POLL: Is Setting Up a Home Network Way Too Complicated?
Saturday January 10, 2009
Microsoft officials asserted again this week that setting up a home network is way too complicated for most consumers. While this complaint was widespread and obviously true 10 years ago when home networks first started becoming popular, is it really still valid now? Use the "Vote" button in the embedded poll to register your opinion, and click the "Current Results" link to check result totals anytime.
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POLL: What Do You Use Your Home Network For?
HomeGroup in Windows 7 Beta
Thursday January 8, 2009
![David McNew / Getty Images Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009 Keynote Address - Microsoft Windows 7 - Steve Ballmer](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090117001242im_/http://z.about.com/d/compnetworking/1/0/6/b/84204528-blog.png)
At this year's U.S. Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft announced the Beta release of their new
Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 should interest anyone who spends significant time configuring home networks, as it contains a feature called
HomeGroup designed to simplify the process. Microsoft's keynote speech claimed that
... for most consumers, setting up a home network is way too complicated and highlighted how HomeGroup can help you set a home network "very easily" in just a few steps. "Way cool."
I'm not sure exactly how complicated or cool "way" is, but in networking, easier is almost always better. Does Windows 7 HomeGroup really deliver? During the Beta period, you may be able to install a public trial of Windows 7 and try out HomeGroup to decide for yourself. Microsoft's engineering overview of HomeGroup in Windows 7 is also excellent reading for those interested to learn why this feature is designed to work the way it does.
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Windows 7 Beta Available for Public Download
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009 Keynote - Microsoft Windows 7 - Steve Ballmer - Photo: David McNew / Getty Images
The Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol Celebrates Five Years
Tuesday January 6, 2009
![Photo: Getty Images Mars Rover - First Color Pictures from the Mars Rover Spirit (6 January 2004)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090117001242im_/http://z.about.com/d/compnetworking/1/0/7/b/2847658-blog.png)
This month, the U.S. NASA rovers
Spirit and
Opportunity are celebrating a truly incredible five years of operation on the surface of Mars. Part of the technology that made it possible for the rovers to successfully deliver hundreds of thousands of photos back to Earth is the
CCSDS Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol. This specialized
network protocol allows the rovers to deliver data to an occasionally-connected planetary orbiter rather than directly to Earth, conserving its power and generally improving efficiency over alternative protocols designed for different purposes.
People tend to be quick to point out flaws and failures with technology but slow to celebrate success, even the impressive ones like this. Congratulations to all involved in Proximity-1 and the rest of the Mars rovers project!
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The Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol (ccsds.org, in PDF)
Mars Rover - First Color Pictures from the Mars Rover Spirit (6 January 2004) - Photo: Getty Images
Sunday January 4, 2009
Two of our message board members recently went through a troubleshooting exercise on what appeared to be a dead
Ethernet card in a Windows PC. This discussion is a good example of how the
TCP/IP troubleshooting tools
ipconfig,
ping and
nslookup can work together to provide information about your local network setup. Did they succeed in finally solving the problem? See for yourself.
"I have Windows XP Home Edition.... [Its] Ethernet card looks like its connected to the Internet, but I can't actually get any Web pages to load. When I use 'ipconfig' nothing is reported except the message "Windows IP Configuration". The loopback test passes but I can't 'ping' any other ip address. I have other computers at home that can connect to the Internet without any problems so I know my DSL is working fine. It's just this computer. I have checked all the cables, even swapped some out for new ones. I have never seen this before - any ideas?
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Troubleshooting an Unresponsive Ethernet Card
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Introduction to 'ipconfig' - Windows Command Line Utility