Re: 802.11n wireless access point compatible with ThinkPad T61
- From: Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:44:01 -0700
Steve Chapel <schapel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> hath wroth:
Intel is throwing many millions of dollars at their Centrino marketing
campaigns. I'm sure they can sue companies if they claim to be
compatible when in fact they aren't.
They would more likely have been sued for making Centrino product
incompatible. The first mutation of Centrino wireless devices used a
Philips chip and did almost everything in software. It would barely
connect to high end access points and consistently fail with cheap
routers. The various vendors begged Intel to fix their Centrino
drivers, but Intel pretended that there was nothing wrong. It's not
the first time they've done this. So, the router manufacturers had to
modify their firmware to accommodate Intel's creative idea of proper
packet timing and protocol exchange. There was a rather large number
of "Centrino router updates" issued about 3 years ago.
When Intel finally starting shipping their own chipsets (18 months
late incidentally), the story repeated itself. The next generation of
chips again used the Proset series of drivers and utilities, and once
again would not connect with anything on the planet. To Intel's
credit, they did fix the problem, but then left Proset to drift for
about a year while a growing number of "oddity" complaints
accumulated. With the release of 10.x drivers, things rapidly
improved and Proset support is finally decent.
The question is, will they find
out, will they decide to sue, and how long will it take to get the
offending claim to be retracted? So I agree it's a bit of a crapshoot
even now, and we may need to look at buying a new WAP in the future.
Even so, it's worth a try to get 802.11n working now.
I don't have an answer. However, my guess(tm) is a repeat performance
of release prematurely, drift for a year, and fix in a hurry when the
complaints pile up. Intel isn't the only one's that does it that way.
My only hope for any change is if the Wi-Fi Alliance certification of
Pre-802.11n devices actually tests and enforces the details within the
802.11n protocol. This is unlikely as they haven't even figure out
that there are multiple and incompatible mutations of MIMO devices on
the market and can't seem to keep them separated. They also haven't
bother to even mention, much less fix, the chronic WEP ASCII to Hex
conversion mess, so I wouldn't expect them to deal with proprietary
extensions in any useful manner.
That's what I'm thinking. I was just wondering if anyone had real-life
experience with the new ThinkPads. I guess I'll just see for myself, and
report the results back.
Not me. I can't afford one.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@xxxxxxxxxx
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
.
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