Editor's note: Tom Egan has lobbed many a curmudgeonly opinion in this column. Few have prompted as many "amens" from you, the readers, as his critique of "wall warts" -- that is, the overgrown and unwieldly electrical plugs that make setting up a personal computer system difficult. Click here to read that column. Herewith, a sampling of your e-mails and Tom's commentary. (Warning: contains computer jargon.)
"I agree with you wholeheartedly! It's very similar to the stereo system hookup where you have all these cables and wire tangled and scrunched behind the equipment to 'keep out of sight.' That's why I go more for the compact units that hold everything in one box -- CD, tape, phone, etc. They may not be as flashy or stylish, but they work for portability and still produce decent sound.
"Wireless will be the way to go once the frequencies are cleaned up and interference reduced. It won't be too long ... I hope." Me, too.
"Boo-hoo-hoo! Oh you poor bay-beeeeeeeeee. :-( I'm getting out the Kleenex right now as I speak. Please forgive the sarcasm, but I have a comparable amount of equipment on my desk at home, and 'wall warts' are very easily worked around:
I've got an external ZIP drive so I can take it with me when I use the laptop.
Another idea: Intel at one time suggested a Universal Serial Bus for PCs that used powered bays that were externally accessible, meaning that you'd bring home a new peripheral and plug the whole thing directly into the computer. Sounds like a winner. Now if they'd just support FireWire.
"I read your article and was intrigued. I thought that you were going to say that computers need more RAM and not more processor speed, but you went with a totally different tangent. Many computer companies have already made solutions to what you consider to be a large problem.
"The introduction of USB has allowed many peripherals that you plug into your machine to get the power from the computer and not from a DC power cord.
"I am sure that you have seen Apple's iMac and similar machines made by Compaq and eMachines. These machines have everything inside one nice box: All you need is the power cord and the phone line if you use a modem. If you have any peripherals, they can easily be connected with USB, including a printer.
"All this comes with a price tag. USB peripherals are still more expensive then the ones that come with parallel and/or serial connections. I believe this to be rightfully so because serial and parallel interfaces were developed in the '60s and '70s. USB has been a product of Windows 98 and Mac Os 8.0.
"The machine you want already exists; it is just a price factor that I could see being a problem.
"Don't worry about a couple of cords that you need to set up once. Buy the computer that is in your price range and use it until it dies. Don't buy into the hype. That is for corporate executives."
I like USB and FireWire, but I do think that many things should be wireless, like network functions between computers. And keyboards and mice should be wireless so you can move around with them.
"I disagree with some parts of these statements. I've worked in the cellular/PCS market for sometime now.
"(The wireless communications format) PCS (1900) is on a roll, something we may not notice in every state, but which is prominent in some of the more populated states. Sprint PCS is bulking up for the very reason of wireless Internet access.
"Sites my company tested three years ago are already being retrofitted to handle more traffic in California. A six-sector Sprint site (two antennas on each of the each sectors -- one is TX/RX, the other RX) are now being upgraded to double their original capacity. The reason for this is Internet access, and that the estimated time a user spends on a (voice) phone call is a fraction of the time an Internet user may stay connected.
"Coverage is reasonable in most states, considering the whole system is only three years old. Analog (cellular phones) are not a less expensive system to run. One analog channel equals one phone call. One digital channel equals 10 to 60 phone calls. Although the (analog cellular) phones may be cheaper, the service is not. PCS will be the standard soon enough.
"To add to this, the reason that our wireless technology seems to be dragging compared to other countries is an easy question to answer: the FCC. Other countries seem to have realized the importance of streamlining new technology into the 'main.' The carriers in the U.S. are doing their best with what they have to work with. The U.S., as you touched on in your article, has had the technology to compete with or advance the European systems. And as insiders know, a great deal of the European systems developed from U.S. technologies. The FCC holds the key to any release of technology for public use in this area, and they move slowly compared to all other countries advanced in communication technology. Our own PCS system was tested in England -- by Southern Bell, if I'm not mistaken -- in 1995.
"As confusing as this all may seem to an 'everyday Joe,' the U.S. companies have really had to mold themselves to work with (or around) the governing rules of the FCC, and that has caused some strange outcroppings. GTE MobilNet did run with GSM/TDMA in the beginning of their digital service era, but didn't foresee the PCS (1900) giant coming down so hard (the more advanced CDMA). Let us also keep in mind that GSM is a system; TDMA and CDMA are technologies. In my part of the world, most GSM systems are TDMA technology."
I stand by my main point: that a lack of digital compatibility makes it harder for a company to develop new wireless devices when there are so many competing in the market.
I also don't see how you can fault the FCC for the competition. The industry "got it right" when they adopted a single analog standard and "got it wrong" when they decided to go in separate directions for the digital system. The FCC didn't mandate separate, incompatible digital phone systems.
--Tom Egan has worked in the information business from photography and journalism to video production and online editing. He writes about technology from his home in Saint Paul, Minn., within three blocks of four bars that serve Guinness on tap.
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