Wireless monitors Español | Deutsch | Français | Italiano | Português

I have a bluetooth keyboard and a bluetooth mouse, why do I have a wire running from my computer to my monitor? Well to be fair, I don't as I've got an iMac, but that isn't really the point. Supposing I didn't, and supposing I wanted to connect to my monitor without a pesky wire running between my computer and the monitor.

CREDIT: Teq Gear

The Teq Gear WID101
Teq Gear's WID101 (via Gizmodo) is the first product that almost gets me what I want. Plug it into your monitor, and then you can stream your video data to the monitor, either over a wired network, or crucially, over an 802.11g wireless network. That means if you've got a wireless keyboard and mouse, your computer can actually be in a whole other room to you while you're typing away.

Why? Well think about hanging a 30-inch Cinema Display on your wall, with your Mac mini safely tucked away out of sight. A bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and you're all sorted.

Problems? Well yes, overlooking the fact that the mini can't drive a 30-inch monitor, the WID101 is as ugly as sin, and not that much smaller than the Mac mini itself. You're better hanging the mini off the back of your monitor and having it in plain sight than using the WID101.

Oh, and it only works under Windows, there isn't any support for Mac OS X, or Linux for that matter. Presumably Teq Gear uses some Windows only software to take your video output, crunch it down, encrypt it, and stream it over your network interface to the WID101.

Oh well, better luck next time...

Tags: Wireless WiFi 802.11 Monitor Video Teq Gear WID101