Thinkpad Infrared. Whoa. (Brief Story)

[Medessec]

Well, I was working on a 770 I'm trying to fix up, and I have XP installed on it. I was trying to fetch some info to compare to another 770 I have that I was going to install XP on, and I also just so happened to have a T60p open(that I actually have up for sale right now) that I was burn-testing to make sure the processor was staying appropriately cool, and I was also testing the battery life. I was on the forums and I suddenly heard the 770 make space-themed alert noises, and I looked and it said "Another computer is nearby: Click here to send files to the computer BLASTER". Likewise, The T60p posted a balloon message that said the same for a detected computer "HELIX".

Helix is the ID for the 770, and Blaster is the ID for the T60p. Some of you guys might be going, "yeah. That's how Infrared works." But... I really don't pay attention to the Infrared feature, nor do I bother much with installing the drivers for it, using it, or testing it out. I haven't actually played with it at all on any of the Thinkpads I've ever had, I don't think. So I really haven't seen anything like this before, on any laptop. So this alert at first really freaked me out.

What amazes me most though is that these two laptops are so far apart age-wise, and they can still pick each other up through that hardware. I haven't prodded the Infrared or anything or tried it since that, but I just find it really interesting.

[RealBlackStuff]

In most laptops with infrared, it is set to 'disabled' in the BIOS.
Newer laptops don't even have it any more.
I have never, ever used or needed it.

[Radioguy]

I tried it on the 76x models back in the day, but data transfer was slow as molasses. I remember trying and giving up on getting a JP1 remote to work with it, but I suppose it should.

As for IR these days, I know it's used on glucometers. I suppose if Lenovo offered a TP customized for the medical field, it would be a useful feature.

[emeraldgirl08]

I forgot the older ThinkPads had IR transmitter/receivers. Funny story Medessec I can imagine the look on your face when the alerts went off

[EasyMac308]

I never used it for data transfer, but I did use it for printing. It was a pretty handy technology that didn't get much traction. Syncing PDAs was easier, too.

[Medessec]

Hmm... well, I did just figure that it was a very old or specialized hardware feature, so I never bothered to play with it much. I'm kinda curious to see the data transfer rates between the 770 and the T60p, perhaps I should pull them out again and try it out. I also have a T60, hopefully that has working infrared, so I can try to get that and the T60p to detect each other, to get an idea of how it works between two newer Thinkpads.

I can see how nifty it would've been back then, for file transfer, kinda like how handy USB is today. Since floppies were the only way to efficiently write/read/transfer info, Infrared could've been an alternative? The two computers do have to be close to each other though...

[killer]

IR used to be on old Thinkpads, however I only used it once to connect to an old Nokia mobile phone. It worked well but rather slowly.
All very ancient technology now.

[rkawakami]

That's basically what I use it for; transferring photos taken on my (dumb) cell phone to the Thinkpad. It might be slow but it's easier than trying to find my Memory Stick adapter (phone is a Sony Ericsson).

@Medessec: IR is essentially a serial port so speeds will probably top out at 115KBps. I just transferred a 381,984 byte photo onto an A31p and it took about 39 seconds. Math works out to about 78.35Kbps (381,984 * 8/39 seconds). I don't think a T60p will be any faster but if you can run some tests I'd be interested in seeing what you get.

edit: Since this A31p also has Bluetooth, I transferred the same file via BT and it took 14 seconds or 218.3Kbps.

[bill bolton]

So I really haven't seen anything like this before, on any laptop. So this alert at first really freaked me out.

In the pre-Wifi and pre-Bluetooth days, IR was seen as wireless solution for connecting to printers, and there were a couple of generation of printers that had IR ports as well.

It did work reasonably well, but was prone to physical blocking problems. It was an interim solution at best, and was easily displaced when radio based wireless techologies became pervasive in laptops.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Radioguy]

All very ancient technology now.

As I mentioned earlier, it does seem to be a standard for some medical devices, like glucometers, and introduced fairly recently as well.

[twistero]

I remember those days when the only way to get something on/off my cellphone is via IR. Smartphones up to the Nokia N95 (still the best phone ever) had IR ports. Good times...

All very ancient technology now.

IR is still very prevalent in Japan. It is the standard way of exchanging contact information between phones (keitai, if you're into them.)

As I mentioned earlier, it does seem to be a standard for some medical devices, like glucometers, and introduced fairly recently as well.

Devices that emit radio waves are generally frowned upon in a medical setting, so there're good reasons for choosing IR instead of, say, Bluetooth or 802.11 WiFi.

[Radioguy]

I can see how that would make sense. Although, there is a prevalence of wireless use in large medical facilities. It may not be of the common standard (Could be WBAN, UWB, BLE/Wibree, etc), but most hospitals here in NYC have clusters of APs set at regular intervals along hallways even in Emergency and Surgical areas.

[Dos3.1]

I turned on the IR for my T60 running XP in BIOS and now it's able to send files to my 760EL running Win98! Amazing! This is especially useful, as the 760 has no onboard USB ports, nor have I managed to get it online yet with a wireless card.

[BillMorrow]

IR is also useful when other means of file transfer are not able to be used for lack of an appropriate cable or whatever..

that old stuff DOES work..