SPECIAL ISSUE

162 WIRELESS
TIPS, TRICKS, & TOOLS

www.pcmag.com

Your Essential
Guide to the

HOW TO
CONNECT
AT HOMEIN THE OFFICEAT SCHOOLEVERYWHERE
FALL 2003

The Best
Notebooks,
PDAs, and
Access Points

Forward Thinking
WELCOME TO THE WIRELESS WORLD
TO SAY THAT P C MAGAZINE EDITORS AND
labs staff are big fans of wireless technology is an un-
derstatement. We installed our first wireless network
in our Manhattan office back in 1995 and have up-
graded several times since then. Wireless access
points are now placed throughout our office, and our
notebooks with wireless connections are indispens-
able. Weve tested and reviewed 802.11 products for
many years, and we are the only magazine that tests
laptops for Wi-Fi distance and throughput.
This year has been a turning point for wireless. It
has evolved from a toy for early adopters to a busi-
ness necessity for mainstream users. And its
becoming more prevalent every day. Already net-
works and businesses everywhere are realizing the
benefits of wireless connections.
In this special issue, we take a close look at the
state of wireless technology at home, in offices, at
school, and on the road.
WIRELESS AT HOME
H O M E N E T W O R K S H AV E B E E N A R O U N D
for years, but wireless technology makes them prac-
tical in new ways. And theyre much easier to set up
than you might think. I live in a his-
toric old house, and for many
years I have resisted drilling
holes in the walls to con-
nect computers in vari-
ous rooms. Thanks to
wireless technology,
the walls have been
spared. I installed an
access point several
years ago and have
been able to use my
laptop on the living
room couch, linking to
a broadband connection
from the desktop upstairs.
Needless to say, this setup is
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRYAN LEISTER
incredibly convenient.
Over the years, Ive extended my network to
include more desktop computers, which Ive outfit-
ted with USB Wi-Fi adapters. And Ive stretched my
network to more places in the house, first by using
HomePlug power-line networking and more recently
MICHAEL J. MILLER
by extending the wireless connections with a more
powerful access point and a better antenna.
Lately, Ive been trying out digital media hubs,
which wirelessly stream photos and digital music
from a computer to a TV or home theater system. So
far, my favorite models are from Linksys, HP, and Pris-
miq. The Linksys system works well, but installation
isnt as smooth as it should be. I had problems because
the system that contained the music files was running
a software firewall. I am still waiting for a system that
does a good job of transferring video wirelessly.
Based on our latest reader survey, about half of our
readers have home networks, and nearly half of those
networks are wireless. Here are some tips Ive found
This year has
useful for making wireless work in my house.
n Get a combination router/firewall/access point
been a turning
(typically an access point with a four-port Ethernet point for wire-
switch) instead of a separate access point and hard-
ware firewall. That way, you can connect one com-
less. It has
puter with a wired connection, which is handy if you evolved from
need to debug your access point. a toy for early
n Use WEPor the more recent Wireless Protected
Access (WPA)for security when transferring data
adopters to
between your wireless computers. Although WEP a business
makes setup more difficult, its worth the extra necessity for
effort. I recommend using 128-bit WEP, stor-
ing your WEP key in an encrypted file on mainstream
your laptop, because you may have to users.
enter it often on another computer,
and remembering a string with 13
ASCII characters or 26 hexadecimal
digits is really difficult.
n If you dont want to run WEP,
make sure you turn off file and
printer sharing on all of your con-
nected computers. Otherwise, youre
leaving an open door for hackers.
n If your wireless signal isnt strong
enough to reach a particular room, check
out how close the signal gets. To do this, use
a notebook configured with either Windows XP
or Windows 2000both have built-in wireless de-
tection softwareor use a product such as Network
Stumbler. If the signal almost reaches the room, con-
sider getting a directional antenna. If its not even
close, youre better off with a wired connection
either Ethernet or power-line.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 7
 Forward Thinking
MICHAEL J. MILLER
WIRELESS AT THE OFFICE
O U R CO R P O RAT E I T D E PA RT M E N T I N I T I A L LY
resisted wireless networks, but we rogue users (a.k.a.
PC Magazine Labs) installed one years ago. Eventually
