how bluetooth works.

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There are lots of different ways that electronic devices can connect to one another. For example: • Many desktop computer systems have a CPU unit connected to a mouse, a keyboard, a printer and so on. • A personal digital assistant (PDA) will normally connect to the computer with a cable and a docking cradle. • A TV will normally connect to a VCR and a cable box, with a remote control for all three components. • A cordless phone connects to its base unit with radio waves, and it may have a headset that connects to the phone with a wire. • In a stereo system, a CD player and other audio devices connect to the receiver, which connects to the speakers. When you use computers, entertainment systems or telephones, the various pieces and parts of the systems make up a community of electronic devices. These devices communicate with each other using a variety of wires, cables, radio signals and infrared light beams, and an even greater variety of connectors, plugs and protocols. The art of connecting things is becoming more and more complex every day. We sometimes feel as if we need a Ph.D. in electrical engineering just to set up the electronics in our homes! In this article, we will look at a completely different way to form the connections, called Bluetooth. Bluetooth is wireless and automatic, and has a number of interesting features that can simplify our daily lives. The Problems When any two devices need to talk to each other, they have to agree on a number of points before the conversation can begin. The first point of agreement is physical: Will they talk over wires, or through some form of wireless signals? If they use wires, how many are required -- one, two, eight, 25? Once the physical attributes are decided, several more questions arise: • Information can be sent 1 bit at a time in a scheme called serial communications, or in groups of bits (usually 8 or 16 at a time) in a scheme called parallel communications. A desktop computer uses both serial and parallel communications to talk to different devices: Modems, mice and keyboards tend to talk through serial links, while printers tend to use parallel links.