An article on the boons and banes of a wirefree world.
That’s what today’s world is all about. We live at an age where information is the key. The digital epoch that surrounds us with data. They whiz about at an incredible rate, faster then the speed of light.
The pursuit of knowledge and the ability to extort this from the infinite virtual sea of data called the Internet has led to more and more reasons for individuals to be part of this cycle. Today access to the Internet has seen the revolution of wireless technology that allows one to simply connect without the need of unwieldy wires or cables.
Look! No wires!
Technology has mushroomed in a mind boggling way in making the world stronger, smarter and faster. To keep up with the ever growing trend of having the latest information on your fingertips, the very mobile and handy modes of equipment have come into play. These include the quintessential laptop.
Equipped with the ability to connect to a wireless network anywhere, the laptop has become one of the essential “carry on” for any university student, professor, doctor, business executive, stockbroker, researcher and just about anyone intent on keeping up with the times.
The term wireless refers to a wide continuum of technological marvels that include such inventions like the PCMCIA cards, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wireless router, access points that allows one to connect to the net from a mobile device such as laptops, PDAs and notebooks.
The freedom that wireless technology provides for the on-the-go user has led to this wave of access points called “hotspots” around the globe. These “hotspots” can be found in universities, airports, libraries, internet cafes, conference centers, hotels, coffee shops, parks and many more public spots. They can range from short distances to many miles in diameter.
Today, the embedded technology of wireless local area networks (WLAN) has been coined the term WI-FI – for “Wireless Fidelity” or “Wi-Phy” for “Wireless Physical Network Layer.
Generally a connection to the network is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards on a 2.4 GHz band frequency. The simple kind used in everyday devices such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors and Bluetooth devices.
In a recent news article, Wi-Fi Alliance, the brand that licensed the term “Wi-Fi” has planned the next generation of 802.11n standard on all its Wi-Fi products. This is supposedly to be “5 time faster than current ‘g’ standard” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18697033/)
A connection to the internet can be achieved in several ways. If you own a laptop with inbuilt wireless capability, all you need to do is switch it on in a hotspot area providing the service. Your laptop picks up the signal and allows you the option to connect to that particular provider. However, some connections require a passkey for security reasons. For example, University students can access their library website with their register number as the passkey.
Some connections are unsecured which does not require you to provide a key and can be automatically connected. Usually, these are accessible to anyone and provide lesser security then secured connections.
Once a connection has been established, the user is then blessedly free to surf, browse, chat, and search.
The boon and the bane
The ability to connect whenever and use wherever has become so useful that we may soon see a completely wireless world in the near future. People all over the world are slowly becoming part of this evolving technology as more and more are becoming tech savvy.
- A wireless router set up in a home can allow all family members with a laptop or computer to connect from any part of the house.
- A university student can lounge in some parts of the university supplying a wireless connection, to do research.
- A frequent flyer traveler can find it easy to hook up to the Net while sipping a coffee waiting for the next flight.
- A stockbroker can connect his wireless laptop on any hotspots to check the stock market.
The concept of wireless and wire free allows one to be totally independent and mobile. Without the need to be constricted to a particular place, the usage of which has been a boon to millions.
All things said and done, wireless connections are not always a bed of roses and each comes with a price.
A user with an inbuilt wireless antenna on their laptops can easily connect to public spots, but how far will security issues be addressed? Unbeknownst to them, a laptop with its wireless facility turned on can always pick up nearby signals and are a welcome sign for unsecured eavesdropping. Hotspots can be the center of several wireless connections overlapping one another and you never know if your laptop is tuned to pick one when you thought it was connected to another!
Wireless routers broadcast signals in a range of diameters and the further you travel away from one, the lesser the signal strength becomes. Is speed then compromised for quality? Wireless connections may seem the answer to the proverbial traveler. Roaming and surfing is so much easier with no muddling wires! However, wireless connections do tend to be slower then many other network connections. Speed and signal strength are also affected when multiple signals are being sent to your laptop receiver.
The coming of the very useful PCMCIA card (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) and now thankfully shortened to the acronym “PC Card” or the Cardbus, may solve part of this problem.
This interface, originally developed to provide expandable memory to laptops and notebooks, are small credit card shaped hardware that were designed to provide unlimited access to a number of applications such as Bluetooth connection, video card or external sound as well as supporting wireless connectivity. A user is dedicated a secure and individual connection wherever he or she may travel. However, this usage much depends on the price and availably of service providers for it to be really useful.
In another article, security issues were addressed at the Black Hat USA 2006 convention. Researchers demonstrated a challenging method of taking control of a laptop computer by using a WI-Fi driver. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126204-page,1/article.html). They used a tool called LORCON (Lots of Radion Connectivity) to confuse wireless users by throwing in large amounts of data. Many wireless drivers’ faults were then identified.
So look around you. You are part of the digital era. One of the hottest technologies that has changed the way people use information has got everyone from the young and the old to be part of it. Whether you use it or not, you can never go far without hearing about!
Tue, Apr 28, 2009, by Shalini Sridhar
Web Talk