From Wear-Hard Mailing list Archive (WH)
Maintained by R. Paul McCarty
Archive created with babymail