Your Guide To Wireless

Wireless Sonos Digital Music System

One of the sad ironies of this new world of wireless multimedia sharing is that although many gadgets out there use an integrated Linux OS to get music from point A to point B, very few of them actually allow Linux users to indulge in music-sharing fun. Enter the Sonos Digital Music System. The Sonos system is called a system for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s split up into components rather than being an all-in-one solution. The basic setup consists of a wireless base station, known as the ZonePlayer, and a portable handheld remote control, known as the Controller. Second, it’s designed to be a multiroom solution. You can place up to 32 ZonePlayers and Controllers around your house or workplace and stream different tracks to each of the different zones. The Zoneplayer The ZonePlayer is the heart of the system. It’s designed to connect to your home network, stream music from shared folders on your local home network and communicate wirelessly with other ZonePlayers in your house. The first ZonePlayer you hook up in your home must connect to your home network using an Ethernet connection; additional ZonePlayers then will connect wirelessly through the first ZonePlayer using a proprietary wireless networking system called Sonosnet, in order to minimize interference from other wireless equipment in your home. If you want to place the first ZonePlayer in a room that doesn’t already have an Ethernet connection, your choices will be fairly limited, but you can get around the issue with a pair of powerline networking adapters. Whereas most wireless music systems are designed to be connected to an audio system that’s already in a room, whether it’s a television, home theatre system or just a boombox, the ZonePlayer is designed to be used without such external audio/video equipment. The bad news is you’ll need a set of speakers for each ZonePlayer you set up. The good news is that you can use a set of standard speakers you already have, so long as they connect via bare wire at the ends. (If you don’t have speakers, you can buy matched sets from Sonos too.) Although each ZonePlayer can stream a different song at the same time, you also can link more than one of them together to act as a single entity. In other words, you can link up the player in your living room with the one in your dining room, or link the one in your workshop with the one in the garage. You even can link all of them together in party mode so that your music plays throughout the house. Or, of course, you can play different tracks in each of your defined zones. Adding additional ZonePlayers is a fairly easy process. You go to the System Settings option on the Controller, choose Add a Zone Player, and then press the buttons on the front of the new ZonePlayer. Then you select a name for the new ZonePlayer, and you’re done. Simple. The Controller To make the ZonePlayers work, you’ll need at least one Controller module. The Controller is exactly what you’d think; a mobile remote control unit that allows you to control what music is playing in what zone. You can use a Controller in each room, or you can control your whole network of ZonePlayers from a single Controller unit. If you’ve ever used an iPod, you’ll find the interface on the Controller to be amazingly simple like the iPod, it has a circular wheel for scrolling, with a button in the center for selecting your choice. There are also player controls (play/pause, back and forward), volume controls, a mute button and menu buttons for selecting your zones and accepting commands. The key to the Controller module is a large color screen in the middle of the front panel. The screen makes it easy to sort through your music library, choose between multiple zones in your house and set up the system. You can even display album artwork on the screen, if you have it saved in your music library. The controller has a built-in rechargeable battery, and it comes with an AC power adapter. If you want to invest a bit more, you can get a wallmountable charging cradle, which also will help ensure that the Controller doesn’t get misplaced between uses. The Sonos System The ability of the Sonos system to play music in multiple zones around the house is already impressive enough, but the thing that impressed the most was the way that the system finds and retrieves music. With most wireless music players, you’re typically limited to streaming your music from a single computer, and most of the time it has to be a Windows machine. The Sonos system, on the other hand, can retrieve music from up to 16 different sources on the same network, and it doesn’t matter whether those shared folders are on a Windows machine, a Mac, a Linux box or even a Network Attached Storage drive. The only requirement is that the folders have to be shared, and they have to be on the same network that the first ZonePlayer is connected to. The one downside for Linux users is that a bit of manual setup may be required. Although the Sonos system ships with client and setup software for Windows and Mac, the Linux installation is a bit trickier. [tags]Wireless Entertainment System, Linux Wireless Multimedia[/tags]

Wireless networking in Linux: Explained

Coyote sharing his experience with a famous Singapore tech forum on how to get wireless networking working in linux. He is using DWL-G520 network card and Fedora Core 4 linux to demonstrate how easy to get wireless networking in Linux. According to Coyote, basically there are two parts in getting it working: 1) Installing the linux drivers for the D-Link DWL-G520 network card. 2) Getting the OS to be support WPA encryption, such that the card can connect to the router using the protocol. ...

