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Friday, July 10, 2009
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A MIMO primer

Clear Choice TestMultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless uses different waveforms on typically two, but sometimes three or more transmitting antennas inputting to the channel carrying radio waves from Point A to Point B. Multiple antennas and radios (typically, two or three) also are applied to the output of the radio channel at the receiver, along with a lot of signal processing, which ideally improves range and throughput compared with simpler or traditional radio designs operating under similar conditions.

Microsoft's Silverlight 3 already available ahead of launch
07/10/09
Microsoft's Silverlight 3 technology, which adds offline capabilities to the company's rich Internet application platform, already is available for download on the Web, ahead of Friday's official launch event.

Cisco charts new paths with Eos media platform
07/10/09
It's well-known that Cisco has been branching out from its core business of selling routers and switches, but in an open-plan office overlooking San Francisco's up-and-coming Mission Bay district, the networking monolith is venturing into areas that are ambitious even for one of technology's most aggressive acquisition machines.

Ubuntu's maker: Chrome OS 'no slam dunk' just because Google announces it
07/10/09
Google may possess brand recognition and engineering resources that dwarf the 200-employee, $30-million-revenue-a-year Canonical Inc., but Chrome OS's ascent "is no slam dunk just because you make an announcement," says Gerry Carr, marketing manager for Canonical.

MIMO is sometimes referred to as spatial multiplexing, because it users a third, spatial dimension - beyond frequency and time - as a carrier for information. The multiplicative effect of properly designed MIMO systems can be dramatic: As our tests show, the 100Mbps barrier (application-layer throughput) in wireless LANs has been broken. Indeed, the upcoming 802.11n standard will likely specify raw (physical layer) performance as high as 600Mbps via a 4-by-4 MIMO array.

MIMO is also likely to have an influence on so-called 4G cellular designs, but that's a different story.


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