Hardware Upgrade Tip of the Day #1



*1.   HOME NETWORKING NEWS--PART 1 OF 5 

Expect a series of new home networking products to begin arriving 
this month. These products target the 15 million U.S. homes that 
analysts say own more than one computer. I'll mention some tips 
regarding home networking over the next few days. 

First, keep in mind that home networking products are best used 
for computers separated by some distance (or residing in 
completely separate rooms). For computers that sit side-by-side 
in a work area, a much cheaper way to connect the computers would 
be a Windows Direct Cable Connection. 


*2.   HOME NETWORKING NEWS--PART 2 OF 5 

Wireless radio frequency transmission is one method new home 
networking products use. The main advantage of this approach is 
that it doesn't force you to make your home's electrical outlets 
or phone jacks do double duty (which other home networking 
products require). The biggest disadvantage of the wireless 
method is distance--wireless home networking receivers and 
transmitters generally need to be within 100 to 150 feet of one 
another, though this distance can include walls and ceilings. 


*3.   HOME NETWORKING NEWS--PART 3 OF 5 

Some new home networking products use your house phone lines. 

On the plus side, distance between computers does not pose a 
problem for these products. Your PCs will talk over your phone 
line no matter how far apart the jacks are located. Additionally, 
phone line networking products won't likely receive any electrical 
disturbance from wireless products in your home (portable 
telephones and baby monitors could cause interference with a 
wireless home networking product). 

The downside of using phone line products relates to the layout 
of your phone jacks. If the phone jacks in your home reside next 
to your computers, then you're in pretty good shape. If not, you 
might need to run long phone cables or move furniture in order to 
use these products. 


*4.   HOME NETWORKING NEWS--PART 4 OF 5 

Most home networking products still rely on hardware add-in 
boards that you insert into one of your PC's open card slots. 
However, there are some exceptions. WebGear, for example, offers 
new $199 AviatorUSB home networking products that attach to your 
PC via its USB port. The USB plug and play capability allows you 
to network your home systems quickly. 


*5.   HOME NETWORKING NEWS--PART 5 OF 5 

Feel the need for speed? Most home networking products connect 
your computers at about a 1-megabit-per-second data transfer rate. 
That rate is about 15 times faster than your 56-kbps modem. 
Transferring files or even playing multiplayer games is a breeze 
at these speeds. Still, most corporate LANs connect at 10 to 100 
mbps. Home networking products are much slower than their 
corporate brethren. 


*6.   ELECTRONIC SNAIL MAIL 

Pitney Bowes' Personal Post Office is the first fully electronic 
postage meter the U.S. Postal Service has approved. This 
stand-alone device has its own modem. When the meter runs out, 
the unit dials directly into the U.S. Postal Service for 
additional metering to the amount you specify. Pitney Bowes 
leases the Personal Post Office for $19.75 per month (or $24.75 
per month if you want the postage scale). 


*7.   ADVANCES IN UPS 

UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) products have continued to 
evolve. In the past, UPS systems were expensive and normally only 
protected one or two PCs from power surges and power outs. Now 
you can find UPS products for as little as $120 that protect 
several systems as well as printers and other office equipment. If 
you've spent more than $5,000 on your small office's computer 
equipment, make sure you protect your investment with a UPS. 


*8.   PCI VERSUS AGP FOR GRAPHICS 

AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) graphics boards have now been out 
long enough for us to draw some general conclusions. As a group, 
AGP boards outperform PCI-based boards in PC World's battery of 
tests, though usually only by a few points. Most of the 
improvement is in 3D graphics rendering. 

If AGP boards were any more expensive, the small performance 
improvement might not be worth the extra money. But generally AGP 
boards are only $10 to $20 more than similarly configured PCI 
boards. Therefore, if you run any 3D games or applications and 
your PC features an AGP interface, go with an AGP board for your 
next graphics upgrade. If, on the other hand, you only run 2D 
business applications, you really won't notice any improvement 
with AGP, and here would be no point in spending the extra 
$10 or $20. 


*9.   NEW 250MB ZIP IS BACKWARD COMPATIBLE 

In case you were confused about Iomega's latest 250MB version of 
the Zip drive, it IS backward compatible with the older 100MB 
Zip. The Zip 250 drive reads and writes the 100MB disks as well 
as the newer 250MB media. Iomega released this new 
higher-capacity Zip in order to compete with other high-capacity 
removable storage drives such as Sony's 200MB HiFD. Fortunately, 
though, Iomega realized it needed to maintain the ability to 
share the popular 100MB cartridges among all Zip models. 


*10.   IS PRINTER SHARING A WASTE OF MONEY? 

You should always keep an eye on the shifting prices of computer 
products. Price drops sometimes alter the cost-benefit analysis 
of your computing solution. For example, for many years it was 
more cost effective to share a printer within a small office 
rather than buy an extra one. Now ink jet printer prices have 
dropped below $200 (and in some cases, below $150). At these 
prices, the cost of printer-sharing devices (and routing the 
necessary cables) is almost the same as the cost of buying a 
second printer. With a second printer, you get an easy 
installation process, more flexibility, and fewer office disputes 
over equipment. Think twice before you invest in printer-sharing 
products--maybe its time to increase the number of printers in 
your office.
