Home Wireless Networks Stink!
After trying with all of my brainpower to help folks who want to use their Internet all over their house, I’ve become quite an anti-Airport bigot. In my own home, I’ve hand-wired every room in our 1918 Craftsman-style Bungalow with nice, solid Ethernet cabling. We have three laptops, but NONE of them use any wireless network. Even in our old, small house made out of Douglas Fir, the signal doesn’t travel well.
After so many years of hearing complaints, my attitude has hardened. I’ve been disparaging wireless for a long time (except when somebody is traveling, and there is no other alternative), and have seen Ethernet cables as the only other possible alternative.
Well, as of today, I’m open to a third alternative.
For decades, I’ve seen adapters that plug into your home’s electrical system and allow networking through your power outlets, but they never impressed me much. According to recent reviews, those bad old days are over. The technology has matured, and the features and pricing are VERY attractive.
I’m planing to order a pair of the newer, faster adapters ($139.99 for the pair) to test them out on behalf of my clients. I’m going to throw the hardest test at them that I know of - Streaming high-definition video from my computer downstairs, through the house electrical system, to an AppleTV box connected to the big-screen TV upstairs. If that works well, then I plan to recommend them all of the time. The concept saves the expense of hiring an electrician to install a network behind the walls. With these modern adapters, re-routing or adding new units is a simple task.
I’ll let everybody know what I find out. I suspect that we’ll have a speed advantage because our house has all-new wiring. Older aluminum wiring can slow things down.
I have many, many movies and TV shows that I stream from my computer to the big screen already - The AppleTV ($249 at Costco) is absolutely indispensable to our entertainment needs. We depend upon it as much as we do our (still very buggy, but beloved) Tivo HD. I’m living right spang in the middle of futuristic entertainment, and it works dandy!
In fact, it’s SO dandy, I will be hosting another High-Definition Popcorn Night at my place after I get back from Apple Training in Silicon Valley this month. I will be showing off what all entertainment will be like in a few years. It’s really impressive, and as simple as can be. If you want to be on the VERY LIMITED guest list, reply to this e-mail and let me know what nights work best for you after October 19th. I’ll try to accommodate as many folks as possible.
