Wireless Home Network

At the end of 2000, according to International Data Corp. (IDC), about half of all U.S. households had a computer, and more than 20 million of those had more than one computer. In fact, market research shows that current PC owners are buying most of the new computers. This means that multi-computer households are becoming pretty common and Wireless Home Network is also growing. If you are one these multiple-PC owners, you have probably thought about how great it would be if your computers could talk to each other especially without a web of wires. With your computers connected, you could:

• Share a single printer between computers
• Use a single Internet connection
• Share files such as images, spreadsheets and documents
• Play games that allow multiple users at different computers
• Send the output of a device like a DVD player or Webcam to your other computer(s)

You've got a few computers. You've got broadband Internet access. Now you want to pull everything together with a Wireless Home Network so you can share the wealth of bandwidth (not to mention printers and files) without having to run cables all over the place. There are a few different methods for Wireless Home Network, depending on whether you already have a modem and a wired router. But we assume that you already have a broadband connection with a cable or DSL modem but don't yet have a router, and that your computer is currently plugged directly into your modem. We also assume you want to keep a desktop PC wired to the network and to set up either a notebook or a second desktop PC for wireless access. (It's a good idea to keep one of your PCs wired during configuration, in case security settings are lost in the process and you can't get back on the network.) You'll need to buy a wireless router, a wireless PCI card for your desktop PC, and a wireless PCMCIA card (also known as a PC Card) for your notebook.

Whichever type of network you opt for, you'll need a gateway or access point--a hub that converts wired network traffic into radio-frequency data packets and directs the data streams to devices with wireless receivers. Early access points did just that, and nothing more. You needed additional boxes for your cable or DSL modem, an ethernet hub, an Internet router that let all computers on the network share a single connection, and in some cases a firewall to protect against intruders. Putting it all together was a challenging task even for experts.

That's changed. The new class of Wireless Home Network gateways packs most of these functions into one easy-to-install box. Some units, such as those from Cayman Systems, do it all: They bundle a DSL or cable-modem wireless access point, an ethernet hub, a firewall, and an Internet router in a single box. Because different DSL providers have different modem requirements, you typically buy an all-in-one unit preconfigured by your ISP when you set up service. Most other new gateways are designed to work with the DSL or cable modem you got from your ISP. You buy these gateways off-the-shelf from conventional computer and electronics retailers and handle setup yourself.

If you decide on a Wireless Home Network, make sure you know what you're getting into financially: Besides purchasing the gateway, you'll have to buy a PC Card, a PCI card, or a USB adapter for each device on the network. If your devices and peripherals are Ethernet - ready and not too far from your gateway, you may want to consider a gateway with a built-in Ethernet hub. It will cost a bit more initially, but you might be able to make up the difference on the adapter side because you can pick up an Ethernet card for about $30--far less than any wireless adapter costs.

If you simply want to share broadband access, HomeRF's 1.6-mbps speed is adequate, since most broadband hookups don't exceed that bandwidth. But if you expect to transfer a lot of large files (such as music, photo, and video files) between your computers, the difference will be very noticeable. Also, since 10-mbps HomeRF products are expected later this year, investing in HomeRF right now makes little sense unless you don't need that speed.