the IT department decided it was a good thing, and
now nearly everyone in our office with a laptop uses
it. A wireless network is especially convenient for taking
notes and looking things up during meet-
ings. Heres my advice for wireless
network users at the office.
n Just accept that IT will want se-
curity restrictions you wont
want. Remember, the restric-
tions are for your own good.
n Dont abuse the privilege by
streaming lots of video over
your connection. And when
youre in meetings, you still need
to pay attention (read: keep instant
messaging to a minimum).
n If your employer hasnt gone wireless yet, stress the pro-
ductivity benefits to your IT department.
Here are some suggestions for IT departments.
n Determine which users would really be more produc-
tive on a wireless network. I find that wireless access is
best for people who are frequently in meetings or arent
attached to a desk all day. Even if most of your users have
desktops, consider the high cost of moving them from one
place to another. If they move often, wireless networking
may be less expensive.
n Make sure your network is secure. Turn off the broad-
cast of the SSID, turn on WEP or (even better) WPA, and
consider RADIUS authentication to ensure that only
authorized people can get to your network. Keep on top of
security issues, and make sure all your servers are patched.
n Watch out for rogue access points and wireless net-
works. You should check your network at least once a
week and buy a professional tool such as AirDefense
(www.airdefense.net) or AirMagnet Distributed (www
.airmagnet.com) to check your perimeter for holes.
n Consider installing dual access points or networks: one
for your employees and another for customers and sup-
pliers who need Internet access but not access to your net-
work. This is a great setup but requires an additional level
of administration.
WIRELESS ON THE ROAD
I O F T E N TA K E M Y L A P TO P O N T H E ROA D A N D
connect via a Wi-Fi hot spot. But all too often, the con-
cept is more appealing than the reality. I have a good suc-
cess rate connecting to public access points in airports,
hotels, and coffee shops. But connecting in the various
offices I visit is less reliable, and connecting via hot spots
8 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
in most public parks iswell, hopeless.
Wi-Fi networks have tremendous potential, but theyre
still in their infancy. Finding an open connection can be
difficult. And although lists of hot spots are available, I find
that many public hot spots are not in service, or else I can-
not successfully connect to the Internet. (See page 100 for
a discussion of these lists.)
The biggest issues with paid hot spots are pricing and
billing. Spending $10 for a connection may be worth-
while if you are staying at a hotel and need to do
essential work, but spending the same amount
when youre just passing through an airport is ex-
cessive. Youll end up needing different accounts
for different hot spots, as most do not yet support
roaming. If you frequent certain hot spots, a
monthly contract is a better deal than paying by
the day or by the hour. And if you travel a lot, con-
sider a service such as iPass or Boingo, which aggre-
gates hot spots and manages security.
If you really want to connect anywhere reliably, con-
sider a PC Card that uses one of the mobile phone net-
works from companies such as AT&T, Sprint, and
T-Mobile. Although all the phone companies are talking
about making their networks faster, for now youll have to
settle for dial-up speeds. But even a slow connection is bet-
ter than no connection.
Here are some tips for taking wire-
less on the road.
n If you plan to connect through
a public hot spot, you should
worry about security. Turn
file sharing off on your lap-
top, and dont transmit any
sensitive information un-
less youre running a
virtual private network
(VPN) or going through an
SSL-based Web site. (For
more details, see Solutions,
page 48.)
n If you run Windows XP, occa-
sionally clean out your list of hot
spots. (Right-click on the connection
icon in your task tray and choose View available wireless
networks.) To connect quickly, make sure the networks you
connect to most often are at the top of the list.
n Figure out where and how often you plan to connect,
then choose the access plan that makes the most sense.
n If you want to connect anywhere, consider a mobile-
phone technology and make sure the company offers
coverage where you need it.
MORE ON THE WEB: Join us online and make your voice heard.
Talk back to Michael J. Miller in our opinions section,
www.pcmag.com/miller.


