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Bill Machrone
Get connected: How to pick the best network technology for your home

Bill Machrone
Contributing Editor PC Magazine
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
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Are you ready to network your home or small office? What might have seemed like a set of easy choices is suddenly difficult--the choices have multiplied and the prices have come down to the point where you can do a wireless network for the same amount of money that a wired network would have cost you a couple of years ago.

And wired networks have gotten so cheap that you can do your whole house for less than the cost of a night on the town.

EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT sharing a broadband connection, it makes sense to network if you've got multiple PCs for all the same reasons you network at the office--easy file transfer, backup, and resource sharing, such as printers and modems. But a fast, shared connection is the main reason most people network, and it really changes the way you use your home PCs. Everything becomes easier, from checking the weather to updating drivers.

PC Magazine Contributing Editor Bruce Brown takes you through the pros and cons of all the available technologies, and some of the great new products that bridge technologies in a recent roundup. Some of the latest products give you a new dimension of flexibility--they support multiple infrastructures simultaneously, so part of your network can be, for instance, HomePNA and part Ethernet. Part can be wired and part wireless. The manufacturers have made things as easy as possible, at prices that still leave me smiling and shaking my head. Read up on it, and get ready to take the plunge! Click for more.

D-Link, 3Com make networking easier, faster
Here's a pair of products from leading wireless networking companies, and they do something a little different than the usual wireless network access point. A typical access point sits on your LAN and conveys wireless packets to and from the router. But more boxes cost more money, and the flexibility afforded by separate access points, routers, and hubs is overkill for the typical home network.

These gateways combine the functions of the router and the access point, saving you money and space while adding a large measure of convenience. They also let you blend wired and wireless networking without additional expenditures. We liked both boxes a lot, but each has its particular strengths and weaknesses. Check out the reviews and see which one works best for you. Click for more.

Are you ready to take the plunge into home networking? What method works best for you? TalkBack to me.

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