Wireless networking is 1 of the greatest new computer technologies in
terms of convenience. If you're weighing the pros and cons of wireless
before taking the leap, here are 5 to put in the "pro" column.
#1: No More Wires
Of all the reasons to switch your network to wireless, this is perhaps
the most important. Wires are inconvenient, expensive, dangerous, and
downright ugly.
No more wires across the floor improves the safety of your home, since it's easy to trip over exposed wires.
The average Ethernet wire doesn't cost much per foot, but it adds up
quickly. To run wires between rooms or floors, you have to knock holes
in the walls, which might not even be an option for renters.
Plus when you move you don't have the mess of disconnecting all the
wires only to re-connect them at the other end. Nor do you have to
examine every wire for damage if your internet connection goes down.
#2: Internet Access For All
Wireless networking gives you a cheap, easy way to share 1 internet
connection among multiple computers. You can add new computers to your
network simply by plugging in a wireless card and switching them on --
they get an internet connection immediately!
#3: Share Files And Printers
A wireless network gives you access to your files wherever you are, and
makes it easy to synchronize the data of a laptop and a desktop
computer. It's much easier to send files between computers with a
wireless network than by email, or CD.
Plus, with the printer connected, you can also write things wherever
you happen to be, press print, and go collect them from a printer
connected to another computer. Printers plugged into 1 of the network's
computers are shared by all the computers automatically.
#4: Always ON
Broadband revolutionized networking with internet connections being
continuously connected -- no need to dial in every time. Wireless
networking lets network connections be always-on, so any of your
computers can connect to the internet whenever you want. Take laptops
from room to room or out on the deck -- they'll have an internet
connection. Plus, there's no need for excessive password entry.
#5: Freedom!
With wireless networking, you can even take your computer wherever the
signal reaches. Going wireless is much like the switching from the old
fashioned wall-mounted telephone to a cellular phone. The freedom is
exhilarating.
