Networking comes in different flavors, including wireless<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): So you now have a 24-hour Internet connection
\ninto your house via a cable modem. You access the Internet for
\nwork, but your kids also demand their share of the newly found
\nfreedom to chat online. Does it sound like the usual conflict of
\ninterest? How do you solve it?<\/p>\n
Networking all the PCs and notebooks in your house can be
\nuseful in many respects. First, transferring files will no longer
\nrequire the use of floppy diskettes. Second, virus protection can
\nbe optimized to all the computers in your home office, in the
\nliving room and in your children's study area. Third, one cable
\nmodem can serve a number of PCs if they are already connected to
\na local area network (LAN). Fourth, if the Internet cable service
\nis down, you can still share the same phone line-based modem and
\nthe same ISP account until the service is up again.<\/p>\n
The easiest and most straightforward way to connect your PCs
\nis to buy one Ethernet adapter card for each of them. A popular
\nand reasonably priced network interface card (NIC) is ReadyLINK
\nExpress 10\/100, a product of Singapore-based Compex. It costs
\nless than Rp 150,000 apiece. If you have more than two PCs to
\nconnect, you can buy a hub.<\/p>\n
A low-end Compex hub would cost around Rp 350,000, and it can
\nconnect up to four PCs. Of course, there are more expensive hubs
\nthat can connect up to 24 PCs. Many of these higher-priced PCs
\nare also stackable, which means you can put one on top of the
\nother to connect a larger number of PCs. The problem with the
\nEthernet LAN is that you have to run new wires to connect all the
\nPCs, and these cables can be messy.<\/p>\n
3Com is another very popular networking products manufacturer.
\nOne of the latest offerings from 3Com for SOHO is the phone line-
\nbased network. This may be a preferred solution for homes in
\nwhich every room already has a phone jack, as no additional
\nwiring will be necessary. There are other products offered by
\nother manufacturers, as well. However, as we seldom have homes
\nwith phone lines in every room, this solution is not very popular
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Just last month, 3Com launched a wireless network solution for
\nhomes. Called AirConnect, the 802.11b radio transmission-based
\nLAN uses on an access point that can be hung from the ceiling or
\nmounted on the wall. The access point then connects to the wired
\nLAN via an Ethernet cable. The PCs communicate at the maximum
\nspeed of 11 Mbps with the access point using AirConnect PC Card
\nfor notebooks and AirConnect PCI Card for desktop computers that
\nserve both as the NICS and transmitters\/receivers. An interesting
\nfeature of the AirConnect access point is that it draws power for
\ntransmitting and receiving signals through the Ethernet cable.<\/p>\n
Intel Corporation also has its own wireless home networking
\nsolution, which is called AnyPoint. A new version of AnyPoint
\nuses transceivers that connect to the PCs via the USB port, and
\ntherefore it offers the easiest installation. However, since it
\nuses the USB connection, the speed is also very low. Intel says
\nthat the speed is 1.6 Mbps, but in reality it may be lower.<\/p>\n
Who else provide wireless networking solutions? Of course two
\nof the biggest network equipment makers, Cisco Systems and Lucent
\nTechnologies, have joined the growing group of companies offering
\nthe 802.11-based products. Cisco has the Aironet, while Lucent
\nhas Orinoco. Both of these are aimed at large networks spanning
\nmultiple buildings rather than homes. For example, both allow
\nnotebook users to access a LAN at a distance of up to 10 miles
\naway from the access point.<\/p>\n
If you have an Apple Powerbook, the available wireless network
\nsolution is AirPort. The good news is that AirPort works with
\nthese vendors' wireless network solutions.<\/p>\n
Wireless technologies are advancing at a breathtaking pace,
\nparticularly because of the convenience that it gives us. The
\nproblem is, what happens to us -- and the rest of earth's living
\nbeings -- as we increasingly have all these high power radio
\nfrequencies bouncing around us? (Zatni Arbi)<\/p>",
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