4th May 2001
Hardware comes in every shape, size, and (thanks to the innovative folks at Apple) color. Although, I can't remember the last time I really wanted to look at a lime green peripheral. I'm more interested in having it work correctly rather than matching it to the drapes. Wireless technologies are creeping into the marketplace. Most of these will come in two flavors: 900MHz and 2.4GHz. Which is better? Logic would dictate that the more expensive unit is a wiser choice. Besides, cheap hardware is typically prone to problems. 2.4GHz devices will have a wider range when compared to their 900MHz counterparts; most walls don't exist for 2.4GHz devices. You can move farther away from the base without signal degradation. There's another reason to go for "more" with two point four: less interference. There are a ton of 900MHz machines operating on the same frequency (cordless phones). When your home network is set up for wireless Internet connectivity, this is a very important consideration. You want a clean signal for maximum bandwidth. On that subject, if you're not already operating sans network cables, be sure that you go with a 802.11b compliant system. No, that's not a new droid from the upcoming Star Wars flick. It's the IEEE standard (operating around 2.4GHz).