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Wireless Networking
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Imagine being able to sit on your couch, in front of your TV, with
your laptop on your lap, while you browse the web, chat with your
friends, and do other things you like to do on the 'net. Some people who
have laptops already do this, dragging a phone cord or network cable
over to their laptop so they can be connected.
Now, imagine being connected like that with no wires. No phone cords,
no network cables, but complete connectivity.
Wireless networking is not a new idea. A few years ago, some early
implementations of wireless networking were tried, but failed miserably.
They were slow and unreliable, not to mention that only a small number
of companies made the hardware, and even they didn't communicate with
each other.
But today, wireless is taking the industry by storm. 802.11 is the
standard name for wireless networking. There are a number of
sub-standards, defining the different frequency ranges used as well as
the maximum speed. 802.11b, which uses 2.4 GHz and has a maximum speed
of 11 million bits per second, is currently the most popular
implementation of wireless networking, with hardware costs for this
variation being very low. A faster standard, 802.11g, is starting to
gain ground though, mainly because it also works with older 802.11b
hardware too. 802.11g can move up to 54 million bits per second, almost
5 times faster than 802.11b!
This article will cover some of the various wireless hardware that is
available, some simple ways you can make your wireless network more
secure, and
we'll briefly touch on community wireless networks and some wireless
tools.
