Wireless internet Terminologi

Wireless Internet Terminology, like many things in life, especially those that have anything to do with computers is filled with terminology. But like most things, once you learn a few of the basic terms, understanding will come quickly. So don't be confused get informed and to help clarify, I've put together a basic wireless "internet-to-english" guide to help you along.
IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The IEEE is in charge of the wireless networking standard, as well as many other computer-related standards - including the Ethernet standard. They ensure that computer equipment made by different manufacturers can work together.
PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association Simply another standard for how to plug credit card size devices into a laptop computer to boost it's capabilities. It's been suggested by some that it should stand for "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms". PCMCIA is a great way of adding wireless networking to your laptop as easily as inserting a disk.
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect Used to install devices like graphics cards and network devices inside your computer. You would be using a PCI, if you wanted to install a wireless card inside your computer.
802.11 Set by the IEEE, it's the current wireless networking standard. It helps ensure that wireless devices can communicate with one another or in other words - they are interoperable.
Interoperable Simply means that two different pieces of equipment have the ability to speak to each other or another way to put it - they are compatible. They can use them together because they were designed using the same standards. Because of the IEEE and the principle of interoperability, all wireless equipment you purchase should be compatible.
Driver Not a piece of golf equipment but computer software that informs a computer how to talk to devices that plug into it. Most wireless networking drivers come on a CD-ROM. You then download the drivers from the CD onto your computer.
Ethernet Currently, the most common way of connecting to a LAN or Local Area Network. Most wires connected to your computer today are ethernet and if you have a cable internet connection an ethernet wire is in all likely-hood, what is being used to connect to your modem.
USB - Universal Serial Bus A port used for connecting all sorts of devices to a computer, including keyboards, a mouse, printers, external hard-drives and basically anything else you can think of. If you don't have a laptop or want to open up your computer you can get a USB wireless device.
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy No longer used because in 2001 it was found to have security issues. As a result, it is now the old standard for encrypting wireless networks.
WPA - WiFi Protected Access The new standard for encrypting wireless networks. An upgrade of WEP to fix security issues. To avoid becoming vulnerable, a WPA encrypted network changes encryption methods often. In addition, if an attack is detected, it has the ability to shut itself down for thirty seconds.
PAN - Personal Area Network A network of devices connected together in one small area. A simple example of a PAN would be your computer, USB keyboard and mouse. Using a technology called Bluetooth, a PAN can be wireless.
LAN - Local Area Network Briefly mentioned above, LAN is a computer network that... generally speaking is confined to one building, such as a home or office. A wireless LAN is also known as a WLAN.
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network A network that covers a larger area, like a city or town. They are expensive but a wireless MAN has the capacity to spread Internet access across a wide area. Many college universities set-up a MAN to connect the entire campus.
WAN - Wide Area Network A network that covers or connects to more than one physical site. A simple example would be a business that has locations in different cities, states or countries and they need them each location connected on the same network. The Internet itself is a WAN... the biggest WAN in the world.
Mbps - Megabits Per Second Not to be confused with MBps, megabytes per second. Mbps is measurement of connection speed. There are eight megabits in a megabyte.
GHz - Gigahertz One gigahertz is one billion cycles per second... it's a measurement of frequency. If the term sounds familiar it's probably because it's also used to measure the processing speed of the CPU on your computer, which is also measured in gigahertz.
Linux A popular and growing alternative operating system to Windows. Linux is a less bulky, more efficient operating system in many ways than Windows and not to mention - it's free. Many servers run Linux for this reason. Computers running Linux can run many programs and connect to the Internet without needing Windows. Many wireless devices run Linux or are compatible with it.

About the Author:
Kevin Erickson is a contributing writer for: Wireless Internet and Internet Telephone and Trade Shows. This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

