Network Dictionary — Wi-Fi
April 21, 2008 by Greg Ferro · 2 Comments
wi-fi
1. Marketing abbreviation for ‘wireless fidelity’. Intended to convey a message of performance, quality and excellence by extrapolating concepts from “high fidelity”.
Of course, wi-fi is nothing of the sort. Using IEEE802.11b, there is not enough bandwidth to do much, and the radio spectrum is so hopelessly compromised and overloaded its surprising anything works.
Naturally, that never stopped us from finding ways to make it work just enough so that we make lots of money from selling it. Governments around the world can’t agree on a replacement spectrum, and the vendors can’t agree on new standards such as 802.11n so it’s going to be busted for years to come. BRILLIANT
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I think that the term wi-fi has lost its meaning; kind of like or Xerox or TiVo. I haven’t heard anyone complain about their .11 network and — with a shaking fist held aloft — exclaim that they were promised fidelity because it’s in the name. I mean there are lots of tech monikers out there that are either nondescript or moronic. Hell, I thing if you asked average consumers what DVD means you’d get a lot of “I don’t knows” or wrong answers. To them DVD is just the round thingy that has the latest Xeroxed Will Ferrel movie on it. The fidelity in wi-fi is more the butt of a joke for people like us than it is a promise to consumers.
Seems to me, by your reasoning, any semi-flawed technology should be culled. I have to wonder if you would say the same thing about IPv4 (and therefore the internet). The fact of the matter is that if you wait for the perfect product or the perfect technology then you’re always going to be waiting. No one buys anything and the market just stops.
Well, I do regularly curse wireless networks, but you are correct. The ‘Network Dictionary’ is meant to be cynically funny and to puncture the moronic nature of our business. My favorite is http://etherealmind.com/2008/02/08/network-dictionary-reassuringly-expensive/
And yes, I have always believed that anything less than excellent is worth criticising. That does not mean that I don’t design, use and support flawed technologies because I certainly do. But if I don’t speak up, point out the flaws and put up with sub standard, then I will certainly get more rubbish to work with.
Greg’s Fifth Law of Networking — the more cr-p you put up with, the more cr-p you will get.
Also, you need to know the limitations of technology to get the best out of it.