Technology Hub 

A special type of network device called the hub can be found in many home and small business networks. Though they've existed for many years, the popularity of hubs has exploded recently, especially among people relatively new to networking. Do you own a hub, or are you considering purchasing one? This article explains the purpose of hubs and some of the technology behind
them.

General Characteristics of Hubs A hub is a small rectangular box, often made of plastic, that receives its power from an ordinary wall outlet. A hub joins multiple computers (or other network devices) together to form a single network segment. On this network segment, all computers can communicate directly with each other. Ethernet hubs are by far the most common type, but hubs for other types of networks such asUSB also exist. A hub includes a series of ports that each accept a network cable. Small hubs network four computers. They contain four or sometimes five ports, the fifth port being reserved for "uplink" connections to another hub or similar device. Larger hubs contain eight, 12, 16, and even 24 ports. Key Features of Hubs Hubs classify as Layer 1 devices in the OSI model. At the physical layer, hubs can support little in the way of sophisticated networking. Hubs do not read any of the data passing through them and are not aware of their source or destination. Essentially, a hub simply receives incoming packets, possibly amplifies the electrical signal, and broadcasts these packets out to all devices on the network - including the one that originally sent the packet! Technically speaking, three different types of hubs exist: passive active intelligent

 Bluetooth fever 

Bluetooth is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which has more than 19,000 member companies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer electronics. Bluetooth was standardized as IEEE 802.15.1, but the standard is no longer maintained. The SIG oversees the development of the specification, manages the qualification program, and protects the trademarks. To be marketed as a Bluetooth device, it must be qualified to standards defined by the SIG . A network of patents is required to implement the technology, which is licensed only for that qualifying device.

We wanted a technology that will allow us to essentially 'free the masses' and give everyone access to their music and movies. Bluetooth is the perfect technology for that."

Scott Troxel, Vice President of Marketing, Braven

Bluetooth is defined as being a short-range radio technology (or wireless technology) aimed at simplifying communications among Internet devices and between devices and the Internet. It also aims to simplify data synchronization between Internet devices and other computers.

Bluetooth products -- that is products using Bluetooth technology -- must be qualified and pass interoperability testing by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group prior to release. Bluetooth's founding members include Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba.