I was going to post this on the Linux/WLAN thread, but thought I'd widen the scope!

Everybody's going bonkers about getting wireless LANs working, and I was just wondering why people bother.

pros:

You can wander around the room with your laptop.

cons:

Even a good wireless connection is slower than a normal 100Mb wired connection.

Getting WLANs to work can be a total PITA, whereas a wired link will (usually) work as soon as you plug it in.

There's a significant security risk - there are ways of adding security, but it's not always easy to understand and implement. Hackers require physical access to the wiring to get into a wired network.

I read an article on 'The Register' not very long ago that said that it won't be very long before WLAN bandwidth runs out - more people will get a home network, meaning that the limited number of channels will all be in use. If you're within range of 10 or more wireless hubs then you might be struggling to find a channel.

David

(Ducks down behind the parapet and puts on his tin helmet... )

I like wireless, took seconds to set up. Now I can use the laptop in the garage whilst working on the car ^__^ I still prefer cables but wireless can be very handy

What about the plug-in networking that uses the mains citcuit to distribute the signals.
Anyone using that?

Romer

I like cables too (for all the resons above)

but even I'm getting a PCMICA wireless card - because no one else has cable anymore


oh, and while we are on the subject (kind of) - how do you make a Vista home machine talk to an XP home one via a firewire cable ? (I can see the network connection on my XP machine, but there is nothing on the vista one - and I don't know how to work vista )

Likewise, I can use my laptop(s) anywhere in the house / garage, wireless connect my phone to the internet....

did used to have wires trailing all over the place, it was a death trap.....

I do still use cabled from time to time when I need to download a large file, but it's the minority of times really....

Vince

Simple reason for me, a computer in all 3 kids rooms + 1 in the lounge + my laptop = wire running everywhere . It was much easier/neater to go wireless.

Nick

same as above really, much easier without the wires!

Though the network i set up at work is mostly wired and much more reliable. Only the laptops are wireless. We are in a business park and can count over 30 wireless networks. Mostly using the same channel so it doesn't seem to be an issue. That said I did change ours just to make sure there is no interference.

Its not unusual for me to have 3 or 4 laptops on the go, my work SWMBO's work, home lappy, car laptop etc. all those wires, no thanks.

Thats like asking why the telephone was initially developed when we had a postal service.

pros: instant converstation

cons: set up and change over time and costs, poor/terrible connections, limited number of connections possible etc etc.

It all comes down to a lack of foresight. You'd never look back on the birth of the telephone in the same way you're now looking at what is basically a technology in its infancy.

Within our lifetimes everything, everywhere will communicate wirelessly, with minimal hassle and very high speeds. For example, long before the number of usable frequencies run out we'll be using a wide-area wireless network.

quote:

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Originally posted by romer
What about the plug-in networking that uses the mains citcuit to distribute the signals.
Anyone using that?

Romer

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quote:

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Originally posted by romer
What about the plug-in networking that uses the mains citcuit to distribute the signals.
Anyone using that?

Romer

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I have one desk, with desktop, wired in. I would never run a desktop wirelessly, but with only one desk, and three computers and a WII, it makes sense to have easy options minus cables trailing everywhere.

Still have rj45 for desktop for online gaming etc.

I have two networks in the house both wired but when I need to cross over to the other network I simply plug in a USB key -- wham bam thankyou mamm CONNECTED !

Some USB network interfaces work a lot better than others, I found the ones built in to Laptops are not up to much mainly due to the fact they built into the case, while even the cheapest USB keys or PCI cards with separate remote aerials have far better wireless performance.

Make and cost is no indicator of how good a wireless device works even the sub 10 pound budget ones from Ebuyer are excellent -- just read the reviews before you by.

As for speed for most users it dosen't matter as long as the wireless connection is faster than the ADSL speed it won't make any difference.

forgive my stupidity but what's this about using your house wiring as a network?

This sounds excellent, can anyone explain how easy to set up etc and what costs are involved?

Cheers
Nigel

Having bought Madam Sloggi a shiny new laptop for her birthday, (how romantic?? Her suggestion), I found that I had to go wireless.

