The Top 10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2014

Here's a look at the top 10 most popular blog posts on the Laird Wireless Connectivity Blog from 2014:

1. WPA2 Enterprise vs. Personal: With the extreme growth of wireless devices in recent years and the BYOD trend that continues to grow in popularity, a large amount of critically important information is transferred over an organization’s wireless network. Given the advancements in technology, it’s surprising to see that many organizations are still using Wi-Fi security in Personal mode. To protect the network and in turn critical information, organizations should be using WPA2 Enterprise security.
2. What is the Connected Hospital?: Wireless technology is the keystone to the Connected Hospital, where patient safety, data accuracy, and mobility will all be fueled by technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.  In the Connected Hospital, every device is connected and communicating with EHRs (Electronic Health Records) for accurate patient records and real-time data analysis.
3. BLE Overview: BLE is a protocol that allows for long-term operation of Bluetooth devices that transmit low volumes of data. BLE enables smaller form factors, better power optimization, and the ability to operate on a small power cell for several years.
4. Bluetooth SIG Changes- Everyone Pays!: In February 2014, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) implemented changes to the End Product Listing (EPL) process. The net effect of these changes is a requirement for all OEMs, implementing Bluetooth technology in their products, to pay the Bluetooth SIG a ‘listing’ fee.
5. ETSI to Implement GHz Band Standards Updates: As a result of the growing number of innovative devices equipped with wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee coming to market, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has updated two GHz band standards. Mandatory for market access in Europe, the standards updates are set to take effect in January 2015.
6. BLE Beacons May Help Hospitals: Bluetooth Low Energy is driving an explosion of new applications and products serving markets such as personal health, fitness, and location awareness. BLE  is also making its way into the hospital. BLE-based beacon technology could potentially change the way items are located within a hospital.
7. Wi-Fi Product Lines Testing to ETSI EN 300 328 v1.8.1: In April, ETSI announced new mandatory spectrum sharing requirements for the 2.4 GHz band which will take effect January 2015. Laird’s MSD30AG/SSD30AG, 40NBT Series, WB45NBT, and MSD45N/SSD45N, have all been successfully tested to the new standard. The following is the status on the 10, 20, and 15 series radios:
8. Top Four Healthcare IT Trends of 2014: 2014's top healthcare IT trend predictions.
9. New BL600 Demo Featuring Virtual Serial Port: A video demonstration for Laird’s BL600 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) modules that features virtual serial port (vSP), a custom service that allows bi-directional data exchange between the BL600 module and a Central mode device. The video consists of two short demonstrations. The first half of the demo showcases Bridge mode using the BL600 module, followed by a run through of Command mode
10. Laird to Host Webinar on Making the Connected Hospital a Reality: Embedded Wireless Solutions of Laird hosted a webinar, titled Making the Connected Hospital a Reality: Medical Grade Wi-Fi For Hospitals. The webinar featured guest speakers Bill Quatier, Solution Architect of Welch Allyn and Chris Downey, Product Manager of Laird. The webinar focused on the understanding of mobility in one of the most challenging RF environments, a hospital. When dealing with medical devices, mobility must mean being continuously connected, anywhere, anytime. The webinar coverd noteworthy topics such as 5 GHz operation, testing procedures for medical devices, and security and a recording is available, here.

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