Planning the Wireless LAN

Before setting up a Wireless LAN, you first must plan your equipment purchase. The wireless approach to networking has one obvious big advantage: You don’t need Ethernet cables. With this approach, each computer in the network still gets its own Ethernet adapter. As always, this might be an internal card that you have to install yourself. Or it can be an external device you just plug into an existing USB or IEEE 1394 port. In either case, the adapter is essentially an antenna that sends signals to a special wireless Ethernet hub. Despite the obvious convenience of going wireless, you need to be aware of some potential disadvantages. One is that there’s a limit to how far the signals will travel. You need to estimate your distance requirements before you go shopping and make sure you get a wireless networking kit that can reach far enough to meet your needs. Then again, there’s a chance that the radio signals used by your networking hub will extend well beyond your home or apartment. If so, some outsider could actually tap into your network using his own equipment. Unless you happen to have evil computer geniuses as neighbors or are dealing in top-secret materials that some wealthy, powerful organization or government might want to tap into, this is probably not much of a threat. But do take care of wireless security, read on Securing Your Wireless Network here , here and here. Finally, you do need to be aware that virtually all electronic devices generate radio signals. And sometimes those signals “collide” and cause problems. For example, it’s possible that the radio signals emanating from a radio, TV, microwave oven, or cordless telephone handset might interfere with your network (or vice versa). The solution to that potential problem is to purchase wireless networking hardware that enables you to choose from a selection of frequencies (channels) to use for the network. That way, if you discover some interference among your electrical devices, you can just switch the network to another channel to stop the interference. [tags]Wireless Network Planning[/tags]

Get More Out of Your Wireless Network (Part 4) on Digital Camera

Digital cameras are relatively new to the Wi-Fi scene, but the idea makes sense: You have to transfer pictures from your camera somehow, and using Wi-Fi eliminates worries about forgetting USB cables or flash memory adapters. The EasyShare-one The EasyShare-one is one of the Wi-Fi camera able to connect directly to the Internet. You can upload pictures straight to Kodak’s EasyShare Gallery via 802.11b, and e-mail links to friends. You can also wirelessly transfer photos to your computer. The EasyShare-one is supports both WEP and WPA encryption, the device can’t connect to a Wi-Fi network that has a log-in page (which rules out most public hotspots). T-Mobile, however, has a deal with Kodak that lets subscribers to T-Mobile’s hotspot service use the camera with that service; customers who don’t want a full-blown hotspot subscription can set up a cameraonly account for $5 per month. Another drawback is that Wi-Fi transfers to your computer require using the EasyShare Gallery album software. And you can’t e-mail the actual photos from your camera, just thumbnails that link to the Gallery site. Nikon Coolpix P2 The Coolpix is even more limited than the EasyShare. It does let you use Wi-Fi for camera-to-computer transfer and printing, and it supports the faster 802.11g, along with WEP and WPA encryption. But Wi-Fi transfers, which require both camera setup and specific software on your computer, are needlessly complex; using a USB cable is much easier. And the model offers no support for hotspots, e-mail, or direct-to-Web uploads. The P2’s one cool Wi-Fi feature is a Wireless Live Transfer mode that bypasses the camera’s memory card and sends pictures directly to your computer as you take them, a convenience that might be especially useful in some photo studios or labs. The 8-megapixel Nikon P1 ($400) has the same Wi-Fi features as the P2. Recomended Kodak Easyshare Z7590 5MP Digital Camera Kodak Easyshare Z7590 5MP Digital Camera, The SchneiderLens of this fine quality Kodak Easyshare Digital Camera 7590 has a 10X Zoom that has a 35mm equivalent of 38-380mm focal length. [tags]Digital Camera, Wireless Camera, Canon, Nikon[/tags]

