The IEEE has ratified the 802.16 wireless broadband standard, meaning we're one step closer to seeing Wimax - the industry love child - deployed. Wi-Fi Networking News wisely points out that the technology still has a long way to go, despite the ample hype of the past six months. the WiMax Forum still needs to release its final specification for WiMax, a subset of the 802.16 standard. While many outlets hint that Wimax could be on store shelves as early as next year, a few analysts have predicted serious deployment dates could be as far away as 2009. Most outlets are also still confusing their definitions - and aren't even really sure what they're getting excited about; this CNET article makes only slight distinctions between 802.16 and Wimax, while this recent Slashdot article confuses Wimax with OFDM.