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.

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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.

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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 walls of your house. Most wireless access points and routers provide a web-based configuration program for configuring the wireless access point. The following are some pointers for securing your wireless network:

Disable SSID Broadcast

By default, most wireless access points will broadcast the SSID to all wireless devices. Anyone with a wireless network card can detect the SSID you use and gain access to your network. This brings us to the next point.

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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 Access

1. From the IAS or RRAS console, select Remote Access Policies in the left-hand column.

2. Select Action –> New Remote Access Policy from the menu.

3. A welcome message is displayed. Click Next to continue.

4. The Policy Configuration Method dialog box is displayed. Select Use the wizard to set up a typical policy and enter Wireless access in the policy name field. Click Next to continue.

5. The Access Method dialog box is displayed. Select Wireless and click Next.

6. The User or Group Access dialog box is displayed. Select Group and click Add. Enter Domain Admins and click OK, and then click Next.

7. You are prompted to choose an EAP type to allow. Select Smart card or other certificate and click Next.

8. A completion message is displayed. Click Finish to exit the wizard.

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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