Infrared technology is what most TV remotes use.

The distance an infrared signal can travel varies based on the strength of the remote, but is usually less than 50 feet for household electronics. In order for an infrared signal to be detected, there must be a direct line of sight between the transmitter (remote) and the receiver (TV). If there is a wall or large object between them, the signal will not pass through it. Bluetooth, on the other hand, uses a radio frequency, which allows transmission through walls and other objects. The standard range of a Class 3 Bluetooth device is about 30 ft., which makes it ideal for syncing PDAs with computers, using wireless cell phone headsets, and enabling handsfree cell phone use inside Bluetooth-enabled automobiles. Because Bluetooth technology is based on a standard 2.4 GHz frequency, different Bluetooth devices can typically communicate with each other, regardless of the manufacturer. Most infrared devices only work with proprietary equipment. While Bluetooth is well on its way to replacing infrared in many different areas, the technology is not meant to be used for wireless networking. Instead, WiFi technology, which has a larger range and higher bandwidth than Bluetooth, is the standard that most wireless networking equipment uses. IrDA is an infrared wireless communication technology developed by the Infrared Data Association. Here we compare and contrast specific features of these technologies.IrDA is a specific use of infrared light as a communications medium; Bluetooth technology is a specific use of radio waves as a communications medium. Like the Bluetooth special interest group (SIG), the IrDA specifies hardware and software protocols for wireless communication intended to promote interoperable applications.Although both technologies are wireless, they use different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum with quite different signal propagation characteristics. Because infrared uses the nonvisible infrared light spectrum, IrDA communication is blocked by obstacles that block light (such as walls, doors, briefcases, and people). The signal wavelength used with Bluetooth communication (about 12.5 cm, at its associated frequency of 2.4GHz) is three orders of magnitude greater than that of IrDA. At this wavelength, radio frequency (RF) communications can penetrate many of these sorts of obstacles. Recent advances in infrared technology have enabled more diffuse transmission patterns, although much of the IrDA equipment in use today uses a relatively narrowly focused beam, which usually requires that the two devices engaged in IrDA communication be aligned with (pointed at) each other.

What Is History? is a 1961 non-fiction book by historian Edward Hallett Carr on historiography. It discusses history, facts, the bias of historians, science, morality, individuals and society, and moral judgements in history. The book originated in a series of lectures given by Carr in 1961 at the University of Cambridge. The lectures were intended as a broad introduction into the subject of the theory of history and their accessibility has resulted in What is History? becoming one of the key texts in the field ofhistoriography. Some of Carr's ideas are contentious, particularly his alleged relativism and his rejection of contingency as an important factor in historical analysis. His work provoked a number of responses, notably Geoffrey Elton's The Practice of History. Carr was in the process of revising What is History? for a second edition at the time of his death. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

KARL MARX