Wire Free Comfort

Even a decade ago most home users who had more than one computer at their homes had to run up a pile of wires to connect their computers. The situation turned tricky if you had a computer in your bedroom and another in the garage. Quite expectedly such long wires invariably caused myriad hassles from tripping over to spoiling your interior decor. Thankfully with wireless networking becoming increasing common and affordable, we can now have as many computers connected together in our homes and offices without making a mesh of wires.

Essentially wireless networking, better known as “Wi-Fi”, is a simple and quick method of networking a range of devices wirelessly. In this method of networking, a computer converts digital data into radio frequency (RF) waves with the help of a built-in wireless adapter. After converting the data into the waves, the computer transmits these waves using an antenna.

These waves are received by a wireless router present in the surrounding area that further coverts these waves back into digital data. Subsequently, the router transfers the information over the web using an Ethernet connection.

Wireless networking operates in the frequency band of 2.4GHz or 5GHz, and presents cost-effective cable-free solution over the Local Area Networks (LANs). If each computer within the network includes a wireless adapter, then several computers can be connected to the web using the same router. As long as one doesn’t go beyond the provided bandwidth limit, wireless connections function quite reliably. However, in case of exceeding the bandwidth limit, one can face intermittent connectivity problems.

In fact, Wi-Fi is a certification issued by an association comprising more than 300 firms for wireless devices that employ the IEEE 802.11 standard for networking. The standard is recognized globally, and even though the certification costs are high, it assures impeccable interfacing of various devices that have Wi-Fi certification.

In addition, Wi-Fi also offers the flexibility to let its users share things across peer-to-peer networks, popularly termed as “ad-hoc” networks, which are preferred for gaming, music, videos, music and other such applications.

As soon as a Wi-Fi enabled device, such as a laptop, Smartphone or console gaming device, comes into the range of wireless networks, instant internet access gets available on that device. A suite of various inter-linked access points is referred to as a “hotspot”, and there are a number of hotspots available in various public places, including airports, shopping malls, offices, parks, etc.

One can have access to the internet on multiple Wi-Fi enabled devices with the help of a single web connection, along with a wireless hotspot at home. With the plunging costs of Wi-Fi hardware devices, a majority of web users are switching to the more enhanced cable-free mode of surfing the web.

For all their benefits, wireless networks do have some drawbacks. The primarily one is the span of the network which typically restricted as Wi-Fi equipment normally operates within a range of 30 to 95 metres. Other drawbacks include the fact that Wi-Fi equipments operating within the band of 2.4GHz are found to be affected from the interference caused by various devices, such as Microwave ovens. Moreover, the high power consumption has also been a cause of concern for a number of Wi-Fi users. Such high power consumption seems to be a bothersome issue for the portable Wi-Fi equipments that run on batteries.