Microsoft eyes global radio network to support smart devices

Bob Brewin   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Mobile and Wireless Stories  

Enhancing Business Mobility with Convertible PCs Mobile Broadband Reveals New World of Notebook Productivity Real-Life Scenario of Migrating to MPLS-Based Networks Forrester Consulting Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World Case Studies Real Customers, Real Results Seven Steps to Secure and Seamless Field Mobility Mobility @ the Speed of Business Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

January 10, 2003 (Computerworld) -- Microsoft Corp. eventually intends to build a global network to support the smart watches -- as well as other devices based on its Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) -- introduced yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (see story).
Microsoft has already put together a network of more than 100 FM radio stations in the U.S. to broadcast precise time information and personalized data to the watches over an FM subcarrier it calls DirectBand.
According to Matt Penry, line manager for the custom silicon solution group at National Semiconductor Corp., which developed the tiny (1.3 by 1.1 by 0.08 in.) seven-chip SPOT circuitry for Microsoft, the FM tuner circuit is designed to cover a frequency range of 85 to 110 MHz, or well above and below the U.S. broadcast band. That band covers 87.5 to 108 MHz.
Bill Mitchell, general manager of the Microsoft Personal Object Group, said this frequency range will allow SPOT devices to operate in countries such as Japan, where the FM broadcast band runs between 76 and 92 MHz. Mitchell said Microsoft has conducted focus groups overseas on the SPOT technology and got strong, positive reactions in France. But, Mitchell said, Microsoft will focus on English-speaking countries, including Singapore, when it first takes the SPOT network global.
Alan Reiter, an analyst at Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing in Chevy Chase, Md., questioned Microsoft's use of an FM subcarrier network to support SPOT, calling it an "old and slow" technology tried and then abandoned by the paging industry. (A subcarrier is a separate signal modulated along with the audio carrier and then decoded by a special receiver.)
Mitchell said the Microsoft Smart Personal Objects Group explored a variety of wireless networks to support SPOT before settling on the FM stations because of their breadth of coverage and relatively high throughput of 12K bit/sec. Microsoft will use two FM stations in each of the top 100 U.S. markets, as well as in 14 Canadian cities, to broadcast the personalized data to the watches. The devices will be produced by companies such as Citizen Watch Co. and Fossil Inc. and will go on sale this fall for roughly $150.
Users can sign up to receive personalized information -- such as sports scores or weather or traffic information -- which will be broadcast over the FM subcarrier data stream. National Semiconductor has built a personalized reception code into its circuitry, which will allow individual SPOT devices to pluck the personalized information out of the broadcast frames.
To feed data to the FM stations, Microsoft has built a network that includes satellite systems and wide-area networks operated by its radio station partners. This network will feed the personalized data as well as reference clock information to the FM transmitters, Mitchell said.
Although a number of companies already make clocks and watches that can tune into the highly accurate atomic clock signal broadcast by the National Institute of Standards and Technology from its WWVB radio station in Boulder, Colo., Microsoft chose to broadcast this reference signal over the FM subcarrier network, saving it from adding another receiver chip to already complex circuitry, Mitchell said.
Watches are just the first SPOT devices to hit the market, he said. He predicted that a price of $20 would make it possible to develop a variety of special-purpose devices, including a smart pillbox that would sound an alarm when it was time to take a pill and a department store loyalty token.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Remember when Apple snuck Safari into Windows Machines via the itunes updater link? The uproar was significant. You think they'll..." Read more... "Almost everyone in my office has an iPhone on personal plans. We all love the productivity that it adds to..." Read more... Read more Mobile & Wireless posts or See all Blogs

Elgan: You can be Batman, too Study: IT jobs will drop in 2009 RIM fixes critical BlackBerry Enterprise Server bug More top stories...

Apple's recall demand would probably kill Psystar, says IP attorney DNS flaw discoverer says more permanent fixes will be needed AT&T muffs free iPhone Wi-Fi offer again

11 cool new apps for the iPhone With the opening of Apple's App Store, the iPhone takes a revolutionary leap from cool mobile phone to hot mobile platform. See our list of apps you should definitely check out for yourself. Google is doing WHAT? Its motto is "Don't be evil" — but it looks like anything and everything else imaginable is pretty much fair game — not to mention some wildly rumored projects that we asked the company to confirm or deny. The new face of R&D: What's cooking at IBM, HP and Microsoft The talk at three big research houses is all about "open innovation." Is that a feel-good catchphrase or the R&D strategy of the future? Review: The iPhone 3G was worth the wait After months of waiting for a 3G-based iPhone — and hours waiting in line to actually buy one — Ryan Faas says it "packs quite a punch, both in its design and in the 3G and GPS capabilities" it offers. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

The Untethered Worker (Source: Computerworld) Today's roaming employees expect to be able to work in a conference room, airport, customer site or coffee shop. This report - covering wireless LANs, mobile applications and cellular networks - tells you how to get the job done, avoid chaos and maintain security! Download this executive briefing  Virtualization Everywhere Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix. (Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier. In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now! Download this white paper  Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? Download this webcast, free, compliments of Sterling Commerce Go to the webcast  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. New Fujitsu High-End Itanium Windows- and Linux-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer the Utmost in High Availability New Fujitsu High-End Itanium-Based PRIMEQUEST Servers Offer Industry-Leading System Management for Linux and Windows Web Security SaaS: The Next Generation of Web Security View more whitepapers

• Elgan: You can be Batman, too
• Study: IT jobs will drop in 2009
• RIM fixes critical BlackBerry Enterprise Server bug
• More top stories 

Computerworld Executive Briefing: Automating Network Management IThis briefing looks at the basics of network management, which tend to get lost in the dizzying array of products and processes. It also examines new tools that are on the way to help IT executives deal with management in the new era of automation. Download this Executive Briefing now (a $195.00 value), compliments of ProCurve Networking by HP.