Pervasive Computing

Aug 21,2010 00:00 by alperen

Wi-Fi is evolving to the point where it will encompass much more than
computers and PDAs; it will involve almost any device enabled to access a
network. This means that literally any device could be able to use Wi-Fi.
Take the example of a regular soda machine. A vendor could stand to
make a great deal more money on the price of a soda can if he could
raise the price during very hot days when people would pay more for a can, and then lower the price during cool days when people would only
buy a can if it were less expensive.
One way that Wi-Fi is evolving is that a suggestion came from IBM
that a “smart” soda machine could be developed that has a Wi-Fi connection
to the vendor. This link would update the price per can of soda
with respect to the weather that day. On hot days, the machine would
charge more, whereas on cooler days the price would drop. This is an
effective example that describes how the evolution of Wi-Fi can affect
the economics of even our most basic types of transactions. 304