Clay Maynard: The future is all about being connected

The hype at the recent 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is that everything and everyone in the world will be connected.

Technology is advancing so fast that many find it difficult just to keep up — but hang on, because this is only the beginning.

All age groups are using smart technologies like smartphones and tablets; but younger users were born into the connected society, and for many of them, life revolves around their social media devices.

Intel demonstrated a car of the future at the CES that serves as a voice-controlled virtual office connected via a driver's smartphone, using its database, apps and phone functions.

In fact, the CES had many exhibits showing how smartphones would control home security, thermostats, lighting, entertainment, electric car charging, and even kitchen appliances. You could even start dinner via your smartphone and monitor your kitchen while commuting.

Knee-jerk laws do not take into account that technology will often stay a step ahead. Some lawmakers now want to prohibit all use of cell phones in vehicles except for those they list as exempt, like public safety. It seems ironic that they believe people should not use cell phones while driving, but turn a blind eye to those who buy food at drive-through windows, public safety personnel who use their radios while driving, and pilots who look at maps, navigate and talk on radios while flying.

For decades people have been changing cassettes, CDs and radio channels while driving, and ham radio operators have been talking and driving ever since the first mobile radio. Everyone multi-tasks, so perhaps the real issue should be about personal judgment and education, not a mandate that one law fits all. In any case, the connected society is not going away.

Mobile devices are only part of a connected world. To help build a networked society, wireless is about to make another leap. At the CES this year, Michael Hurlston, senior vice president of the Wireless Connectivity Group at Broadcom (a major wireless chipmaker), said that wireless fifth-generation (5G) routers will be on the market by the middle of this year, and they are working with undisclosed companies to roll out other 5G products in the near future. See www.5gwifi.org and click on "Advantages" and "FAQ" at the top of the page.

The new 5G Wi-Fi is a transparent way to connect everything in your home or office at gigabit speed. It uses the WPA2 security standard and is reported to have excellent reliability with "whole home" coverage. It is considered to be the perfect wireless replacement for hard-wired Ethernet systems. Also, 5G Wi-Fi is backward-compatible with other standards.

Many are just getting used to 4G devices, but the new 5G Wi-Fi would be a good reason to plan on upgrading in the future if only to get rid of dead spots. In a nutshell, it delivers faster throughput, higher capacity, broader coverage and longer battery life for mobile devices.

If you are shopping, or plan to shop, for a wireless router to connect devices to the Internet or each other, or to replace an Ethernet router, some knowledge of the standards should be helpful. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sets the standards for wireless whereby the following is a summary of the standards to date:

1G (1997) = 802.11 (2 Mbps)

2G (1999) = 802.11b (11 Mbps)

3G (2002) = 802.11g/a (54 Mbps)

4G (2007) = 802.11n (600 Mbps)

5G (2012) = 802.11ac (Gigabit speed)

Connected technologies will have a significant impact on each and every one of us. If the CES predictions are correct, the future is all about being connected, and new technologies are taking us there.

One question seems to be an elephant in the room. Will a connected society bring us closer together or farther apart? Some see a connected society as replacing personal contact with impersonal technology. We are certainly in uncharted territory and only time will tell.

Clay Maynard of Yuba City is a technology consultant and chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Vehicular Technology. Email him at ConsumerTechTalk@comcast.net.