The Wireless Network Setup Wizard is another new feature offered by Service Pack 2. You can use this wizard after you’ve purchased and installed the wireless hardware required for your computers, as well as the associated wireless access point(s). Access points are what allow the information to be transmitted wirelessly, and are a required part of the wireless network. These can also be routers.

While working through the wizard, you’ll have only a few decisions to make, but to do so you’ll need a brief understanding of the technology behind the network you want to create. As a primer, prior to running the wizard, make sure you’ve answered these questions:
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Two different groups testing new wireless products based on a draft standard of next-generation Wi-Fi technology are cautioning consumers against buying pre-standard networking gear. The Farpoint Group and the technology trade publication eWeek have released the results of tests on new products using draft versions of the 802.11n standard. While eWeek’s assessment was not nearly as negative as the Farpoint Group’s, both groups concurred that it was still too soon for consumers to buy products using 802.11n.

The 802.11n standard, which should be finalized early next year, will allow notebook users to connect to wireless access points at speeds much faster than what’s currently available with 802.11g technology.The 802.11n standard will use multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology, which is expected to improve range and throughput.

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Everything is going wireless! It’s a craze! At the center of the wireless dust storm is computer networking. By going wireless, you avoid having to attach another wire to your computer. Most folks figure anything that reduces the wire count by one must be a good thing.

A wireless NIC works just like a wired NIC, though it has no wire. Instead, it uses an antenna. The antenna connects to a base station. The base station acts as a wireless hub or router, and it can connect the wireless network to a broadband modem, a wire-based network, a shared printer, or even another wireless base station.

To keep all your wireless networking devices happy, they must support the same networking standard. The standard is known by a famous number: in this case, 802.11. That number is followed by a letter, either a little A, B, G or the latest N. If you go wireless, ensure that all your gizmos match the same standard, such as 802.11b or 802.11g or 802.11n. You can also pay more for wireless devices that match multiple standards, such as a wireless 802.11a/b/g/n NIC.

• The setup for wireless networks is much more involved than setting up a wired network. Wireless networks are also more expensive and not as secure.
• Apple is known to advertise its Macintosh computers as AirPort-ready, which means that they’re capable of accessing the Apple AirPort network. Note that you still need to buy the AirPort card (or NIC) to make your Macintosh wireless.
• Ensure that your version of Linux supports whatever wireless networking standard you choose, which will most likely be 802.11b/g. Again, hardware is needed for this software dictating; you don’t want to be stuck having to write your own Linux wireless networking drivers!

The latest trend in computing is wireless everything! Although that mostly applies to computer networking, wireless mice are also available. Two types of wireless mice are available: RF and infrared. RF stands for radio frequency; that type of mouse uses a low-powered radio signal to communicate with a base station, or hub, connected (by wire) to the computer. The infrared mouse uses infrared light to communicate with the base station, similar to the infrared light a remote uses to control a TV, VCR, or DVD player.

Between RF and infrared, the RF type of wireless mouse is always recommended. Because the infrared mouse may require a line of site to its base station, a cluttered desk or something large, like a book, in front of the base station may interfere with the mouse’s signal. That’s not a problem with the RF type of mouse.

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In an early salvo to prove that wireless LAN equipment based on Draft 1.0 of the 802.11n standard is not only extremely fast but also interoperable among different vendor implementations, Broadcom and Atheros announced on May 31 the results of a month’s worth of interoperability testing. Gear based on each company’s chip sets does play nice together, given the right circumstances but consumers should take that info with a grain of salt.

The tests aimed to prove chip-set interoperability given several mandatory elements of the draft standard, as well as one optional element.

Atheros’ and Broadcom’s draft 802.11n tests aimed to prove interoperability when using the following mandatory elements of the draft standard (plus one optional element): Two-stream MIMO Legacy-compatible mixed-mode preamble PHY-level spoofing A-MPDU aggregation A-MPDU length and density limits Immediate Block ACKs 40MHz channels (optional element)

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I have a wireless network at home that consists of a desktop and two laptops. I would like to print wirelessly from the notebooks straight to my printer, which is connected to my desktop. How can I do this?

If your wireless router has a built-in print server, simply connect the printer directly to the router, and all of your networked computers will have access to it. Alternatively, you can purchase a print server, as long as your printer is compatible with one.

Otherwise, go to your desktop’s Control Panel and select Printers and Other Hardware -> Printers and Faxes. Here, you can choose to share your printer. Then, follow the same steps on each of your laptops, but when you get to the last step, select Add a Printer and select select the name of your networked printer. The downside of this setup is that your desktop PC must be booted up for you to print from either of your laptops.

Is there anything I can buy or do to increase my wireless network’s signal?

If you can, try relocating your equipment to a wider, more open area, or mount it on the wall, if your router came with brackets. If your router is confined to a particular part of your house, keep it away from metallic objects or steel shelving / cabinets as they can interfere with the network signal. Likewise, cordless phones can also reduce your range if they’re operating alongside other 2.4GHz devices. (Cordless phones that rely on a 5.8GHz frequency shouldn’t interfere with an 802.11b/g wireless signal).

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