WhereMAX? Follow the hype.

I hate hype, but l admit to occasionally being seduced like many other technologists by "the next big thing".  Ask to see my Teledesic golf umbrella next time we visit.

However, I've never played nice with the on again-off again WiMAX hype engine.  Today's WSJ article on ex-Teledesic backer Craig McCaw and his new company Clearwire Corp. is yet another feel good story feeding the hype.  Check out this short analysis from the writers at techdirt.com that is pretty much on the mark IMHO, especially their dig about WiMAX being from the same lineage as HomeRF.  Yep, my team at Xircom fought long and hard against the Intel hype machine on that one, and "we told you so" that 802.11b/g would prevail for consumers at home and hotspots.

(Oh, and dudes, it's spelled WiMAX -- capital W small i capital M capital A capital X.  You'd think the WSJ would occasionally check hypemaster Intel's website for the correct spelling du jour...)