Bluetooth Not Supported by Windows XP

Posted By: Ed Tuesday, April 3, 2001 8:24:06 AM

In a stunning blow to the emerging standard, Microsoft officials have announced that the next version of their operating system, Windows XP, will not support Bluetooth wireless networking. However, it will support IEEE 802.11b, a rival standard that offers much higher bandwidth for a much higher cost.

"I don't think the maturity of Bluetooth technology is good enough to ship the bits when Windows XP is released," said Carl Stork, general manager of Microsoft's Windows division. "We wouldn't want to ship something that doesn't work, and Bluetooth doesn't yet meet a certain quality level."

Just because Microsoft doesn't support Bluetooth doesn't mean it will fail but implementation will be a lot harder for hardware companies wanting to ship Bluetooth products. Steve Andler, VP of marketing for Toshiba America, said, ""Microsoft's decision is unfortunate, but it won't change anything. It will require more resources for us to do our own software driver stacks, but we were going to do this anyway" for other operating systems.

There is no word yet on how this will affect Palm's plans to integrate Bluetooth into the Palm OS. OS 4.0 will be "Bluetooth-ready,'' but it doesn't actually include the software needed. A Bluetooth-related OS upgrade is scheduled for the summer.

After the software support is ready, Palm intends to release a hardcase with its own processor, an RF module, and serial chipset that draws power from the Palm. This should be available in early 2002 but made an appearance at CeBit. (Thanks to NorPilot.) Don't expect to see a Palm with built-in Bluetooth hardware until later than that.

IEEE 802.11b
Microsoft has clearly decided to go with IEEE 802.11b, which offers up to 11 Mbps at up to 300 feet. "We've made a fairly big bet on support for 802.11b," said Mr. Stork. "Our corporate customers have been asking for this, and today it's pretty clear that 802.11b is the dominant format."

While Palm Inc. has never said much about 802.11b, Xircom is developing a Springboard module that uses it.

Dataquest says that 15% to 20% of U.S. businesses are using 802.11b networks today, and said that could jump to 50% by next year. In 2004, they expect more than half the homes in the United States to be using wireless Ethernet.

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"We wouldn't want to ship something that doesn't work"

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/3/2001 10:38:37 AM #
MS said so??!!!!!!!!!!!

RE:
jayhawk88 @ 4/3/2001 11:36:16 AM #
Heh, that is pretty damn funny when you think about it. I'd say this decision has less to do with, "We don't want to support it because we don't think it has a future", and more to do with, "Our XP code is a shambles already, the last thing we need is another feature to set us back another 3 months".

RE:
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/3/2001 1:00:50 PM #
This is great, i just couldn't stop laughing......................
If I didn't know better I would have thought this was one of those April Fools News releases.

RE: "We wouldn't want to ship something that doesn't work"
I.M. Anonymous @ 4/3/2001 6:25:49 PM #
Man. Imagine how bad off bluetooth is if it doesn't live up to Windows quality standards!

The Register's Opinion

Ed @ 4/4/2001 1:02:41 AM #
I thought you might be interested in the Register's take on this:
    Such is the momentum behind Bluetooth, it may not matter too much. Last year's Bluetooth developer conference in San Jose saw some impressive PC demos from Bluetooth SIG founders Toshiba and IBM, among others, using stacks they'd written themselves. If Redmond stalls, the world won't wait for it to catch up.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/18074.html

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Reg Bluetooth Editorial

Ed @ 8/2/2001 8:56:27 AM #
The Register has published an editorial with the opinion that the reason Microsoft isn't supporting Bluetooth is that Bluetooth will mostly benefit handhelds and the Palm OS, which dominates the handheld market. They prefer to support 802.11b, which is better suited for laptops, which mostly run Microsoft's OS.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/20780.html

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