Home Networking 

Probably the thing that will be one of the fastest growing segments of the computer industry this year will be
home networking.  With broadband access now a reality to nearly everyone including us inner city folks, we find
that more and more of us are now getting on the internet at high speed and we also want to get everyone else in
the house connected as well.  And as it seems, we are just at the right time and place as there are a ton of
alternatives out there to help us all get connected.  For many of you corporate types, the Ethernet network has
always been the way to go but in a home, it is not often that easy to string Cat5 cabling around.  If you have not
done it before, let me tell you, stringing cable is not easy.

But why network a home?  For several reasons.  Did you just get a cable modem or DSL connection in your house and do you have others that want to use that blazing fast connection at the same time you do on their own
computer?  Do you have more computers than you do printers and want to save the effort of having to copy a file to diskette and taking it to someone else’s computer to print?  What about backup?  Have you read the stories about crashing hard drives or worse, stolen computers, and want to back up your files?  For those of you with multiple computers in the home, the pressure will get to you one of these days and then you will be with the rest of us, wondering how to do it.

Example    Price for a Home Network

with Cable Internet connection            Pays for itself in 6 months.  $59.99 a month + 25 a month for 5 hookups (ea. Cable hookup $5 extra a month) = $84.99 a month. (Also depends on the cost of router or switch, whichever is preferred).

* This is just an example - prices and equipment may vary.   TV Cable may also be run to each room at additional cost.

Cable Prices

Compare      CAT 5e     Cable 

    Best Buy            Other            CompuTech                     Best Buy          Other            CompuTech

3’        N/A                        2.63  (.87/ft)          1.75 (.58/ft)                        14’      11.99 (.85/ft)          4.79 (.34/ft)           3.80 (.27/ft)

4’        N/A                        2.75                        1.85                                    15’      15.99                       5.77                        4.15

5’        N/A                        2.90                        2.00                                    20’      N/A                        6.75                        5.40

6’        N/A                        3.05                        2.25                                    25’      29.99                       7.74                        6.75

7’        7.99 (1.14/ft)          3.25 (.46/ft)           2.40 (.34/ft)                        50’      N/A                        20.90                     13.50

10’      N/A                        3.72                        2.80                                    75’      N/A                        23.84                     20.25

12’      N/A                        4.25                        3.30                                    90’      N/A                        26.32 (.29/ft)        25.00 (.27/ft)

Compare     RG-6 Coax  Cable (TV Cable)

 50’      N/A                    10.97 (.21/ft)          8.00 (.16/ft)                        Home Page