The electronic world of the 21st century hasn't turned out to be everything that futurists promised in the 1950s and 1960s.
Desktops, countertops and car dashboards weren't supposed to have snaking wires everywhere. Electronic devices were supposed to talk to each other through the air.
We are headed in that direction, albeit slowly. One step is a technology called Bluetooth that has taken its sweet time to get to our desktops.
An inexpensive, low-power network that operates in the 2.4-GHz range (along with cell phones and other de- vices), Bluetooth is an industry standard that enables computers to talk to wireless printers and other devices. Bluetooth cell phone headsets don't have to be connected to the phones by wires, and photographs can be sent from Bluetooth-enabled digital camcorders and cameras to computers and e-mail addresses without a cable in sight.
Getting rid of the wires has been a holy grail for years, but it wasn't until 1998 that nine high-tech companies -- including IBM, Microsoft, 3Com, Ericsson and Intel -- agreed to set up a single standard for short-range communications.
Seeking a code name for the project, the engineers settled on the name of Harold Bluetooth, a 10th-century Viking king, to avoid using an acronym or number.
U.S. arrival
The coming year should see Bluetooth grow in popularity in the United States as more devices become available and more consumers become familiar with the technology.
Europeans have been familiar with the technology for some time, according to Michael McGamon, executive director of the industry's Blue- tooth Special Interest Group.
"The European market is driven primarily by the cell phone market, and the United States market is driven primarily by the personal computing market," McGamon says. "As such, we have really seen Bluetooth take off in Europe with many different kinds of mobile phones and accessories, like headsets.
"Bluetooth is coming to market in the U.S. in the form of mobile phones, but we really see the momentum of Bluetooth wireless technology gaining speed as the technology is embedded in more and more personal computing products and operating systems," he says.
Ease of use is still a concern, as I found out when I installed Microsoft's Wireless Optical Desktop for Bluetooth -- a wireless mouse and keyboard.
First, I learned that the devices need Windows XP, Microsoft's latest operating system. They won't work with computers running older versions such as Windows 98.
After installing XP on a test machine, I plugged a Microsoft Bluetooth transceiver into the test machine's Universal Serial Bus 1.1 port. Although the keyboard and mouse usually functioned well during a weeklong tryout, on a couple of occasions the transceiver appeared to lose contact with the devices and had to "find" them again before I could sit down and surf the Internet.
The Microsoft transceiver wouldn't work at all when I tried it with a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 995C inkjet printer, which is Bluetooth-enabled.
Eventually I learned that all things Bluetooth are not equal. For two Bluetooth devices to work together, they must have the same electronic "profile." In this instance, they didn't. Both companies say software to allow Microsoft's transceiver to communicate with the HP 995C should be available next year. HP says that other transceivers don't have this problem.
I had no such problem when I tested Sony's DCR-PC120BT Network HandyCam, a stand-alone Bluetooth device that ships with its own modem adapter/transceiver. It plugs into the telephone jack of a computer's modem.
Bluetooth shouldn't be confused with Wi-Fi networks, which have gained popularity as a means of connecting computers in homes, offices, coffee shops and airports. Bluetooth transceivers have only a 10-meter (about 33-foot) range, and they're primarily designed to let gadgets talk to one another.
"Bluetooth wireless technology and 802.11b [Wi-Fi] are complementary technologies designed to solve completely different user needs," says McGamon. "In those classes of devices where it makes sense, we see many companies choosing to integrate both technologies."
Bluetooth isn't just for geeks. In fact, it may find its way into the lives of regular consumers away from computer desktops much more quickly, thanks to interest from the automotive industry, including General Motors, Saab and Daimler-Chrysler.
Daimler-Chrysler has begun offering what it calls UConnect technology in its 2003 model cars including the Concorde, Sebring, Intrepid, Caravan and Durango.
Hands-free car calls
Dealers will soon be able to install Bluetooth technology that allows any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to be used inside the car hands-free. The suggested retail price is $299 plus labor.
Dianna Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for Daimler-Chrysler, said the company had been looking at different options for in-vehicle communications.
"We asked the customers what they wanted," Gutierrez said. "And the majority of customers wanted to hold a conversation while driving, but to do so in a safe manner."
UConnect enables a driver to synchronize his Bluetooth-enabled telephone with a car. Once a driver's cellular telephone is synched up with the car, the person can dial by voice, get addresses by voice.
In locations such as New York state, where using a cell phone while driving is illegal, the hands-free operation may allow a driver to at least appear to be obeying the law.