Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity refers to a set of wireless networking technologies more specifically referred to as any type of 802.11 network, 802.11b and 802.11a, dual band. The word Wi-Fi was built by an organization called the Wi-Fi Alliance. They overlook tests that confirm the production.
A product that undergoes the alliance analyses is given the name “Wi-Fi certified”. In earlier times, the term “Wi-Fi” was used only in place of the 2.4 GHz 802.11b.standard. It rapidly gained in fame with access points across the Unites States.
These standards are generally in used around the world, and allow users that have Wifi capable device, like a laptop or PDA to connect anywhere there is available Wi-Fi access point.
There are three standards referred to signify the speed of connection. Both the 802.11a and 802.11b are the ones capable of 54 MBPS with 802.11a additional capabilities.
802.11b are the most common of the three standards because it can transmit at 11 Megabits per Second even though the faster WI-Fi standards are quickly changing it. However, all these Wi-Fi standards are fast enough to generally allow a broadband connection.
Wireless Fidelity is an appearing technology that will probably be as common as electric outlets and phone lines in a few years. It adds great levels of convenience and high level of production for workers whose offices have a Wi-Fi access.
It is intentionally planned to be use for wireless devices but is now often used for Internet access. You can connect computers anywhere, in or out your home or office without needing wires. They are just connected to the network that uses radio signals. Even travelers can progressively equip Wi-Fi in airports, coffee shops, Internet cafes, malls, and hotels around the world.
How does W-Fi work?
Wi-Fi is the wireless way to handle networking. Wi-Fi allocates a worldwide Internet connection to be transmitted through radio waves. Radio waves are the ones that make Wi-Fi run and exist. They permit Wi-Fi networking occurs between many people. These waves are transmitted from antennae and Wi-Fi receivers are picking them up. The moment a device receives signal within the range of a Wi-Fi network, an Internet connection is produced without a chord and with the use of a Wi-Fi card that reads the signal. The user will be incited with login screen and password if needed once the connection is established between the user and the network.
How secure is Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi maintains and continues to have numerous security issues. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is used in the physical and data link layers. It was planned to provide wireless security by protecting the data while it travels from one point to the other. Contrasting with the wired LANs, their networks are usually inside the building.
Even if it is protected by wireless LANs, they are more exposed due to the fact that the data travels over radio waves which are much easier to capture. One of the reasons why WEP is vulnerable, some other corporations do not even change their shared keys for a long time. The keys are too long to be used. With that much time, the key can get into other hands and use it in a wrong motive, which could be disastrous for the corporation.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Get Connected To Wi-Fi
Flash Card: When Size Really Matters
Few years back, we never really imagined how memory storage would evolve into flash cards we know today. It is ever harder to believe that the tiny rectangular piece of plastic could store thousands of pictures, hundreds of songs, and even movies. Remember few years ago when storing files could mean we have to settle for 3.5” and the outrageously large 5.25”? You know what I mean right? Those we have thought the future of memory storage- the floppy disks? With the amazing capacity to store as much as 1.44 MB of files, these floppy disks are really works of technology.
But as we all know technology would not stop to evolve. This is the reason why floppy disks are now the thing of the past. And as the years go by, we have received memory storage cards that are as size of post stamps. We even amaze old folks when we remove in from of them those tiny card out from digital cameras, cellular phones, and computers.
One of the earlier flash cards have the memory capacity not far from floppy drives. 2 MB is enough considering you have the reference point of 1.44MB. Shortly, the 4 MB came out. From then on, several more powerful, smaller, and larger storage flash cards came out. The 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 MB came out. Up to now, the 128 MB flash cards are still being used although much higher memory cards are now in the market.
Today, several digital devices are using 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and even 8 GB and 16 GB flash cards. Those are the capacity of hard drives just year ago. While hard drives are as size of car stereo cut in half, flash cards can fit to your pocket just like having a penny. The benefits of flash cards could be seen more popularly on digital cameras where they can sit peacefully to the camera’s size. How about computers? Computers still use hard drives to store memory. And if you want some portable drives, the flash memory sticks are used. Like flash cards, they are small with large amount of memory capacity.
You might wonder how can a single tiny card hold such large files. Let us put it this way: your file cabinet could only store limited amount of files. And large cabinets are big. Big if you are going to store all these filed digitally, meaning using electronic codes, you can store as much files in one tiny storage just like the flash card. Another reason is that flash cards have removed unnecessary components that could enlarge the size of the card.
There are several types of flash cards used today particulry on digital cameras. These came in different sizes depending on the device it is designed to fit in. Here are several types of flash cards used: MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), CompactFlash (CF), Secure Digital (SD), SmartMedia (SM) and xD-Picture Card (xD).
The sizes also depend on the capacity of the flash card against one another. But the bottom line is, flash cards, no matter what the size is, still carry significantly large amount of files in one tiny square-shaped plastic card. Who knows, in the future we might se 80 GB flash drives that can record and store several hours of video.
