Welcome to
This page is a portal to various Debian "wireless" technologies. Here are definitions for the various "wireless" technologies followed by a link to the specific Debian Wiki page for that technology.
Wi-Fi - Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology standardized as IEEE 802.11 b/g/a/n. Its primary usage is to connect computers within the same house/enterprise. Note that it is often used to connect to the Internet through a DSL or cable router.
Bluetooth - Personal Area Network (PAN) technology standardized as IEEE 801.15.1. It was designed to handle short-range "low bandwith" personal communications. Typically between your mobile phone, head-set, computer, printer...
Modem/3G - Using a dedicated 3G modem card/mobile phone as a modem (connected through Bluetooth, USB..)
IrDA is a very short range (<1m) infrared optical data exchange protocol. Typical uses include exchanging files between two laptops, sending files between mobile phones and/or computers, etc. Maximum speed is 115kbps or 4mbps (see TLDP Howto,lirc)
WiMax is a Wireless MAN standardized as IEEE 802.16. It is meant to provide wireless broadband access in metropolitan areas.
Satellite Internet - Internet access provided through communications satellites, typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high data speeds. See this Sat-HOWTO
Free Space Optics (FSO) is a telecommunication technology that uses light propagating in free space to transmit data between two points. The optical links usually use infrared laser light, although low-data-rate communication over short distances is possible using LEDs.
Proprietary
Keyboard/Mouse
- Whereas some of the newer wireless keyboards and mice (sometimes inappropriately named "cordless") tend to use Bluetooth to connect to the computer, older ones may use proprietary RF (radio-frequency) protocols. These proprietary devices always had a base or dongle which behaved like a regular PS2/USB keyboard/mouse (from the operating system point of view).
References
Wireless in Wikipedia.