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Wi-Fi simplified
Microsoft kit takes much of the confusion out of connecting PCs wirelessly 10/17/2002
Until now, building a wireless home computer network could be a dizzying
descent into a hypertechnical world that often bewildered consumers.
Early Wi-Fi networking kits led users on a jargon-laden journey of
installation in which one wrong turn spelled failure. Do you want
Network Address Translation (NAT)? What's your ISP's gateway address? Do
you need Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)?
Those with gumption persevered through hours of manual-reading, and
trial and error. The rest could be found in the return line at Fry's
Electronics begging for refunds, their dreams of wireless freedom shoved
back into the original packaging and taped firmly shut.
This month, a new line of home and small-office networking products may
transform the network frustrations into child's play. And it comes from
an unlikely purveyor – Microsoft.
The Redmond, Wash., software giant has expanded its meager computer
hardware offerings of mostly keyboards and mice to 10 wireless and wired
Ethernet products for 802.11b, the formal name for Wi-Fi.
The most compelling products include an attractive silver $149 Wi-Fi
base station that teams up with a $79 USB desktop adapter and PC Card
notebook adapter. Combinations of these components can also be purchased
in $219 kits.
In raw function, the equipment is not much different from kits by
D-Link, NetGear and market leader Linksys. The base station is actually
a router, wireless access point, Ethernet hub and firewall rolled into a
single unit.
As for software, Microsoft sets a new standard for simplicity. Our
installation of a base station and notebook took 35 minutes from start
to finish. Previous endeavors with Linksys, Intel and Proxim kits have
soaked up an entire weekend.
Software wizards, familiar to even Windows beginners, guide users
through the setup. All that's required is a cable modem or DSL on one
home computer.
Before attaching a single cable, the setup software automatically
detects Internet service provider settings and configures the network.
Rather than confusing a user by asking for an SSID, or Service Set ID,
the software explains that the consumer is simply giving the network a
name, then suggests possibilities.
Even more impressive is the process of making the network secure.
Many kits on the market today treat security as an afterthought. A
recent "war drive" through Dallas with a Chicago computer security firm
showed thousands of wireless home and office networks vulnerable to
hacking.
At worst, those unprotected networks allowed theft of valuable personal
data by anyone within 300 feet of these wireless base stations. At best,
they allowed freeloading by neighbors who could tap into open networks
and surf the Internet using other people's accounts.
Protecting wireless networks involves setting up encryption known as
Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP. Other Wi-Fi kits gloss over this step
to avoid technical support grief. Many come with WEP disabled and use
default network names and base station passwords well known among
hackers. The Dallas war drive showed hundreds of networks had been
installed like this, just begging for trouble.
Microsoft's setup attacks this problem by prompting users to change
their network names and passwords so that only authorized users are
allowed entry. It turns on WEP by default, helping the user to
effortlessly establish a secure network.
Similarly, the base station's hardware firewall and NAT, which hide the
wireless network Internet addresses from outside probes, require users
to do little during configuration. All the complicated stuff takes place
in the background.
Finally, when the base station installation is complete, Microsoft
allows the user to transfer network settings to other computers on the
network by simply copying them to the included floppy disk.
Once the setup is complete, the network's daily operation can be
monitored by clicking on a system tray icon installed on all the
connected computers. Speed, signal strength and identities of the other
networked computers are available clearly and instantaneously.
Although Wi-Fi can transmit data at speeds of 11 megabits per second,
most home networking kits achieve only about half that speed.
Microsoft's average on our installation was about 4.8 Mbps, which is
plenty fast for most applications but may frustrate online gamers, who
prefer up to 100 Mbps.
The reason Microsoft has jumped into this market is clear, analysts say.
More than 30 percent of U.S. homes with Internet access now have
multiple PCs. Fewer than 10 percent, however, have an active home
network. The future of Microsoft's online Xbox gaming and home
entertainment center products all require home networking.
"They're hoping these products might spur overall consumer interest in
home networks," says Matt Rosoff, lead analyst for consumer services at
Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Wash., independent research firm.
"Consumers are going to be attracted to this name they know. And
Microsoft is saying, 'If we put out our own equipment and make it
supereasy, it may help spur broadband adoption.' "
Adds analyst Mike Wolf of Instat/MDR: "I don't think they'll just come
out and take over the market with this equipment. But they see the
future home connected with their software on all sorts of new devices.
"If you look at the big picture, it's really all just now coming
together."
E-mail dbedell@dallasnews.com
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