Get More Out of Your Wireless Network (Part 3) on VoIP

If you like saving big bucks on long-distance and international calls with a Voice-over-IP phone plan, you’d probably love being able to use it with a Wi-Fi handset that lets you enjoy wireless freedom. Since Wi-Fi is available all over the world, you could bring a Wi-Fi handset on your European grand tour, yet pay no more than your normal monthly fee for all the calls home you care to make. Others could call you, too, at your regular number, anywhere in the world, at domestic prices. Just try that trick with a cell phone. The snag, of course, is that Wi-Fi is nowhere near as ubiquitous as cell network coverage and the first-generation handsets not yet support the log-in screens found at most public hotspots. A Wi-Fi travel router will let you use the phone (and your Wi-Fi–enabled laptop) in hotel rooms with wired broadband access via ethernet, though. It’s worth noting that if you expect to use the phone only at home, you’re probably better off using a less expensive, more feature-filled regular cordless phone with your VoIP box or router. But even if you take a relatively bellsand-whistles-free Wi-Fi phone just to work, it could help trim your cell phone bill. Keep an eye out as well for new models with more features and functionality, such as UTStarcom’s upcoming hybrid phone that can make and receive calls over both Wi-Fi and cell networks. UTStarcom F1000 The alternative is to get your phone from a VoIP service provider; doing so is cheaper and easier but ties you to that company. This F1000 phone came from Vonage, which sells the model for $80. (You can also buy the F1000 through BroadVoice and VoIPTalk.) It worked perfectly during the call test. Voice quality was comparable to that of a cellular or cordless phone, and no noticeable degradation in the quality of the call. Also, an “unlocked” F1000 model that can operate with any VoIP service provider willing to divulge your normally hidden account connection details costs. ZyXel Prestige P2000W The ZyXel handset was harder to set up since it wasn’t tied to a specific VoIP provider. It also took longer to connect calls than the UTStarcom did, and it emitted three annoying dings before the phone on the other end started to ring. And unlike the UTStarcom, the ZyXel lacks WPA support and is too large and clunky to fit in your pocket. Recomended Voip Phones,Instant Voip Usb Phone (Black) Instant VoIP USB Phone (Black) Our range of VoIP phones (Voice Over Internet Protocol) allow users to communicate with others using VoIP programs like Skype, MSN Messenger & Yahoo Messenger just to name a few, to make PC to PC, or PC to landline (if supported by VoIP telephony program) Phone calls. The VoIP Phones connect to a computer via USB Connection and provide USB Audio functions. The VoIP-001 provides driverless operation and ease of use in one user friendly package, it allows independent audio connection so your call will not be interrupted by audio warnings/alerts or music Features -PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone operation -Driverless Operation under Windows 2000 / XP -Compliant with USB1.1 Specification -No need sound card -No external power required -Independent audio use, once set up you can listen to music whilst making a VoIP call -Echo cancellation, noise reduction -Full duplex communication Specification -Microsoft Windows 2000/XP Compatible, Absolute Driver Free -Free PC to PC call and low PC to Phone call rate over the internet -No Power/Memory/Sound Card/Audio require, all media application can work simultaneous -Plug & Dial Easy to install- easy to use -100% compatible with popular "Skype" software -Dimension:125 x 54 x 28mm Please Note: These products require an existing internet connection for operation, the keypad can only be used with VoIP telephony programs, which may require subscription and/or additional cost. [tags]VoIP, Wireless Call[/tags]

Securing Your Wireless Network

Though your new wireless network allows you to have the freedom to surf the Internet anywhere in your house, it also is good news to your neighbors. With your wireless network, your neighbor can now surf the Internet for free, at your cost. I always highlight the important of wireless security to public, and I don't mind to re-post this topic again in this blog. Unlike a wired network, where you need to have physical access to a network access point, wireless networks extend beyond the four w...

Configuring Remote Access Policies for Wireless Connections

Follow-up from yesterday's post; Addressing Wireless Remote Access Design Considerations, here on how to configure remote access policies for your wireless connections. To enable wireless connections, you need a basic remote access policy to allow wireless users.This policy can restrict access to a group, require certificate-based authentication, and/or mandate a high level of encryption.You can use the following steps to create a policy for wireless access. Create a Policy for Wireless Ac...