Re: Intel backs Z-Wave

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

Lewis Gardner <lgardner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Interesting article at The Register:
>
>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/25/intel_zwave_battle/
>
>It might be old news to some here but I haven't been keeping up on the
>Z-Wave/ZigBee front.

They've been been flogging that dead horse for some time now. I suspect
they've manufactured more press releases than they have chips. The most
pertinent statement in the article is in the third last paragraph...

"Z-Wave defines a two-way RF system that works in the 908MHz band. It
incorporates a source routing protocol that supports mesh networking. The
ZigBee camp argues that this protocol is very simple, but this means it will
not scale well as more and more functions are added to a home automation
network."

You'll find a very recent post here from Dean Roddey about latency problems
with his system. You'll find posts from me from about 2 years ago predicting
problems for all but the smallest of systems because of the time it takes
for a message to traverse 4-5 hops (which doubles with two-way messaging
which they now seem to be abandoning). There is also a maximum hop limit
which is likely to cause trouble in large residences. It's a poorly designed
system that has made little headway in the ~3 years it's been available.
Posts here have been almost 100% from Z-Wave dealers with next to none from
end users.

As best I can tell from the torrent of press releases, Intel is supporting
it in some new chips which are NOT directed at the PC market but to set-top
boxes, entertainment centers, etc.

I would keep an eye on http://www.hawkingtech.com/homeremote.php.