Okay, the whole “Draft Spec” is getting ridiculous. Now they’re saying 2008 to 2009 for the official spec release of 802.11n. Just a heads up guys… smarter consumers just aren’t buying it. We’re not going to buy your “draft” 802.11n gear just to temporarily get some faster speeds. Buying now will inevitably lead us into having to buy new gear when the next “draft” or the final release of the spec comes out. The more intelligent consumer has already run their cables in their walls and doesn’t mind plugging in for some real speed. I personally use 802.11g Wi-Fi to surf and such, but when it’s time to stream HD video or do some heavy data moving, i’m all about that gigabit copper connection in the wall. Oh sure, maybe it’s a bit overkill for what I do with it… but I never wonder if it’s the network… Never.

And the other thing… how many YEARS does it take to create a specification? I realize that this is some complicated stuff… i’m not doubting that or trying to downplay the complexity of Wi-Fi. But I have a feeling that there are now a lot of players involved and the spec is really getting held up more by political problems, rather than actual technical issues. This always happens. In the early days of a technology, it’s just a few smart guys in a room who build something neat and make a product out of it. Once it catches on, the big business gets involved and then the consumer sits and waits while everyone argues about what color the new logo is going to be.

So, let’s just hope that this spec makes the grade. Every review i’ve read for the original 802.11n Draft spec has been dismal at best. I have to be honest, I haven’t been impressed with wireless gear since the days of the early Cisco/Aironet 802.11b products. I’ll probably never have kids because of the waves those things put out, but man did they have some range! Then again, that was commercial grade wireless. I have yet to be impressed with consumer grade wireless. The signal is always poor, the antennae are always crap, and the features are always lacking. “Good enough for most people” is about the best I can hope for with consumer grade.

Good luck 802.11n! I wish you well and hope you’ll bring me some decent speeds… but after the recent announcement of yet another draft and yet another delay, my hopes aren’t exactly high. But hey, there’s a new logo out! That’s important when marketing a technology! Get the logo done!

One final note on this one… Nice trick here guys. Very nice. Two drafts and a final spec = 3 lines of products… that means there is potential for people to buy their gear THREE TIMES! Woo hoo! Good for you! You’ve figured out how to sell nearly identical hardware three times!