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802.11b Rocks!

Today I had Jennifer astounded and amazed as we discussed on IM our home wireless networks. I was able to toss out impressive terms like “802.11b” and “Wi-Fi”. We went on to discuss how happy we are that there are standards for 802.11b, allowing my 3Com wireless PCMCIA card to work with the Mac Airport that Cory set up at SXSW. If you are looking for more information on Wi-Fi, 802.11b/WiFi News is a GREAT resource. But like I told Jennifer, I knew as much as I did thanks to watching Chris on Call for Help.

By Christine

Christine is an Avenger of Sexiness. Her Superpower is helping Hot Mamas grow their Confidence by rediscovering their Beauty. She lives in the Heights in Houston, Texas, works as a boudoir photographer, and writes about running a Business of Awesome. In her spare time, she loves to knit, especially when she travels. She & her husband Mike have a food blog at Spoon & Knife.

10 replies on “802.11b Rocks!”

802.11b is fantastic. I have an Airport system for my Macs at home, and there is nothing better than being free to roam my house and surf or blog from anywhere I want. I love it!

Basically, I have a wireless system at home (802.11b, or Wi-Fi as it is frequently called) that allows me to use the laptop … well, similar to how you use a cordless phone. I can surf on the patio, on the couch, from bed even with a wireless card in the laptop that allows me to roam “cordless” from my cable modem. (You can hook up your PC to be wireless too, like I have suggested to my Mom to do since she doesn’t have cable in her kitchen where her PC is and she is stuck on a dial-up because of it.)

it’s fantastic for sharing a broadband connection! what’s the sense in having more than one computer in a room! right now we have one tied down and one free to roam! it’s not terribly expensive, either — we got a linksys set up for less than $250.

Two things:

1. don’t forget that if your wireless nodes are close to your exterior walls you are also sharing your bandwidth with anyone within a few hundred feet of your house. Great for neighborhood WANs, but it can slow you down.

2. make sure you’re using 128-bit encryption unless you don’t mind sharing your data, too. As was mentioned all over the place a couple of weeks ago, all it takes is a Pringles can and about $5 worth of electronics to scope your network.

Just another quickie comment… 128 bit WEP encryption doesn’t cut it on it’s own for privacy. Do the Google dance for WEP, you’ll be amazed. The one thing that seems to hold true… if you want some sort of privacy on a wireless network, you have to use MAC address control.

Peace!

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