802.11n = death ray for conventional Wi-Fi?

Remember 802.11n? The next wireless standard is the forthcoming replacement for the existing 802.11g and 802.11b forms of Wi-Fi. As you may recall, vendors like Linksys, Netgear and Belkin were throwing their hats into the ‘n’ ring with gusto , despite the fact that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) had not yet approved the draft standard. So, there was no guarantee that the chip vendors would work with each other, much less with the final version of the ‘n’ standard. To top that, the IEEE then rejected the draft standard , sending the whole shebang back to the drawing board.

Is that about to stop wireless vendors? Heck no. How about the fact that using 802.11n networks in the vicinity can completely disable conventional 802.11b/g networks ? The three chip makers whose 802.11n implementations are being used by the vendors are Airgo, Broadcom and Marvel:

While Airgo’s third generation product achieves record breaking throughput, it annihilates any legacy 802.11 b/g product in the vicinity and effectively shuts them down. The other products from Broadcom and Marvel weren’t quite as devastating to the neighbors, but the damage is still severe.

Whoopsie. So, in other words, if you’re looking to get the highest speed possible, you may want to buy a deadbolt for your door, or else you’re going to have some angry neighbors breaking it down.

[via Gizmodo ]