![\"Rainydaycatnap\"](\"http:\/\/ripples.typepad.com\/photos\/uncategorized\/2008\/04\/05\/rainydaycatnap.jpg\" "\\"Rainydaycatnap\\"")
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I would have much preferred to follow the example of this cat and spend the time snoozing.<\/p>\n
Instead, I subjected myself to another "learning experience" which resulted in me working furiously to get a system working instead of having a pleasant weekend with friends and family.<\/p>\n
Those of you who are considering adding wireless capability to your home computer network might be interested in what happened. Continue reading after the jump.<\/p>\n
I already had a working wireless network gets continuous heavy use.
\nUnfortunately it’s an open network and is accessible for use by
\nneighbors and passing motorists. I planned on setting up a secure
\nwireless network in parallel with the existing network and then
\nswitching our more remote computers from the open network to the secure
\nnetwork, once the testing was done.<\/p>\n
\nThis was not a foolproof plan, but it seemed to offer the advantage of keeping things running until the new network was in place. Wrong!<\/p>\n
\nSetting up the new network periodically shut down the existing wireless
\nnetwork which did not endear me to Gretchen who was trying to handle
\nimportant emails<\/p>\n
\nOur modern technology is marvelous when it works and it works amazingly
\nwell once all of the gritty details are worked out. And there’s the rub.<\/p>\n
\nDesigning for all of the possible situations that may be encountered is
\nno longer done, mostly because it would be impossible to release the
\nproduct and meet the marketing window. Long-suffering customer service
\npeople here and abroad pick up the slack when a product is released. <\/p>\n
\nI decided not to use the service reps in far off India, because I
\ncouldn’t figure out what the real problem was and I was setting up an
\ninstallation that was beyond the simple examples that Tech Support does
\nwell at. I discarded the "Network Wizard software" and pored through
\nthe user manual until I found information I could use to set up the
\nrouter by using a browser.<\/p>\n
\nThirty hours later I had tried every combination and I was getting
\nrepeatable and stable results. I have switched all of the laptops and
\nremote computers over to the secure network and all seems to be well.<\/p>\n
\nHaving spent two long days in this changeover, I am still a little gun
\nshy, so I am keeping the open wireless network on as a backup. If one
\nnetwork hiccups, I can easily switch to the other network. Redundancy
\nseems like a good idea today.<\/p>\n
\nI will probably make both networks secure, once I am sure that the system is really stable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Technology allows us to do more in less time than ever before, but there is a price to pay, especially when we try to upgrade a working system to another level of capability. That’s when we have to look under the hood and our complacency is often shattered.<\/p>\n
I spent the last two days installing a secure wireless network in my home and my workplace. This was not bleeding edge technology because I deliberately chose a two year old model in hopes that the product would be properly sorted out.<\/p>\n
I Googled for evidence of problems and found plenty, but most of the complaints were several years old. Recent installations seemed to have gone well, so I chose a TRENDnet wireless router and hoped for the best. <\/p>\n
I knew I was in trouble when the Network Wizard software that was shipped with the router failed to recognize the router. This "Network Wizard" was supposed to handle all of the messy details of the installation and couldn’t even start. The installation went downhill from there.<\/p>\n
I have had root canal procedures that were easier to experience… Instead, I subjected myself to another "learning experience" which resulted in me working furiously to get a system working instead of having a pleasant weekend with friends and family.<\/p>\n Those of you who are considering adding wireless capability to your home computer network might be interested in what happened. Continue reading after the jump.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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I would have much preferred to follow the example of this cat and spend the time snoozing.<\/p>\n