Maintain your pc

Over time, even the most sophisticated, memory packed computer can begin to run slow if we don’t do something to prevent it. The reason why has less to do with how computers are made and how they age and more to do with the way we use them. You see, all of the daily tasks that we do on our PC from running programs to downloading and deleting software can make our computer sluggish.
To keep this from happening, you need to understand the reasons why your PC is getting slower and do something to keep your PC running at its best. You can do this through regular maintenance and PC performance optimization programs.
Before we discuss all of the things that could be affecting your PC’s performance, let’s talk a little about what symptoms a slow computer can have.
In addition to being excruciatingly slow when it comes to opening programs or finishing tasks, your PC may also experience data loss, unwanted shutdowns, Windows crashing and Windows hang up. All of these can be very annoying to deal with and are a sure sign that you need to optimize your PC and maintain it.
There are many reasons why your PC is getting slower and not performing quite the way it used to. Any one of them may be just the thing that is holding your PC back. In some cases, there is more than one culprit at work. But there are solutions to keep your computer from being affected by these nuisances, and we will talk about what you can do to maintain your PC and keep it running smoothly if it encounters any of these problems.
When you download and use programs on your PC, sometimes they are set up to start running as soon as you turn on your computer. These programs may be running in the background without you even knowing it and they use up precious memory needed for other tasks.
To see if you have any programs running in the background, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.
A list of all of the currently running programs will appear in a pop up window. You can choose to stop the programs by highlighting the program and clicking “end task.” If you want to keep those programs from starting when you turn on your PC, change the individual settings for each program so that they will not automatically be turned on.
Memory is a computer component that allows it to do all of the various tasks that you require of it. When you start to do a task, a segment of memory is assigned to that task. If you don’t have enough memory and you try to do several tasks at once, you may run out of memory and not be able to perform any tasks properly. In order to optimize and maintain memory, you can use a Memory Optimizer program. This program changes the way that Windows manages memory so that you can use it more efficiently.
Your hard drive is like a huge filing cabinet containing all of the files that you need for your computer to perform properly. When you add programs, files are added to this data base. When you delete data or programs, files are removed. This process results in holes or empty spaces in your filing cabinet.
These holes make it harder for your computer to work because it continuously has to search for information over a larger distance and sometimes search for information that is completely out of order. To combat this, you need to defragment your hard drive. You can do this with your Windows system optimization tools or with a Registry Deffrager and Optimizer. These programs eliminate holes and arrange your files in a sensible order.
Just as your PC’s hard drive could be filed improperly, it can also be too full to work at its best. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 2MB to 3MB of space on your hard drive for your PC to function properly. To free up space, simply delete unused programs on the C: drive.
Maintaining your PC’s performance is vital if you want you computer to always complete tasks at its top speed. While Windows has some system tools to help you do this, they do not work on their own. You have to actually go and start the programs to optimize your computer. And they may not be enough. In this case, you may want to opt for optimization software such as PC Programs to help maintain your PC’s performance.

About the Author:
Brought to you by PC Power Suite The new PC Power Suite is an all in one utility suite for maintaining your Windows operating system. Take control of your computer now! www.pcpowersuite.com.

Notebook Buy Tips

This article describes the features one might be looking for while making a notebook purchase. The different sizes of notebooks, as well as mobile connectivity and multimedia capability are explained as well.


Why notebook became so popular? It has been estimated that notebook sales has increased an average of 20% per year in the United States alone. Among the many advantages it offers, portability is one of the main reason people end up making a purchase of it. However before any purchase is made, other features should be considered as well.

Notebook was first made available in the early eighties. Although much heavier and bulkier than today's notebooks, it had the unique portability feature that put this innovative product in a class by itself. Although not much of a commercial success then, it gave the computer industry a goal to pursue in manufacturing this item with better weight, size and performance ratio and making one of today's most wanted computer hardware.

Notebook size has got much smaller, however big enough to make one feel very comfortable in handling and operating computer related tasks. One can find it in sizes best categorized as: 1 - Tablet Pc has the size of paper tablet and weighs no more than 4 pounds; 2 - Ultra Portable is a little bigger than Tablet Pc and weighs around 4 pounds, no internal CD or DVD drive, display of 12 inches or smaller; 3 - Thin and Light is a mid-size notebook, 10-14" x 10", 1 to 1.5 thick, and weighs around 7 pounds, wireless network capability, 14-inch displays, combo CD-RW/DVD; 4 - Desktop replacement is the largest category of notebooks, more than 12 x 10" and weighs more than 7 pounds, 15-17 inches displays or larger, wireless network capability, combo CD-RW/DV.

Also an important feature one should look for is performance. Notebooks provide very close performance in comparison with traditional desktop computers, and should handle all computer related tasks with great ease. Whenever purchasing a notebook, make sure it has the latest cpu model, large ram memory and hard disk space. Notebook performance is directly related with cpu clock, ram memory and hard disk space. For these items, big is never enough.

Another feature one should look for is the dvd player. It can come in handy for entertainment purposes, enabling one to watch movies while traveling. Wireless connection is also a feature to look for in a notebook. Some notebooks feature an infrared port, which can be used to connect a mobile phone. Also there are other wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which allows mobile phone, printers and PDA to be connected at certified public and private network. The ability to have a mobile connection is definitely a plus in today's connected world.

Expansion capability for notebooks can be done thru the use of plug-in pc cards. Although there is a new standard called ExpressCard, which is smaller and faster plug-in card that provides more features for multimedia tasks.

Notebooks have certainly become an item required for one's mobile computer related tasks, whether it is used for public, private, personal or professional purposes. Its portability and small size make an attractive all around computer hardware item. For those looking for mobile computer hardware, notebooks can certainly become a good solution at affordable prices.

Roberto Sedycias
IT Consultant

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About Author

This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the News Articles section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/notebook.php
Roberto Sedycias has a bachelor degree in Business Administration and over 20 years experience in systems analysis and computer programming. Currently working as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br

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