Future of Networking: Human Area Network (HAN)

   The biggest challenges with wireless n/wing is that in multi-user scenarios its performance is quite abysmal, in fact the performance is inversely proportional to the no. of users i.e. as the no. of users increases the performance goes down. So how does one counter this limitation? Do we move back to wired commnunication? Didn't we just patronize wireless because wired n/ws are cumbursome to setup and manage plus the sight of zillions of cables is quite overwhelming. Also wired n/wing doesn't sound too well when we talk of 'Ubiquitous computing'.

   Okay here's a hint, imagine if we could simulate wired communication with the only difference that the medium (i.e. the cables) is dynamic in its type of material (i.e. wood, water, pads, etc.) or is the user of the n/w itself (i.e. our body). Research is going on towards developing devices which could be connected simply by touching them or keeping them on a table or on a mat. This is the principle behind HAN or Human Area Network. Infact they are all set to launch prototypes. For a through understanding go thought the following site:  redtacton

few wi-fi related keywords

Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity (fidelity - accuracy of signal reproduction)

IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IEEE 802.11 - IEEE standard for Wi-Fi or Wireless LAN (802 - founded in feb, 1980; 11 - 11th working group)

CSMA - Carrier Sense Multiple Access (senses the if the carrier is free for transmission and only then transmits data, reduces effective data rates to ~50% of max. capacity of standard)

Security:

1. WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy, first attempt at secure wireless n/wing, good against casual snooping

2. WPA - Wi-Fi Protected Access, 2nd generation system to overcome the flaws of WEP

My rendezvous with Wireless technologies

    I have always been intrigued with wireless networking and luckily my interests have always been well fed by unintentional events. e.g. i recently bought a compaq laptop (my first ever) which had wifi and bluetooth by default. Being a traditional desktop user these technologies were quite foreign to me and like a true rigid being i avoided adopting these technologies. But for how long??? Fortunately peer pressure forced me to take the plunge and this is what i was able to conjure:

   Not very surprisingly the first technology i embraced was 'Bluetooth'. Actually I am not sure why this was my first choice, may be coz blue is my favourate colour or maybe coz its the latest buzzword in mobile phones. I think later was more motivating. Well i got a friend's mobile phone which was bluetooth enabled and setup a quick n/w and transferred data between my laptop and his mobile phone. Its that simple! With this done i took a step forward and checked out all info on the net. Bluetooth is a promising technology but i was quite disappointed by its distance limitation, althought the idea of a cableless desktop is quite cool i.e. using bluetooth or infrared devices to replace the data and control buses in computers. Nways i moved on the Wi-fi.

   Now Wi-Fi was the real thriller. It did not have any distance limitations (offcourse using repeaters) and was more user-friendly or shall i say more networking friendly. What i mean here is, u could actually buy wi-fi components and setup a wireless network at home.
   My first experience with Wi-Fi was when i used my laptop for surfing in a wi-fi zone. The idea of comfortably sitting on a couch, drinking coffee and surfing was a real treat.
   My second experience was more meaningful and satisfying. Basically i wanted to backup a lot of data from my desktop to my laptop. After evaluating a lot of options i was particularly attracted towards the idea of setting up my own wireless n/w at home. So i went out shopping and bought a wireless usb adapter by linksys for my desktop. After struggling with it for 2 days i was finally able to setup an adhoc n/w and voila!!! Although this might have been the most expensive option but it was truly the most awesome one, worth every penny i spent.

LESSON LEARNT: 90% of the times we refuse to embrace a new technology because of our  Laziness and not because of its demerits, so get up and get going!!

Italians won!!

I know this is a bit late but THE ITALIANS WON THE WORLD CUP!!!!!!!!!!  HURRAHHHHHH.......... and the Germans came 3rd HHUUUUURRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!

FIFA WC 06

ok i know its been a long time since my last blog but u can't blame me for it. Blame the WC. Its been one of the best tournaments so far and if you saw the Germany Vs Italy game, phew..... can't imagine i have to wait another 4 yrs for this event to take place again. Nways there is still the final to be played and i got my eyes and heart set on the Azzuries. Go Italy go......