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March 30, 2006
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Choose wirelessly Much hoopla is generated around wireless networking. Connect without wires! Roam at your leisure! Surf the Web from your bathtub! There are much humbler, less dangerous forms of wireless communication for your computer, though. They?re not for networking ? they?re far too slow and short range for that. But that?s a good thing. They?re for things like mice and keyboards, hardly items that need to download full-length movies or pirated software. It?s just nice to eliminate some of the cable clutter surrounding desktop PCs. There are three main technologies that offer wireless connectivity for your computer peripherals. Each, of course, has advantages and disadvantages. Infrared (IR) With the advent of the media PC, infrared has made a small comeback into the computer world. TV tuner cards often come with a remote control that makes your PC behave pretty much like a TV with a TiVo attached. Some handhelds also use infrared for exchanging contact information, but getting two units to work together is often more of a hassle than just tapping Mr. CEO?s cell phone number in manually. Radio Frequency (RF) To prevent similar devices from interfering with one another, most RF products allow you to change the broadcast channel. Range varies, but it?s usually a few feet at most. Bluetooth The advantage over regular RF is that one Bluetooth adapter in your computer can communicate with all your Bluetooth devices. It can also recognize new devices when they come into range ? your new cell phone, for example. That same cell phone can exchange data with other cell phones, Mr. CEO?s Bluetooth-enabled handheld and even some cars. When choosing a wireless device, keep in mind the features and limitations of each technology. That way you can get rid of cables without encountering any new problems. Comments? Thoughts? Discuss these articles and more at hippoflea.com |
03/23/2006 Tax programs cometh
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