🚀 go-pugleaf

Ron Morgan <osmigo@emx.UUCP> writes:
|.. Many
|top rock and roll bands, for example have a little 3" antenna sticking out of
|their electric guitars instead of a clumsy cable. Then there are wireless
|telephones, not to mention all kinds of "remote controls" that work via
|infrared pulses. So how about a wireless keyboard and/or mouse?

People have pointed out the PCjr's IR keyboard, but I wonder why IR was
used and not RF?

As you point out, there are *two* kinds of wirless controls currently
in widespread use: RF and IR [Radio Frequency and InfraRed].  My question is
this: why hasn't anyone come up with an RF keyboard/whatever?  IR controls
are generally "aimed", in that you have to point at the device, more or less
in order to control it.  Yes, you can bounce off walls, and some units are so
powerful that if you are in the same room, it will work, but for the most part
you have to point at the thing to control it.  Now with a keyboard, you
don't want to restrict yourself to a few degrees of freedom [no pun intended
there:-)] because the infrared beam has to be pointed *there*.  It would
bye much nicer to be able to rest in any position you like and tap
away.  Now since we have other RF devices in the home [radio
telephones spring to mind] which also can co-exist nicely, using different
frequencies, why not keyboards?

Is it a question of cost?
-- 
Reid Ellis
geaclib!rae@geac.uucp