The Ten Benefits of Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs) with high levels of security. Created by telecoms vendor Ericsson in 1994, it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

Bluetooth has a lot to offer with an increasingly difficult market place. Bluetooth helps to bring with it the promise of freedom from the cables and simplicity in networking that has yet to be matched by LAN (Local Area Network).

In the key marketplace, of wireless and handheld devices, the closest competitor to Bluetooth is infrared.  Infrared holds many key features, although the line of sight it provides doesn't go through walls or through obstacles like that of the Bluetooth technology.

Image via Wikipedia

Unlike infrared, Bluetooth isn't a line of sight and it provides ranges of up to 100 meters. Bluetooth is also low power and low processing with an overhead protocol.  What this means, is that it's ideal for integration into small battery powered devices.  To put it short, the applications with Bluetooth are virtually endless. 

Below are the ten benefits of using Bluetooth Technology.

1.  Bluetooth is Wireless, as you probably already know; there are many benefits and advantages to using wireless devices.  Along with improving safety as a result of eliminating wires you don't need, wireless also offers you plenty of other advantages.  When traveling with your laptop or other wireless devices, you'll no longer have to worry about bringing connection cables.

Image via Wikipedia

2.  Bluetooth is actually inexpensive the technology of Bluetooth is cheap for companies to implement, which results in lower costs for the company?  These savings are then passed from the company on to you.

3.  Bluetooth is automatic Bluetooth doesn't have you set up a connection or push any buttons.  When two or more devices enter a range of up to 30 feet of each other, they will automatically begin to communicate without you having to do anything. 

Image via Wikipedia

4.  Standardized protocol Bluetooth is standardized wireless, meaning that a high level of compatibility among devices is guaranteed.  Bluetooth will connect devices to each other, even if they aren't the same model.

5.  Low interference Bluetooth devices almost always avoid interference from other wireless devices.  Bluetooth uses a technique known as frequency hopping, and also low power wireless signals.

6.  Low energy consumption As a result of Bluetooth using low power signals, the technology requires very little energy and will use less battery or electrical power as a result. This is an excellent benefit for mobile devices, as Bluetooth won't drain the battery.

7.  Sharing voice and data The standard for Bluetooth will allow compatible devices to share data and voice communications. This is great for mobile phones and headsets, as Bluetooth simplifies driving and talking on your cell phone.

Image via Wikipedia

8.  Instant PAN (Personal Area Network) you can connect up to seven Bluetooth devices to each other within a range of up to 30 feet, forming a piconet or PAN.  For a single room, you can also set up multiple piconets.

9.  Upgradeable is the standard for Bluetooth. There are newer versions of Bluetooth in the works, which offer many new advantages and backward compatible with older versions.

10.  The technology stays Bluetooth technology is a worldwide, universal wireless standard.  With it being as popular as it is, you can count on it being around for years to come.  As more and more devices start to use Bluetooth technology, more manufacturers will be eager to make their products compatible. A chain reaction will occur, making Bluetooth the standard for cutting edge wireless.

Computer Hardware Familiarization Part-6.

The next three item is additional accessories for your computer. They are the microphone, speaker or headphone and Video camera or also known as Web Cam. This accessories can be a common type or you can go the really cool ones like the speaker which would create a sound like a professional speaker with those extra bass.

The Speaker.

Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are speakers external to a computer, that disable the lower fidelity built-in speaker. They often have a low-power internal amplifier. The standard audio connection is a 3.5 mm (approximately 1/8 inch) stereo jack plug often color-coded lime green (following the PC 99 standard) for computer sound cards. A plug and socket for a two-wire (signal and ground) coaxial cable is widely used to connect analog audio and video components. Rows of RCA sockets are found on the backs of stereo amplifier and numerous A/V products. The prong is 1/8" thick by 5/16" long. A few use an RCA connector for input. There are also USB speakers which are powered from the 5 volts at 500 milliamps provided by the USB port, allowing about 2.5 watts of output power.

Image via Wikipedia

Image by amyllouise via Flickr

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image by amyllouise via Flickr

 Computer speakers range widely in quality and in price. The computer speakers typically packaged with computer systems are small, plastic, and have mediocre sound quality. Some computer speakers have equalization features such as bass and treble controls.

The internal amplifiers require an external power source, usually an AC adapter. More sophisticated computer speakers can have a sub-woofer unit, to enhance bass output, and these units usually include the power amplifiers both for the bass speaker, and the small satellite speakers.

Some computer displays have rather basic speakers built-in. Laptops come with integrated speakers. Restricted space available in laptops means these speakers usually produce low-quality sound.



 The computer microphone and Headset

A headset is headphones combined with a microphone, or one headphone with a microphone. Headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Headsets typically have only one speaker like a telephone, but also come with speakers for both ears. They have many uses including in call centers and other telephone-intensive jobs and for personal use at the computer to facilitate comfortable simultaneous conversation and typing.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Computer headsets generally come in two connecting types, standard 3.5 mm & USB connection. General 3.5 mm computer headset comes with two 3.5 mm connectors, one connecting to microphone jack (line-in) and one connecting to speaker jack (line-out) of the computer. 3.5 mm Computer Headsets connect to the computer via a soundcard, which converts the digital signal of the computer to analog signal for the headset. USB computer headset connects to the computer via USB ports, and the audio conversion occurs in the headset or in the control unit of the headset.

The web camera or web cam

A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi. Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera for the World Wide Web gave the webcam its name. Other popular uses include security surveillance and computer vision and there are also uses on sites like video broadcasting services and for recording social videos .

Webcams are known for their low manufacturing cost and flexibility, making them the lowest cost form of videotelephony. They have also become a source of security and privacy issues, as some built-in webcams can be remotely activated via spyware.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Webcams typically include a lens, an image sensor, and some support electronics, and may also include a microphone for sound. Various lenses are available, the most common in consumer-grade webcams being a plastic lens that can be screwed in and out to set the camera's focus. Fixed focus lenses, which have no provision for adjustment, are also available. As a camera system's depth of field is greater for small image formats and is greater for lenses with a large f-number (small aperture), the systems used in webcams have a sufficiently large depth of field that the use of a fixed focus lens does not impact image sharpness to a great extent.

Image sensors can be CMOS or CCD, the former being dominant for low-cost cameras, but CCD cameras do not necessarily outperform CMOS-based cameras in the low cost price range. Most consumer webcams are capable of providing VGA-resolution video at a frame rate of 30 frames per second. Many newer devices can produce video in multi-megapixel resolutions, and a few can run at high frame rates such as the PlayStation Eye, which can produce 320×240 video at 120 frames per second.

The web cam for most of us is a simple tool for communicating with family and friends. For work applications high end web cam is used for video conferencing. Also it is another way to take good quality picture.