Tech Link (Networking): Wireless FAQ: Setup and Configuration

THG's Networking division has a good reading for all your Wireless Networking beginners. Pretty much, I'd say, the article is really good. They cover lots of details, and have quite a long list of FAQ. And oh, not just a long list, but I'd say, they have a comprehensive slew of Qs and As as well.

The Questions
We know you missed them, so our FAQ feature is back! If you have a question about the various ways that you can set up a wireless network, the answer is probably here. If it's not, just drop us a note in the Forumz and we'll get crackin' on it.

Source:THG

Tech Link (Networking): Hawking Technology HBB1 Broadband Booster

Wow, I think this is one I'd like to have installed in our home. Wifey has been leeching off my precious bandwidth tons of times! I mean, she's still working at home, with her MS* Outlook* open all the time and then doing her database stuff (or whatever it is she's working on) and really clog all the bandwidth. Then my kids will start going to their favorite websites (Barbie, Disney, Barney, etc.), loading flash games, downloadable images that are really huge, and those sites that has a lot of background music it makes my Home Net Life next to, well...ummm...no comment.
_{Image owned by Hardcoreware.Net}

If you share a single network connection with your family, you can know how annoying it can be to try to play games while someone is leeching off newsgroups, or otherwise wasting bandwidth that cause ping times to skyrocket.

Hawking Technology have come up with a low cost QOS product that promises to solve this problem, claiming speed increases of up to 400%! Sounds almost too good to be true.. is it?

Source:HardcorewareNet

Tech Link (Industry): Google patents free Wi-Fi

Rejoice =)

The search-engine giant has developed three technologies for offering wireless Internet access, and advertising, free of charge.

SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - More evidence has emerged that Google is getting ready to blanket the U.S. with free Wi-Fi, as Business 2.0 senior writer Om Malik reported last year. Now, the company has filed for three patents related to offering wireless Internet access. Search Engine Roundtable points out that the patents all have to do with serving up advertising through a wireless Internet connection maintained by a third party, whose brand Google would include in the presentation of those ads. Sounds a lot like Google's latest plan to unwire San Francisco, where it has teamed up with EarthLink (Research). By teaming up with partners who would build the actual Wi-Fi infrastructure, Google (Research) could complete a nationwide Wi-Fi network much more quickly than if it had to build it itself.

Full Source: CNN Money

Brag: Providing Visitor "LAN" at the Home

I have been getting similar questions from friends on how I deployed a "Visitor" or "Guest" access at my home. While there are many ways to do it, and I do find it very simple, still, many of my friends were not able to readily grasp the idea or just lazy to think about how I did it even if I did shared it already.

It's amazing how this is becoming "mainstream", at least, in the circle of friends that I belong with. Back in 2000 (or was it 2001?), when I first got my engineering sample of WiFi Access Point from Symbols Technology, my wife had no idea that she can work from her bed, without getting chained from our phone line cable. Indeed, WiFi broke the chain, and while wifey and I never had problems using the phone line, once we get hooked to the Wireless arena, we can't believe how easy and convinient it is. And even shared a slow 56k connection back then =)

Nowadays, broadband provider has been touting cheap and reasonable connection. It brought the idea of a Digital Home to an even broader segment. Back then, I was bragging to my wife that we're the only one in our subdivision that has WiFi; and we're the only one that has a central storage at home, and back then, we're the only one that, well, can share the Internet with one phone line! But now, almost everyone I know is doing sharing one way or another. The easily available routers makes sure that it's mainstream.

Now my friends expect each, at least in our circle, that we have broadband access and that if they/we visit a friend's location, that we can still be on-line. Sharing the broadband is ok, but ensuring that our own file server is still safe is another thing. Sure, WEP and other security measures can be provided, but when you have friends visiting you, sometimes they will not allow to have changes on their laptop and that's understandable. So I often ended up opening a "hole" just for them. Anyway, I figure since they visit me from time to time, why not just make a "guest" access similar to what can be found on some of the hotspots around the world, specially in airports.

So I just implemented my own dedicated "Visitor" LAN, where I don't have to frequently make adjustments to my own security systems, and my friends can also get online without me prying up their connectivity settings. Like I mentioned earlier, there many ways to do that, but my friends, knowing I did a "Visitor" LAN, had problems implementing it even if they know the idea.

So in the next few weeks, as soon as I am done reviewing about five(5) more motherboards, I may start doing the short article and share it :)...in the meantime, you can also share how you did yours or planning to do your. You can share your idea at the forum

Press Release: NETGEAR® Teams with DS2 to Bring 200 Mbps Powerline HD Solution to Market

Wow, I'd like to see this really becomes uber mainstream, and well, locally available *yay*. It's a great concept, and while WiFi seems to be the standard nowadays, it never helps to have a competition (or others says complement) to shot down that sky high price. The new technology will speed up networking, and this time, beats WiFi since it now features a whooping 200Mbps!
_{Image not representative of the product, owned by NETGEAR*}

NETGEAR® Teams with DS2 to Bring 200 Mbps Powerline HD Solution to Market
Innovative Powerline Technology from NETGEAR and DS2 Enables High-Quality, High-Definition Video Streaming for the Digital Home

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — February 22, 2006 — NETGEAR®, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking products, and Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2), a leading supplier for Powerline communications chipsets, today announced that they are teaming to deliver 200 Mbps Powerline HD technology that will make it possible for consumers to have an affordable, high-performance, high-quality broadband connection available anywhere in the home without the need to run any cabling between rooms.

By turning any electrical outlet into a high-speed broadband connection, the fast 200 Mbps speeds provided by this collaboration will enable consumers to easily maximize the use of their network-enabled devices, such as digital video recorders, game consoles, personal computers, print servers or the NETGEAR Storage Central for storage, file, and print sharing, backups, Internet gaming, and video streaming. This proprietary technology using standardized DS2 chipsets will offer video Quality of Service (QoS) that makes it possible for users to seamlessly stream high-definition video throughout the entire home.

“As applications like online gaming, whole-house audio distribution and high-definition video streaming are becoming more mainstream, consumers require fast, reliable broadband access in every room in the home without the inconvenience of running new wires,” stated Patrick Lo, CEO of NETGEAR. “We are excited to be working with DS2 to develop a solution that tackles that problem head on. Our collaborative technology will extend high-performance Internet connections to any room in the home, making it possible for consumers to enjoy high-quality, high-definition video and other bandwidth-hungry applications without interruption.”

“NETGEAR is a major force in the consumer electronics market and a leader in offering high-performance products,” said Jorge Blasco, CEO of DS2. “Our partnership with NETGEAR is proof positive that there is a growing consumer demand for Powerline products. Moreover, DS2’s 200 Mbps Powerline chipsets are providing simple, reliable broadband connectivity that offers the necessary bandwidth to connect the digital home. DS2 technology is proven and mature. Our technology is currently in use by several service providers and we are delighted to be working with NETGEAR to bring this technology directly to the consumer.”

The first NETGEAR products based on DS2’s Powerline technology are expected to ship in the second quarter of 2006 and will be available through NETGEAR’s consumer, reseller, and service provider channels.

Located in NETGEAR’s booth (Stand C58, Hall 13), NETGEAR and DS2 will be displaying their 200 Mbps Powerline HD technology at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, from March 9 - 15, 2006.

Source:NETGEAR