At major trade shows, conferences, and briefings, such vendor presentations tend to be sanitised for consumption by the press who keeps a close watch on its BS-meter as each word emerges from the speaker's mouth. However, at smaller regional events, where the press isn't expected, the vendor presentations will sometimes stretch the truth. While this is unfortunate for the attendees to such events, it's an opportunity for journalists in low-key attendance to do a bit of FUD-busting. Last week's Technology Seminar for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) in Pittsburgh did not disappoint.
I didn't even know the CSBS existed until its vice president Roger Stromberg asked me to give it a presentation on mobile technologies. Founded in 1908, the CSBS' membership roster reads like the who's who of banking regulation implementation and enforcement for all 50 states and four territories. These folks are so important to the nation's financial backbone that they have a secret code providing them carte blanche access to the telecommunications infrastructure during emergencies like 9/11. On that day, many banks reached out to the state supervisors requesting permission to close. In some cases, that permission was denied because the supervisors, recognising that US currency is backed solely by confidence in the system (not by gold or silver reserves anymore), knew their responsibility was to maintain confidence. This is not a group to stretch the truth with.
But, if you ask me that's exactly what Intel business development manager Gary Interdonato did. I found his presentation on Wi-Fi and Centrino (which went right before mine) to be so misleading that I modified my own PowerPoint presentation to lead with two new slides: one for the truths and another for the untruths in his Centrino pitch.
Here, are the truths and untruths I heard from Interdonato. One important note: although the quoted materials are not Interdonato's exact words, I'm confident that they are an accurate summary and reflect the points that Interdonato was trying to make in an effort to convince CSBS attendees that Centrino is a must-have platform.
Intel Truth #1: "In order for a computer to qualify as being a Centrino-based system, it must have three components: an Intel Pentium M processor, Intel's chipset designed to work with that processor, and an Intel 802.11b radio." This is an important point in the scheme of any discussion about the Centrino platform. It must have all three components.
Intel Truth #2: "The Pentium M was re-engineered from the ground up with mobility in mind." True: In looking to come up with a new, extremely power-sensitive platform, Intel launched the Pentium M.
Intel Truth #3: "Although the 802.11b standard for Wi-Fi is rated at 11 mbps, 6 mbps is a more realistic expectation." Indeed, 802.11b's rating is 11 mbps and it knows how to throttle back to 5.5 mbps. While the actual user experience is highly dependent on many factors, 6 mbps is a reasonable expectation in many situations. But it will be better or worse for some people.
6%
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#truth 3
I may be off the mark here butI understood 802.11x to be a 'Half Duplex' or 'Simplex' standard ? This would mean an 11Mbps connection could only achieve a maximum throughput of 5.5Mbps ?