Only seconds to set up?? N_B_W!!! Took most of this morning, including a jaunt out to buy another ethernet cable. For the PC (my computer, on which I spend so much time, apparently). Still, tech back up from the Virgin team was pretty good.

Norton Symantec software (firewall thingy) seemed to cause the main prob.

Next, had to do full system recovery on wife's new laptop, 'cos access was barred for some unfathomable reason.

Now, I need to lie down in a darkened room for a while.

quote:

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Originally posted by romer
What about the plug-in networking that uses the mains citcuit to distribute the signals.
Anyone using that?
Romer

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I spot a HF ham^^...

Dan

[Edited on 16/12/08 by Bluemoon]

quote:

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Originally posted by jabbahutt
forgive my stupidity but what's this about using your house wiring as a network?

This sounds excellent, can anyone explain how easy to set up etc and what costs are involved?

Cheers
Nigel

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Rescued attachment a70cx.jpg

You lot are soooo last century!

3G all the way!

wired all day

then again I did rewire my own house with this in mind. Every room has an RJ45 port

Wireless is fine if set up properly. Most of the new routers are coming with quick set up stuff which makes it really easy and reasonably secure.

To hack your network the person still needs to be within 50m of your house, and quite determined. In most places, I would say you are pretty safe

Its easier to just hack a specific pc on the network over the internet to gain access, which you can do with wired or wireless...

As for speed, the new wireless is catching up with cables, however if you are downloading or transferring big files they are still slower due to the number of packet collisions you get on wireless vs wired.

For your average home user 54mbps is plenty fast enough for surfing, as most broadbean packages are only 8mbps if you are lucky....

David

I would love any type of network; tried cable - was unstable and too many cables around, tried wireless without router - nobody including experts could get it to work - now trying wireless with router/hub?? - PC and laptop both see hub?? but not each other

Now to find a tame expert.

[Edited on 16/12/08 by Ivan]

Wireless is great for the average modern house but go above that and for business its a waste of space.
Seems like its all going cordless nowadays, try buying a corded phone their like hens teeth.
Luckily for me people still need stuff wiring up.
Cheers,
Bob

[Edited on 16/12/08 by splitrivet]

quote:

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Originally posted by wilkingj

quote:

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Originally posted by romer
What about the plug-in networking that uses the mains citcuit to distribute the signals.
Anyone using that?
Romer

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DO NOT GO THERE.

Please Please PLEASE do NOT use these mains LAN adaptors.

They polute the wireless airwaves.
They emit signals allover the band and radiate tens of metres from your house.
They work by using a HF frequency run over the mains wiring. They radiate spurious signals between 0 and 30Mhz. I dont mean just in spots, but broadband (Not Internet BB) signals ie WIDE band radio signals.

Do a google search on "Mains LAN" or "Mains PLT" (power line technology).

Its a dirty system and polutes the airwaves.

This is not a pet hate. Its that I am against poluting technology that interferes with other legitimate users of the radio spectrum.

The Radio spectrum in Europe is one of the most crowded parts in the world. introducing these dirty bits of kit just make matters worse for everyone.

Also they are NOT encrypted, and all your data is in the clear, for anyone to snoop on.

At least Wireless Lan (Wi-Fi) has some encryption on it.

Please dont use these pieces of crap.

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Here's one of the articles I was talking about:

The Register

(straightens tin helmet, scuttles back behind the battlements!)

quote:

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Originally posted by splitrivet
Wireless is great for the average modern house but go above that and for business its a waste of space.

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quote:

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Originally posted by robocog
Quote deleted at request of robocog

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quote:

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Originally posted by stevebubs
??? I'd disagree. Most days, our WLAN has 200+ users on it spread across 50 access points

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I frequently ship very large files (distro iso files, loads of pictures, etc) between machines on my home network - the speed of cable makes a big difference!

I also ship tar files from my main Linux box to other PCs on the network, as a means of backing up my data. I would not want to do that on a slow network.

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I frequently ship very large files (distro iso files, loads of pictures, etc) between machines on my home network - the speed of cable makes a big difference!

I also ship tar files from my main Linux box to other PCs on the network, as a means of backing up my data. I would not want to do that on a slow network.

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