NFC for Desktops?

[CaedenV]

So, I fear that I know the answer to this... but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask anyways:

Does anyone know of a USB adapter that will enable NFC for desktop systems? I realize that some high-end gaming motherboards have the option built in, but as I am not planning on doing a major overhaul any time soon, I was wondering if there were other alternatives available. Either a USB adapter, or even a PCI/PCIe card adapter that could bring this functionality.


Use case:
Pretty much every phone and tablet has NFC now, and a growing number of laptops have it as well. The idea is that while my own content would sync to my desktop via 'the cloud', I am still going to end up with friends and family who want to transfer pictures, videos, websites, and other content to my computer at home. With phones this typically entails plugging in the phone via USB, installing proprietary software (which may try and take over your computer... thanks VZW), and doing file transfers. With laptops it is always the network tango of getting them on the network, and joining a workgroup or homegroup, and sharing a folder to do the file transfer. Installing people's phone software on my computer is not something I want to do, and joining my home network is not typically something other people want to do. How much easier would it be to just have a NFC mat on the table, or somehow mounted to the monitor so that you can just tap and send a few little files?

I know that the software end of this equation works very nicely between Windows 8/RT and Phone 8 devices, and a growing number of Android devices are adopting less proprietary standards for transferring larger media such as videos, music and pictures (NFC standard only really supports contacts and website URLs), so the software side of this works pretty well already. I guess the limitation is how difficult it might be to get a USB dongle that has Bluetooth, basic 1x1 ad-hock WiFi, and an NFC sensor... surely it could be done easily and at minimal cost?


Thanks for the help!

 

[Someone Somewhere]

NFC is very slow IIRC. It's usually used simply to exchange security keys for a bluetooth connection, as opposed to hitting the pair buttons.

NFC generally needs a fairly large coil - it's on a much larger wavelength to WiFi/BT. This makes it hard to fit in a dongle.

Most phones will let you simply plug in a cable and show up as either USB Mass Storage or Media Transfer Protocol. Haven't seen one that needs special software for basic file access (excluding apple stuff, which plays by its own rules and doesn't have NFC anyway)

 

[CaedenV]

When you put it like that then NFC sounds silly. I am looking for something a bit more than a mere dongle as my desktop is not exactly accessible. I would be looking for something like a matt that can sit on the desk (like a Qi Puck), or be mounted to my monitor (like a web cam) which can be easily accessible and can initiate a transfer via BT or adhock WiFi. Also, this would be for basic file transfers of things like documents, pictures, and the occasional home movie, so the speed of the connection is really not a big deal. If I were transferring a whole collection of documents, or pictures, or performing full-on file management on a device, then plugging in the USB cable is obviously going to be the simpler solution, but this is something I am unlikely to do on other people's devices.

Most phones that my friends and family have (and maybe they just have crappy phones?) require 3rd party software/driver before they are even recognized by the OS. Even a Windows Phone requires a driver installation before you can browse files (or do other neat tricks like screen sharing). Once that is installed then everything works great via Windows Explorer, but the driver/software required for many phones (I have run into this problem more than once) assumes that it is your device and wants to make itself at home which installs more crap than I want on my PC, and gives me much more control over their device than they are comfortable with. I was hoping that NFC would be a good simple alternative without the need for complicated setup each and every time a new person comes to visit with a new device and wants to transfer a small handful of pictures or documents.

Obviously it is not a huge impossible issue to get around... but if someone made such a device for $20-50 then I would be pretty tempted to pick one up. Especially as this is going to be a bigger issue as more and more people carry phones and tablets that have limited output options, and less people carry full laptops that you can simply use a USB flash drive with.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

NFC hits 424kb/s, maximum speed. Most DSL lines blow that out of the water.

I've only really dealt with Android by way of smartphones (Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Nexus, HTC Desire S, Galaxy S), but haven't yet run into anything that needs a driver. Unless you want to use it as a hotspot or update software or something.

I think there are a couple of notebooks with NFC connection out there, but it's largely a niche feature. Even on phones it doesn't get used a huge amount.

In most cases I just use WiFi. There's a QR code lying around with the configuration info in it - scan that and the phone/tablet connects to the network.