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Show s By Alice Hi! itdsnsrisnnsti- i product was "LAN in a Can," which gave home users a network nearly a decade before Napster made the term cool. But there was no market for it, and it bombed. Today, the wired home is more likely to contain one if not two PCs, a printer and possibly a laptop borrowed from the office yet few people know how relatively painless it is now to set up a wireless network. If you want to make a little extra cash this summer, or upgrade your dial-u- p digs at home, read on. The next trend in home networking is the wireless LAN or "WiFi." No one wants to run cable between rooms and add new wall jacks to share a few files, so wireless is the smarter alternative. To succeed where previous products failed, the WiFi home network not only enables multiple PCs to share files and printers, it also supports multi ple and simultaneous Internet connections, including broadband cable or DSL. That means Dad can be checking his online portfolio on his My favorite early peer-to-pe- home-networki- "peer-to-pee- er r" tl laptop while you and a friend play a little Quake III. Try that with LAN in a Can! nksys wireless network multiplay-e- r What's in a Standard? Cet the propeller hat on for this next part. The official WiFi standard is called WiFi instead. Apple pio802.11 b small wonder someone came up with snappier-soundin- g It's Toshiba and neered 802.11 b, then it was adopted by likely to be widely used Compaq. in businesses. To get that power into the home, Lucent technologies recently unveiled an 802.11 b line of products called the Orinoco Residential Gateway (waveian.comproductsproduct detaii.htmi?id29) specifically for can roam freely throughout . the house ana even into the yard, Connections are always on and a! Way 5 high Speed, no matter what pC you're usjng or where. broadband connections. An Orinoco setup will run you about $400 for a desktop and laptop kit, and you can buy components at www2.warehouse.comkio$kLucentdefauit.asp?sourcexLucent. Linksys, known for great inexpensive home routers (wires required) has a new wireless network for broadband connections that also adds a firewall for security. You can pick up a Linksys solution for under $500 at provantage.comscriptsgo.dll. For Mac users, wireless transceiver that delivers 11 Mbps of netApple has the Airport, a futuristic-lookin- g working power up to 150 feet away. Developed in conjunction with Lucent, an Airport hookup runs about $299 ($99 for the laptop card version). Plug and Co Setting up a fairly simple. You connect your cable modem or DSL line to the transceiver, plug the transceiver into your PC's USB port, and then add a transceiver to every PC in the home. Laptops use a PC Card version and can roam freely throughout the house and even into the yard. Connections are always on and always high speed, no matter what PC you're using or where. WiFi LAN is your budget is tight, or you have a dial-u- p connection, a wireless RF (radio frequency) network may be the ticket. Intel's AnyPoint Wireless network will work with dial-u- p connects or highDSL or cable modem. A transceiver speed costs about $100 (intel.com). Throughput is slower (1 .5Mbps as compared to WiFi's 11 Mbps), but it's still fast enough to play multiplayer games and access MP3s all over the house. r If 8 steamtunneis.net ,3 Linksys laptop card Photos courtesy Linksys s |
