Intel Digital Media Adapters To Share Media Cost-Effectively
by Charles Fulton, Associate Editor
As part of Intel’s new Extended Wireless PC Initiative, several PC manufacturers (including Dell and Gateway) have demonstrated “Digital Media Adapters,” small set-top boxes which use the 802.11b wireless networking protocol to watch and listen to streaming or download-and-play media on standard home entertainment devices. The idea surfaced at Intel’s Developer Forum, held from September 9-12 in San Jose, CA.
These devices revisit the previous gen-eration of convergence devices, which had their own hard drives and used traditional wired networking to share media with other computers. They tended to be very expensive, and as such, they have not received a particularly enthusiastic response.
The cost for such a device is expected to be between $100 and $200, and will most likely be available sometime in 2003.
