Wireless everything

I have mentioned before that Apple will, later if not sooner but inevitably, give up optical drives. They're big, clunky, expensive and use lots of power. Optical drives looked like they might get a boost from new technology but Blu-ray hasn't exactly become the optical replacement many expected, so Apple hasn't made any obvious moves to put Blu-ray into Macs (I'm not saying Apple won't).

As a way of getting data into your computer, an AirPort card can be made so small now that even the iPhones and iPod touches have them integrated inside, along with that popular wireless technology, Bluetooth.

Meanwhile, even the big application houses are moving to make digital downloads more prevalent, as broadband usage becomes commonplace. That means you can buy an application online without ever having to visit a shop. In turn that means no package to store, although you'd want to be careful and file that precious serial number safely. Quite how this would work out with a massive package like Adobe Creative Suite 4 I don't know. That's a download you wouldn't want dropped at 97 per cent progress!

But if you were going to design a new computer from scratch for the decade the late Noughties, what would you leave out? It's quite possible that, for several new optical driveless Macs, you'd could use one accessory external optical drive, like the current MacBook Air Superdrive (NZ$159). This connects to a MacBook Air with a single USB cable - there's no separate power adapter. It works whether your MacBook Air is mains-powered or running on battery.

Imagine if this could be made available to all the Macs on your network? This would be great for packages like the aforementioned Adobe CS4 - or maybe Apple will put an optical drive into its next Time Capsule, to share wirelessly? A Time Capsule currently plugs into your Broadband router with a wire, then serves that connection to all the Macs and PCs on your network wirelessly, making its 500GB or 1 Terrabyte hard drive available to all the Macs as a wireless backup destination, handled pretty effectively by Leopard's built-in Time Machine backup software.

Increasingly, networks are becoming entirely wire-free. Soon I will be bunging up all those holes I drilled in the floorboards, and saying goodbye to any more crawling through the cat poop and cobwebs under the house to string more ethernet.

Not only does your iPod touch or iPhone synchronise wirelessly with your Mac, most Macs (all the consumer models) also have Bluetooth built in, meaning you can use many Bluetooth enabled devices like mice and keyboards with them, or even to synchronise your Bluetooth cellphone with your Mac's Address Book and iCal data. Many models of cell phones are supported out of the box in Leopard via iSync (try it - it's an Apple freebie in your Applications folder).

Even printers these days are shipping with wireless. I recently tried an Epson Stylus Photo TX700W multifunction printer. While Epson's tech wasn't anywhere near as approachable as Apple's as far as set-up goes, it wasn't that difficult to have every Mac in the building able to use it. You just have to enter your router's IP address into the TX700W, using the keypad and built-in monitor, to share it, then Add Printer in System Preferences>Print & Fax.

To take the whole wireless thing one step further, some think Apple may build 3G into Macs. That's the third-generation cellular internet access protocol that Vodafone uses in New Zealand to allow phones to get faster service and support for extra capabilities. In other words, when I'm not in a wireless zone, my iPhone can do all the same things (like surf the net and get email) over the cellphone network, which is cool.

An "industry source" claimed to the pretty well informed Mac rumour site AppleInsider recently that Apple has requested manufacture of a PCI Express mini-card adapter that could be integrated within its portables. It would provide WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) connections without resorting to external ExpressCards or USB modems.

This is increasingly common - Dell, HP and other notebook PC makers regularly offer factory-installed internal 3G adapters, but they're expensive.

Apple is reportedly looking to install the 3G card inside the display lid, though. This unique position would improve the adapter's overall performance by distancing it from electromagnetic interference from the main circuit-boards, improving 3G signal reception. Which begs the questions: which cellphone networks would be supported? And does that mean Apple is building a netbook/tablet/whatever for its secretive 'new device' category? But hey, that's all speculation at this stage.

Meanwhile, what does all this wireless do to your brain? The jury's still out. On the question 'do cell phones and other wireless devices cause health problems?' the US National Research Council issued a report in January 2008, as requested by the US Food and Drug Administration, that says more research is required.

First the amount of radio needs to be measured, then its effects quantified somehow. The World Health Organisation has also issued a report. There does actually look like there is cause for concern, but that's been very difficult to quantify in any meaningful way. The Italian government is also commissioning a report into wireless and human health, as are other European governments.

I'll send them over the wireless network.

- Mark Webster