Linksys Jumps the Gun with 802.11n for USB

by Matt Hickey on December 14, 2006

joins the list of “pre-N” devices on the market. And, like the others, you take a slight chance with getting one: the dongle’s guts are based on the as-of-yet un-approved draft spec of the N revision. This means it’s entirely possible that, if changes are made before the standard is certified, this will become junk in a drawer.

Linksys Launches WUSB300N USB WiFi Adapter [TechDigest]

drdrew - December 14th, 2006 at 11:01 am GMT+5

good, good, good. it’s more than time for n to take over. matt, why would this be junk if all that’s needed is a firmware update? all things being equal, isn’t that really what would happen if the spec changed? or am i missing something…

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Thomas - December 14th, 2006 at 4:47 pm GMT+5

Sometimes the specs are changed to the point that hardware may need be changed, if drastic changes such as wireless frequency are made.

Firmware will only change the way the hardware behaves, a firmware update cannot add features, that the hardware is not already capable of.

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drdrew - December 14th, 2006 at 7:43 pm GMT+5

thanks thomas. i’m aware of that, but things that would make the hardware unusable, such as the frequency can take alot of time to get approved, it’s one of the first things established. not too likely for that to change and that’s the only thing i can think of that would obsolete it…

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Thomas - December 14th, 2006 at 8:03 pm GMT+5

While doing design work for a wireless device for draft 802.11 g, I encountered a couple of reference designs from chip manufacturers that weren’t compatible for final version due to hardware, however these never did make it to the consumer. While I’ll admit I haven’t looked at the disputing regarding N, you never know….. In my opinion its most likely it would just require a firmware update, however the possibilty does exist.

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