When the powers that be call to see if there are any "latest-greatest" hacks, I've actually had to say, "nothing to speak of."  When I read the "latest" whitepaper on WLAN "speeds and feeds" or security (authentication/encryption) topics, it's the same old thing said a different way.  Infrastructure upgrades to 802.11n is currently the hottest topic, and though there are a number of challenging facets to it, it's not mind-bogglingly difficult.  Are we finally reaching a place where change is more of an "annual thing" rather than a "daily thing?"

On the horizon, there are some 802.11 amendments that will really help Wi-Fi users, such as 802.11r, 802.11s, 802.11w (to some degree) and a few others, but in general, 802.11n will be the big craze for a few more (~12) months.  Thereafter, I expect applications to be the next "big deal."  

Whether it's real time location services (RTLS), Wi-Fi RFID, or applications that finally support WMM, I'm hoping we'll finally see more uses for the wireless infrastructure that we've all spent the last 7+ years learning and deploying.  Once the wireless infrastructure is fast, secure, flexible, easily-managed, and cost-effective, applications taking advantage of these characteristics are sure to pop up everywhere.  With the iPhone and new Blackberry "Bold" both including Wi-Fi, we're off to a good start.

Anyone want to throw out any ideas for wireless-enabled applications that could change the world?

I'd like to see a LAN IM application for the iPhone or Blackberry similar to this:  www.messagepal.com  

When you walk in the room and turn it on, you would already have people to talk to without having to come out of your geeky, wall-flower shell. :)

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