Look Ma! No Wires!

I've been on a technology rampage lately. Since my internet had been horribly slow for almost 2 weeks (all fixed now) I've learned more and more about the best ways to keep your connections fast and secure. After 3 phone calls to AT&T, my phone and ISP, 1 visit by a maintenance person, 1 visit-1 call-numerous emails from a knowledgeable family friend, I feel like I have a new college degree.

Yesterday's hour-long phone call to AT&T taught me about the many stresses that can be put on a phone line when several things are competing, in my case it is my alarm system and my DSL. I learned about the importance of filters on every phone jack being used--including the one in the control box for the alarm system.

I also learned more about routers and decided to finally to and get one. After some online research, I headed to Best Buy. I was also curious about notebook cards and wireless adaptors, but I learned from the salesperson that my computer has those things built-in to search for nearby wireless networks. Fortunately, I know how to do a network search on my new laptop.

One thing that still confused me was that different routers have different letters. Some have N, or G, or B. I discovered that the "N" is for the fastest connection on the very newest computers. And, although my laptop is new to me, the model has been out for about 3 months. Mine is a "G" configured laptop, therefore I needed a "G" router.

I ended up with a Linksys WRT54G2, which I mainly wanted because it was small and sleek and did not have those unsightly antennas sticking out of it. The antennas are internal.

Setting it up was breeze. The instructions were basically fool-proof. The CD had a big sticker that said "RUN CD FIRST BEFORE CONNECTING CABLES." With pictures and animation it took me through the set-up process. It was pretty cool when I tested my laptop on my own wireless network for the first time and it worked perfectly. I carried the laptop around the house and the signal was very strong. Mission accomplished.

The next step, which I did this morning, was try the "wireless sync" feature on the Zune player. VERY cool. In the Settings section, you just select wireless and on the Zune site it searches for your network. Once it finds it, you're ready to go. The steps are very easy. Here's a video (not made by me):


So now I have a repaired internet connection that is working great, a wireless network on the property, and wireless syncing. 3 technological hurdles conquered in less than 12 hours. Yay! What's next......?