Computer Consulting: Which Business Is Right for You?
Some people decide they want to open up an independent doughnut shop instead of buying into one of the really large doughnut shop companies. If you want to make submarine sandwiches, you can do it on your own or you can buy into one of the big, extremely well known franchises. If you want to start a computer consulting business, you can be independent or part of a franchise.
It all depends on whether you want to build your business completely by yourself, or whether you want to try to take some shortcuts. Of course, with a franchise, you need to be prepared to up the ante. In this article, we'll explore some pros and cons to each choice.
Be Prepared to Put in Some Sweat Equity
Realistically, during your computer consulting startup phase, you're still going to have several months where you'll need to be out pounding the pavement, shaking hands and getting your name out there. You'll also follow up on a ton of leads, generate a lot of proposals and go out on a lot of sales calls. And you'll have to do all of this before you start getting a lot of billable projects. Don't think that just because you're buying into a franchise that those problems are going to go away overnight. You need to be realistic about the pros and the cons of buying into a franchise.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
The right decision for one person isn't the right one for the other. It really all depends on what you're looking for in your computer consulting business, your skills, and your available time and financial capital.
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Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Basics Of DSL Internet Service
The days of unreliable Internet connections, impatiently waiting for web pages to load, and waiting hours to download something from the Internet are quickly becoming obsolete. Dial-up Internet, which used to be the standard for those seeking Internet access, is rapidly being replaced by faster, more reliable Internet access technologies. One of those technologies, DSL Internet service, is one of the most popular and affordable options for the home Internet customer. There are things to be aware of though, if you are considering using DSL for your Internet access.
DSL, or digital subscriber line, is a form of broadband Internet technology, that has download speeds that span 128 Kbps (Kilobits per second) to 24,000 Kbps, depending on the level of service purchased by the customer and the particular DSL technology in use by the ISP (Internet service provider). The technology dates back to 1988, when engineers at Bellcore (formerly Bell Communications Research, Inc., now Tellcordia Technologies) developed a method of transmitting a digital signal along the unused frequency spectrum on the twisted pair cables that ran between the central office (in a phone company, the location that houses the equipment that connects phone calls) and customer locations. Using DSL allowed a regular telephone line to provide digital (Internet) service without getting in the way of existent telephone service on the line.
DSL did not take off immediately, because it was more profitable for local telephone companies to simply install a second phone line in a home in order to provide dial-up Internet service in addition to regular telephone service. However, when cable television companies began offering and implementing their new high-speed Internet technology (via cable modems) nearly a decade later, local telephone carriers jumped in with the competition and began offering up the DSL technology to customers. Today, DSL remains the primary competition for cable companies and their high-speed Internet technology.
Despite the more reliable connections and faster rates of data transmission, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of regarding DSL Internet service. For starters, the farther your house is from the telephone company's central office, the less bandwidth you will have access to. This means slower data transmission rates, and therefore might mean less enjoyment for things like online gaming, video viewing, and picture uploading. Some might not notice the slower capacity for things like email and other basic uses, though.
Another drawback to DSL is the potential cost. There is equipment to purchase, such as the modem and DSL router, plus there are sometimes installation fees. The good news is that competition drives service providers to often offer incentives and freebies for choosing their services, such as free self-installation, rebates for equipment purchases, and large amounts of mailbox storage. However, if you are not satisfied with your DSL service, you are often contractually obligated to them for a certain period of time, and will probably be required to pay a hefty fee for canceling early (up to $200 sometimes). Monthly prices for DSL Internet service range from $14.95 per month for basic DSL to upwards of $49.96 per month for more advanced versions of the technology.
Yet another drawback to DSL Internet service is that customers often see a slower connection than promised by the ISP. This is due to some service providers oversubscribing their service. Their often just isn't enough bandwidth to go around. But ISP's make the argument that all of their customers are never online at the same time. This can be particularly frustrating for businesses using DSL that rely heavily on the Internet for their daily dealings.
Don't let the drawbacks keep you from exploring the possibility of DSL Internet service. As with any new technology, there are kinks, and ISP's work on a regular basis to make service to their customers faster and more reliable. There are also many ISP's that offer DSL for you to choose from, so the incentives and promotions for picking one over another can mean saving money and getting more extras. Though it can be frustrating and seem costly, DSL Internet service is still a more cost effective option than some of the other types of broadband Internet service, such as satellite Internet.
IT Support: What Expertise Do You Need?
When it comes to small business IT support, expertise is relative and exists at all different levels. In this article, you'll learn more about expertise within your IT support business and what other skills are desirable for you and your employees.
You'll find experts at every level of IT support
In a big-enterprise IT organization for example, you find everyone from level one help desk technicians up to senior systems engineers, all the way up to the CIO. Of course, you'll find a lot of gradations and a lot of variations in between those levels. Ideally, each will be an expert in their own specialty.
