Internet by light promises to leave Wi-Fi eating dust

Great, except nobody has internet speeds near that in their homes, heck, I doubt most people could even fully use 802.11ac.

So no one should ever test anything that is faster than what we currently have, because we can't use it yet, right? If that were the case, we'd all be on dial-up 28k modems still. If that.

I'm curious what happens if you have 2 'Li-Fi' routers on the same frequency. answer: clients are unable to receive data, as it completely scrambles it.

You're curious about it, yet you provide an answer. How is it that you already know the answer, and if you already know it, then why are you curious about it?

This isn't just a drawback, this is what makes this technology almost completely useless, e.g.; You are streaming music, then put your phone in your pocket before it finished downloading, music will stop playing as the connection is gone.

It doesn't make it useless, it just means that these are issues that have to be considered. I can already think of one work around - have a wifi that kicks in when the lifi drops out. The lifi would still be preferable speed-wise when its available, and the user would still have a connection when it drops out.

Now you would probably say "but with 200gbps it will download within milliseconds", again, I doubt anyone has a 200gbps connection into his home.

And no one had gigabit connections when we were using 28k modems. You do realize technology improves over time, right?

what makes them think this technology will suddenly get supermarkets of their asses, make apps for the phone, then install Li-Fi hardware beside the Wi-Fi hardware they might already have.

As technology improves, people make use of it. You seem to be criticizing that they are thinking of potential uses for it, and how technology may change. Seems a weird thing to criticize.

A common these here at JT. Every time a new technology is discussed, people jump in to say how it will never work, and recite a list of problems, as though they are the first to think of them. And as though the 100s of qualified engineers and scientists have never considered those problems. And as though problems are never overcome, and what we have is the best we will ever have (even though we didn't even have that 10 years before).

What a dreary way to live.

Apple may integrate it in its next smartphone, the iPhone7, due out at the end of the year, according to tech media.

as usual totally crap info inserted into articles. there is no way in heck that apple would suddenly add unproven, and such limited, technology to its premier product. perhaps they meant to say samsung which always adds bells and whistles to try to outdo apple, but i think even they are smarter than that.

there is no way in heck that apple would suddenly add unproven, and such limited, technology to its premier product.

Except for the 1000s of news reports saying otherwise, you might be right. Apple will soon be integrating lifi according to most experts.

fast enough to “download the equivalent of 23 DVDs in one second”

Sounds cool.

it only works if a smartphone or other device is placed directly in the light and it cannot travel through walls

So only if those 23 DVDs are in line of sight?

This is honestly one of the most flawed articles I have ever read.

Laboratory tests have shown theoretical speeds of over 200 Gbps

Great, except nobody has internet speeds near that in their homes, heck, I doubt most people could even fully use 802.11ac.

you can’t have more than ten objects connected in Bluetooth or Wi-Fi without interference.

I'm curious what happens if you have 2 'Li-Fi' routers on the same frequency. answer: clients are unable to receive data, as it completely scrambles it.

Li-fi has its drawbacks—it only works if a smartphone or other device is placed directly in the light and it cannot travel through walls.

This isn't just a drawback, this is what makes this technology almost completely useless, e.g.; You are streaming music, then put your phone in your pocket before it finished downloading, music will stop playing as the connection is gone. Now you would probably say "but with 200gbps it will download within milliseconds", again, I doubt anyone has a 200gbps connection into his home.

In supermarkets it could be used to give information about a product, or in museums about a painting, by using lamps placed nearby.

This is perfectly possible with Wi-Fi, yet I see nobody doing this, what makes them think this technology will suddenly get supermarkets of their asses, make apps for the phone, then install Li-Fi hardware beside the Wi-Fi hardware they might already have.

It could also be useful on aircraft, in underground garages and any place where lack of Internet connection is an issue.

Or just place a WiFi router, would have the same effect.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's a really interesting idea and there are probably cases where it could be useful (e.g. the hospitals). But claiming it is a replacement for Wi-Fi is just some weak argument to get more money out of the pockets of consumers.

What a dreary way to live.

Right. I guess it makes them feel better to criticize, rather than to be excited about the new possibilities.

Every time a new technology is discussed, people jump in to say how it will never work, and recite a list of problems

You have a point, but you must agree that the article is written in a way that is likely to cause a cynical response in grumpy old gits like myself. It's not going to replace wifi for general use. It's unlikely to revolutionize our lives. It has features that make it suitable for particular applications. It would have been better if those were more clearly described.

We're still waiting for WiGig to be widely implemented

Can we please bypass the useless, parasitic telcos?

This is so astonishing, I almost suspect a hoax, a la cold fusion and that car in Osaka powered by water.

All the walls inside a house can be made of glass and it should work.