Now that you’ve purchased the proper equipment to setup your new home wireless network, as explained in Part One of our three part article series, we’ll talk briefly about what the terms 802.11g and 802.11n actually mean - while trying to keep this as non-jargon as possible.

We know what 802.11 means, as explained in part one, so then what do the letters g and n mean? A wireless access point (Router) using the g standard transmits bandwidth at 54 megabits per second (Mbps) using the 2.4 Ghz frequency. This basically means that you’ll get a fast connection to your wireless router, which is connected directly to the modem, that will transmit through walls with a range of 80 to 120 meters, dependent on the thickness and material of the obstacle. A signal will pass through drywall a lot easier than stone or brick. What this means in your home is that one access point should transmit a signal to every room - unless you live on the Neverland Ranch, or in a cave.

The more common standard you’ll find today is the n standard. As with the previous standards, n improves on g with a 74 Mbps transfer rate, double the range of the g standard and a signal more resistant to interference. You’ll also notice that the n standard routers have more than one antenna. This is called MIMO technology, which basically means “hey look, two antennas! Lets use both and double the signal strength!”.

The term Bluetooth is everywhere, so I thought I’d write a brief paragraph about it as well. Bluetooth won’t be involved in your basic wireless network setup. It’s used mainly for hand-held devices, like PDAs, GPS’, mobile phones and similar gadgets. You get the idea. Bluetooth supports a very short range, about 12 meters. It uses a very low frequency to save battery power. Obviously, with such a short range, Bluetooth is not very useful in a wireless network configuration, where the goal is to be able to place a wireless router in the den upstairs and still have an internet connection while you’re sitting outside on your deck.

So now that you have a basic understanding of all the technical jargon regarding the standards and terminology, lets put it all together! Here’s what you’ll need to do to setup the hardware and get your computers connected. For this walk-through we’re going to assume that you have cable internet, a wireless router, a desktop computer that you’ll be connecting with a network cable and a laptop that you’ll connect wirelessly to the access point. This will be your home wireless network. Very basic, yet this is the setup you’ll find most often in the average consumer’s home.

It is ideal that you place your Router in a central location. If you setup your Router on the top floor, you may not have a good signal if you use your laptop in your basement. Of course, in this scenario you have a desktop PC without a wireless network card that you’re connecting physically to the router, so you may not have the luxury of placing it wherever you want. Just make sure you place it on a desk, so the dog doesn’t eat it.

To begin the installation, unplug the power to your broadband modem, turning it off. Plug in the power to your wireless router and the Ethernet cable from your modem into the uplink port on your router. This port is often labeled Internet, WAN, WLAN or something similar. The other ports on your router (usually 4) are used with direct Ethernet connections. Plug the Ethernet cable from your desktop computer into one of the free ports on your router. Plug the power back into your broadband modem. After about 20 seconds you should see a row of flashing lights on the modem, as well as the router. The router picks up the IP from the modem, provided by your ISP.

If your computer was previously plugged directly into the broadband modem, you may need to reboot your machine, or open a command window and type ipconfig /release, then ipconfig /renew once the first command is complete. This will drop the IP currently used by your system and fetch a new one through the router. This may not be necessary, but I’ve found that at times it will fix connection problems.

Once the process above is complete, open a browser window on your computer connected physically to the wireless router and type in the router’s IP address. The handy table below shows the default router IPs, usernames and passwords for common router manufacturers. If you can get to the router’s configuration page, you should be good-to-go. In the next chapter we’ll explain how to configure your router for your new wireless network.

Router	IP	Username	Password
3Com	192.168.1.1	admin	admin
D-Link	192.168.0.1	admin
Linksys	192.168.1.1	admin	admin
Microsoft Broadband	192.168.2.1	admin	admin
Netgear	192.168.0.1	admin	password

You should be able to reach an external web page automatically on your PC (just type http://cnn.com or http://yahoo.com into your browser) without changing any settings on the router. If you have special browser connection settings specified, however, you may need to adjust those. Congratulations, your wireless router should be connected and functional at this point. In article 3 we’ll go over the process of setting up your wireless network.

See other articles in this series:
Part One

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I have to give Apple’s iPhone praise. After 5 months, it’s still my favorite toy. I wasn’t sure if the novelty would wear off, but so far it’s proven to be a fantastic piece of ingenious engineered gadgetry. The sturdiness, the look, the functionality, the coolness factor haven’t faded. Unfortunately, I bought the very first low-end model, the 4 gigabyte iPhone. The memory is already full of MP3s, which is about half of my music library. A device like this could have come with more base memory. Maybe it was Apple’s plan all along - get people hooked, then when they realize 4 gigabytes doesn’t suffice, introduce a 16 gigabyte model for the same price. I won’t buy a new iPhone until version 2.0 is released, however.

I do have a couple more gripes, now that I think about it. First, browsing is slow as molasses. Pages show well, but waiting for them to load is annoying. I suppose this may be due to the fact that the current iPhone uses the G2 network. In 2008, Apple will be releasing a version of the phone which uses the G3 network. Could this be the iPhone 2.0? I haven’t heard anything else about it, but the way Apple is spitting out quality gadgets, I expect the iJesus 2.0 to double as a fully functional GPS and eBook reader, control my garage door, work my home theater and walk my dog.

I’m also not very pleased with the fact that Apple is so adamant about restricting third party applications. I can understand disallowing their phone to work on other networks aside from AT&T, but I see no reason why vendors aren’t allowed to create applications for the iPhone. Aside from these inconveniences, however, I think the iPhone is the best gadget released in 2007 - hands down. It’s set the bar for future mobile phones. It’s a high bar, but with the speed by which mobile technology is advancing, I’m sure something comparable will hit the market in 2008. In fact, it might already have. The LG Voyager from Verizon looks like a iPhone clone with it’s own unique qualities. Expect a review of the Voyager shortly.

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A Windows glitch delayed the New Years fireworks at the “Needle” in Seattle, as described in the following excerpt from Seattlepi.com.

A computer glitch led to a delayed fireworks show at the Seattle Center on Monday night as partiers waited to ring in the new year.

The show started on time at 11:59, said Mary Bacarella, spokeswoman for the Space Needle, but in the last minute of 2007 the crew from Pyro Spectaculars realized that the computer file running the show was corrupted.

Instead of continuing to use the bad file, the company’s three-man crew, stationed in a trailer near the Needle, executed the show manually. “The whole show was supposed to last eight and a half minutes and it went for 11 and a half minutes,” Bacarella said.

Bacarella said the show ran in numerical sequence and all the fireworks went off, but it was not in sync with the music. The show’s accompaniment was a compilation of Oscar-winning tunes, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

“This is the first time in 14 years this has ever happened,” Bacarella said.

Pyro Spectaculars, which is based in Northern California, has been responsible for the show during that period. “Usually, they would hit a button and the computer would run the whole program…,” she said.

But for many revelers, the problems didn’t matter.

Robert Malan, 32, of Buckley, said it was his first time watching the show at the Needle. “It didn’t make much of a difference. Fireworks are always cool. But it could have used some different music. It could have used some rock and roll.”

Malan’s friend, Dennis Bozung, 35, of Tacoma, however, is a veteran. It was his seventh year at the Needle display.

“Besides the manual detonation, they still had a good show. I like the big one that launched off the top of the Space Needle. That’s what everyone was waiting for and they still got it off,” Bozung said.

This article was obviously written by a technically challenged reporter. The delayed was caused by a “bad file”?

Popularity: 63% [?]