The same will usually be true among your IT support contractors and staff. More than likely, you have some technicians who can handle real simple things like a hard drive installation or a LAN adapter installation. You probably have some people on staff who can handle installing a simple peer-to-peer network or maybe a basic dedicated server. Then perhaps you have someone on staff who works with server-class firewalls and setting up VPNs and other more intricate, advanced networking technologies.
Don't Forget People Skills
Most of the people that are successful in IT support for small businesses are either really strong on the technical side or really strong on the sales side. Consultants who are phenomenal on the sales side and phenomenal on the technical side are a rare commodity in IT support.
The best technicians and systems engineers, however, also have good people skills that come into play during a big project, for example, when installing a 10- or a 25-node network. In a situation where there are vendor products and solutions from many different vendors, a tremendous amount can go wrong. So, project management, administrative management, and account management skills are all important in IT support.
The Bottom Line about IT support
In this article, you've been introduced to the successful traits in consultants providing IT support.
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Night Vision: Not Just An Ordinary Spy Device
At the mention of night vision devices, images can come to mind like spy and action movies, soldiers scouring an area with the device at night, helicopters hovering overhead aiding the police in tracking fugitives or detectives using the device to spy on people they were assigned to track.
Night vision devices are actually light enhancing and thermal imaging tools. It makes a particular subject visible by the warmth it emits or observable by using limited light. It enhances a spectral range making the viewer see lights and images that would otherwise have been invisible to the bare human eye. The normal human eye is capable to seeing images that are confined to a certain electromagnetic spectrum that the brain interprets. Night vision devices may use another source of light that enhances images enabling the user to detect objects that improves the detection capacity of the normal eye.
In theory the human eye can see these weaker sources of lights but the brain has a way of filtering out these lights that we are only capable of seeing a very limited number of photons. With the aid of a night vision device, these photons intensified by the photo multiplier tube enables us to see different colors of lights in a subject. When seen though and NVD, an image that is nearly invisible becomes observable.
Many animals have this capacity to see through the dark. Animals that can hunt at night uses a larger optical aperture, an improved composition in the retina, optics that are more photo-efficient that enables them to use weak lights and see better in the dark.
Night vision devices that most people are familiar with are the night vision goggles. This night vision device has an image intensifier that converts weak lights from the near infrared spectrum to visible images that enables the eye to see objects as far as 200 feet in near complete darkness. This night vision device displays a green image because the peak sensitivity of the human vision is near the green range. It also uses two different technologies depending on your choice of the night vision device.
One uses the Image enhancement where the night vision device enables the viewer to see images by collecting tiny amounts of light that may already be imperceptible and amplifying it to make the image visible. The other is through thermal imaging where the heat emitted by the subject is used and translated into images. The principle is that hotter objects tend to transmit more light than the cooler ones like stones and trees.
Night vision devices were originally intended for military use to aid them in tracking down an opponent at night. It has evolved now into many different uses.
Lately night vision devices are finding use outside of the military and police detection work. When you are out camping, night vision devices could prove very helpful. Businesses have also been installing night vision devices within and without their properties to enable them to observe if something has been touched or changed during the night. Night vision devices are also proving to have invaluable aid in detecting soil that have been disturbed, buried objects, footprints and almost anything that needs to be determined in instances where there is very limited lighting.
Some of the more common applications for the night vision devices are entertainment, hidden-object detection, hunting, law enforcement, military, navigation, security, surveillance and wildlife observation
IT Specialist: Better Than a Generalist
Now how do you become an IT specialist, when to provide virtual IT you need to be a generalist? As an IT specialist, you will still need to provide a lot of different services. You may be:
· network design
· helping clients with procurement
· managing relations
· dealing with the phone companies, the Web hosts and the Internet access ISPs
· deciding what to buy and inspecting it when it comes in
· doing the configuration, testing, integration, customization, training, and troubleshooting.
You're doing everything. So yes, that is being a generalist. But there's nothing that says that you want to be a generalist for everyone under the sun. As an IT specialist, you will find your marketing efforts easier.
Be Choosy With Your Clients
You should be all things, to some of the people by providing the soup-to-nuts complete solution. You provide true virtual IT, one-stop shopping… the buck stops here. You take full accountability of everything that your clients need, but limit the scope of the kind of clients that you go after.
Take Real Estate, for Example
If you're specializing in real estate, you've probably done a lot of work with commercial real estate firms and you're one of the top IT consulting firms in this niche. You can have the testimonials and references to show that you have indeed done work for these firms. So you're coming across as an industry IT specialist.
Specializing Doesn't Require Extensive Experience
Finding a niche could be as easy as having one or two clients that you've been working with for a year or two and you happen to have gotten involved in migrating an older DOS industry application to a 32-bit, or to a Web-based application. Over an extended period of time, you get to know the line of business applications. Often, that's a big differentiator between you and anyone else that they could conceivably call.
The Bottom Line on Being an IT Specialist
So the point: it doesn't take that much industry experience to position yourself as an IT specialist within that industry. But that specialization will make an enormous difference in your marketing results.