Wireless networks are fast becoming one of the most common network types. Although they are not cost-effective or efficient as a replacement for wired networking, wireless networks are a great choice for temporary networks, networking in areas where networking is normally difficult, or offering wireless access to customers or employees with portable computers.

Windows Server 2003’s RRAS server can be used to manage wireless connections to the network. If you will be allowing wireless access, you will need to do the following:



• Configure remote access policies
• Determine whether to use IAS for authentication
• Configure the WAPs

I will touch on the topics deeply tomorrow.

Wireless networking has been around for some time, but many people in the early days of wireless networking abandoned it due to compatibility problems and a general lack of reliability. Wireless networking has come a long way since then, and Windows XP Professional includes a number of features that support common wireless networking standards and hardware. In short, if you need a wireless network, Windows XP has what you need to create and configure it.

Infrared
Infrared wireless uses an infrared beam to transmit data from one device to the next, and is most often used in PC devices. For example, wireless keyboards, mice, printers, and game devices can connect with an infrared port on your computer. Additionally, laptops and PDAs can connect with a desktop computer for data transfer. Infrared is a great solution for device-to-PC connectivity, but in terms of an actual LAN, infrared is not a preferred connectivity method.

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If music alone isn’t enough for you, some players can stream video and show pictures thru wireless connection as well. These multimedia boxes let you send almost any video or still images that are stored on your PC to your TV set without needing to run cables in between. In this post, we will look at devices that able to progressive-scan DVD as well, so they can replace a regular DVD player in your home theater setup.

D-Link DSM-320RD

A step up from the audio-only DSM-120, the DSM-320RD has excellent audio quality and supports a broad range of music formats, including Live365 and Radio@AOL. It also has a 5-in-1 card reader. But the photo and video playback quality was mixed, mainly due to the inherent limitations of a TV screen versus a PC monitor.

Unless you have an HDTV set and an HD-capable streamer like the Buffalo unit, your digital photos will be reduced in resolution to about 720 by 480, and their edges might be cropped. That said, navigating to photo folder and selecting pictures for display via the player was simple, and a slide show-creation feature lets you choose accompanying background music.

Video files don’t share the transfer troubles of still images. Most standard-format videos that you might store on your PC are already in the right aspect ratio and resolution for your TV, and the D-Link’s playback quality was similar to system monitor. Its major drawback for video is its lack of high-definition output. Also, as with the DSM-120, the remote control is small and overly sensitive buttons.

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George Ou from TechRepublic discuss how to performs wireless LAN site survey using some free and commercial tools.

Topics cover in this includes:

• Physical survey with free software such as NetStumbler.
• Physical survey with commercial software such as AirMagnet Survey
• Radio frequency Spectrum Analyzers
• Strategies for avoiding interference

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Ready to lose those pesky headphone wires? The IOGear Wireless Stereo Headphones set you free with Bluetooth 1.2 and offer an impressive 66-foot range. They’re very easy to use and they sound good so much better than other Bluetooth headphones. The headphones fit over your ears and around the back of your head. You can also pair them with your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. What’s cool is that if you make or receive a call while you’re listening to music, your tunes will pause and then resume once you end the call.

These headphones are about as good as Bluetooth headphones get.

Zoom’s X-series modems have been around for a while, but this latest top-of-the-range model introduces a couple of new features. The X6 is the first Zoom product to support ADSL 2/2+, and it also includes a full wireless-G router with ‘Prism Nitro’ (a special chipset feature), for improved performance.

The design is quite simple, matching the rest of the Zoom family: all black, only a single curved edge at the front to take away from the boxy looks. There’s an internal and external antenna (the latter isn’t removable), and a power switch at the back. There’s also a grand total of 13 LEDs, but unfortunately some are on the front of the unit, some at the back, so problems may not be obvious.

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Some products are easy to review, and you know almost immediately whether they’ll be good or bad. This one is less straightforward. Take the physical design, for instance. It’s bulky so there’s no wall-mount option, and the all-black design won’t blend in with most PCs. Yet on the other hand it conveniently has two detachable antenna, and the rare inclusion of a power switch is welcome, too. Then there’s the documentation. It looks impressive at first – a full printed book – but only 16 pages are in English.

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