Indeed, two new products, NetBeam IR from Hewlett-Packard and JetEye Net from Extended Systems, will allow any notebook equipped with an IR port to access a network via a beam of light. Making the transition to infrared data transfer couldn't be easier. Once the connection is reestablished, the work session is automatically resumed. Still, if your portable is equipped with a slower IrDA port, all is not lost. No matter what speed you use, all infrared transfers share a few key benefits.
Infrared beams provide bidirectional data exchange.
One drawback to IR transfers is that the data beam is effective only at distances of 1 meter or less. Find out how.