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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Thursday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 6/23/2005 |
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The
evolution of wireless networking My
daughter called me from Seattle the other day and asked me over to see her
new house, and to help her set up a wireless network. Wireless networking has
really taken off in the past few years, and just recently Intel announced
that they are adding wireless technology to their new series of processors. It made
me think back on the computer networking I’ve seen over the years. The very first pc networks used coax
cable, like the cable tv companies. Some of the
very early pc networks just used phone line, but the speed was a low slower. When I
worked for Univac, those were the days of central data processing
departments, and the computer room had a false floor under which were miles
of cable, and the room had to be air conditioned. It also had to have a full
time maintenance man, Then
later pc networks used the Ethernet cables and connectors that many networks
use today, and then later came the concept of wireless networking. The Intel
corporation invented a technology known as Centrino
mobile technology; you can buy a portable computer with one of these chips,
and then you can hook up to wireless networks anywhere, such as the ones you
find now in coffee shops and internet cafes. If there’s a free wireless
network in your area, such as the one in downtown Spokane, you can hook up to
highspeed internet for up to 2 hours a day at no
charge. My
daughter had highspeed internet through her cable tv company, but she had to go downstairs to where the
cable modem was located and plug into that if she wanted to access the
internet with her portable computer, which has Intel Centrino
technology. We bought
a Linksys broadband router for under $ 70, and the
guy at the computer store said it would work right of the box, but to be sure
to set up some security encryption on it. It came with an installation cd, but when we got to the part about setting up the
encryption, the manual was hard to understand – it was talking about
several different types of security and keys, and was a lot of gobbley gook, so we called the company. They
had us download a new installation program from the web, which worked great
and setup the security easily. You come up with your own password for the WEP
security. Wired
Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol for wireless networks that
encrypts transmitted data . It's easy to configure.
Without any security your data can be intercepted without difficulty. If you
run a network with only the default security, where WEP is turned off, any of
your neighbors can immediately log on to your network and use your Internet
connection. Thanks, neighbor ! Once set
up, my daughter can now use her portable anywhere within 500 feet of her
network, or more specifically - on the back deck of her lovely house in West
Seattle, and catch some rays at the same time, while working from home. What
a Life ! With all
new technologies comes a downside, and I saw an article on CNN recently about
the safeguards you need to take when you go wireless, so be sure to read up and protect
yourself. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2005 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html (509)624-7230 |
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