Technology Decisions

Ask Dr. G.

One of the problems with being a senior technology manager is you are supposed to know everything about technology. I dont know isnt a good response in an executive committee meeting. Sometimes we all need a trusted source who can answer those questions we really should know the answer to. You dont want to ask a subordinate because eventually your lack of techno-knowledge may become an issue around the water cooler. To fill this need, Tech Decisions has retained the services of Dr. Gigabyte, who will answer your technology questions. Dr. G. comes to us with years of experience in science and technology and graciously has agreed to share his knowledge. And now, dear reader, we leave you in the capable hands of the good doctor.

Dear Dr. G.: This may be a stupid question, but here goes. Some of our agencies keep badgering me about Bluetooth. What the heck is Bluetooth? Is it like my BlackBerry? I cant see spending that kind of money for field agents.

P&C Tech Guru Perplexed in Peoria

Dear TG:

First, we need to dissuade ourselves of that old saw regarding stupid questions. You know the one: There are no stupid questionsexcept the unasked question. Of course, there are stupid questions. Hot enough for you? or How about them Yankees? come to mind. But Dr. G. embraces the stupid question. I am here to answer your stupid questions, and we can leave your unasked questions unanswered, as they should be. If it werent for stupid questions, Dr. G. would be back in Destin with his metal detector.

Back to the question. No, your BlackBerry is a wireless device. It operates on the same microwave frequencies your cell phone does, but it is not Bluetooth.

In 1998, Ericsson Mobile Communica-tions formed a special interest group (SIG) for the development of a standard to define a radio frequency interface. IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba were partners in that SIG. This special interest group was christened Bluetooth, after Harald Bltand (Bluetooth), a 10th century Viking king. Haralds claim to fame was he united and ruled Denmark and Norway. The Blue-tooth SIG hoped to convince disparate hardware and software vendors to accept its wireless communication standards.

The SIG was able to develop a proprietary communications standard for low-power radio communication in the 2.4-2.4835 GHz frequency band. The original intended use for Bluetooth was communication between a cellular phone and a wireless headset. That was pretty cool but didnt provide a compelling reason for hardware vendors to invest in Bluetooth research. Then there was some talk about having Bluetooth piconets established in retail stores and kiosks. Your Bluetooth device would join the piconet when you entered the vicinity. (The power output of Bluetooth devices is very low: -1 mW for personal-area applications. As a result, the effective range of a Bluetooth device is about 10 meters.) Your device and the other device could exchange data. Then when you approach the counter, the clerk would greet you, Welcome back, professor, can I interest you in another Quad Shot Vente Cappuccino? That particular scenario never played itself out. Interestingly, though, 802.11 technology (also known as WiFi) has become entrenched in certain retail stores (Starbucks, McDonalds) and locations such as airports.

So, why would you want to use Bluetooth? Because Bluetooth finally has found its techno-niche. In short, Bluetooth replaces a gadget bag full of annoying cables and connectors. Imagine this: A claims adjuster is going to a customer site to look at a damaged automobile. His or her tablet PC already has downloaded all pertinent customer and policy information. That information has been shared with the adjusters hand-held device using a Bluetooth connection. When Mr./Ms. Adjuster gets to the customer site, he or she begins to take digital pictures that are downloaded automatically to the tablet PC sitting on the front seat of the car (the latest digital cameras are Bluetooth enabled). Mr./Ms. Adjuster notices the damaged vehicle appears to have an aftermarket sunroof but cant be sure. To confirm these suspicions, Mr./Ms. Adjuster uses a Bluetooth-enabled PDA to snatch one of the pictures from the digital camera ande-mail it back to the home office for verification. How? By using the Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to connect to the Internet and send and receive e-mail via the Bluetooth connection to the PDA. The adjuster has the confirmation in minutes. That, my friend, is why your agencies want Bluetooth. A few years ago, the Internet provided the ability to connect computers to each other; Bluetooth provides that same capability to task-specific devices.

If you have a question for Dr. G., please send via e-mail to gigabyte@tdmag.com. And, no, they dont have to be stupid questions.

Readers are invited to send their questions to Dr. Gigabyte for response in this column. Letters are for purposes of exploring insurance IT issues only and may or may not be contributed by any particular individual.