Contents.1
SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE, 2003
VOL. 22 NO. 18
www.pcmag.com

North America will contain over 53,000 public hot spots in 2005, according to Gartner Dataquest.

C OV E R STO RY
26 First Looks
26 Sprint PCS Connection Card AirPrime 58
PC3200 M
26
26
T-Mobile Sierra Wireless AirCard 750 M
Verizon Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 M Your
Un-
28 Magix Movie Edit Pro 2004

wired
World
In rapidly growing numbers, were
embracing the idea that you dont have to
30 HP DVD Movie Writer dc3000 M
30 InFocus LP120
plug in to log on. Our 35-page guide shows
31 Macromedia Studio MX 2004 you how to stay connected wirelessly,
33 GoodLink Server 2.0 whether youre at home, in the office, at
34 OneBridge Mobile Groupware 4.0
school, or on the road. We give you the
35 ActionTec Dual PC Modem
36 Toshiba Portg R100
lowdown on the best equipment to use,
36 Maxtor OneTouch including access points, wireless client
37 Xerox Phaser 6250 cards, notebooks, and PDAs. And we set
37 Garmin iQue 3600
you straight about the different wireless
standards available out there. Want to join
the unwired world? Read on.

60 Unwire Your Home

81 Unwire Your Office
91 Unwire at School
97 Unwire Everywhere

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 15

Contents.2 Online
www.pcmag.com
21 Pipeline
21 Airgo Networks: Way-fast wireless. WIRELESS GUIDE
21 Microsoft Office 2003, coming up. If you want to know even more about
wireless connectivity, check out our
21 Wi-Fi hot spots are a mystery to many.
how-to guides for disabling file sharing
22 SoBig and Augusts virus onslaught. and setting up a wireless hot spot for
your small business.
22 Disneys scheme for beaming movies. (www.wireless.pcmag.com)
22 IBM researches a Google competitor.
FIRST LOOKS
24 COMING ATTRACTIONS: Sony Cyber-shot
DSC-F848; Gateway DC-T50.

Personal Technology
48 Solutions New reviews every
48 Wireless Security: WPA Step by week! Coming soon:
Fujifilm FinePix F700 L
Step. Heres how to set up extra-
Handspring Treo 600
strong WPA encryption on your Presto! VideoWorks Platinum
network hardware. (www.pcmag.com/firstlooks)

N E W S A N D A N A LY S I S
The latest technology trends:
E-Books: Round 2
New directions for Wi-Fi
The year of the digital camera
(www.pcmag.com/news)
114 After Hours
Gaming on the Cellular Level. You might TO O L S YO U C A N U S E
not guess what the most ubiquitous Discussions: Log on and participate!
52 Security Watch: Wireless hot gaming platform is: the mobile phone. (http://discuss.pcmag.com/pcmag)
spots are all the rage, but their Some of the newest games are so
lack of encryption makes them engaging you might forget to answer EXCLUSIVE COLUMNS
unsafe. Dont connect before your phone when it rings. DVORAK ONLINE
following our suggestions. K Each Monday, John C.
54 Internet Business: RealNetworks 116 Gear & Games Dvorak gives you his
RealOne Rhapsody has everyone Sony Online Entertainments take on whats
from record execs to music fans PlanetSide; Viva Medias Learn to happening in high tech
happy, thanks to a clever security today. Visit www.pcmag.com/dvorak.
Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster;
technique that prevents piracy. the Linksys Wireless-B
ULANOFF ONLINE
55 User to User: Our experts show Media Adapter; K And each Wednesday,
you how to position your wireless comparative reviews of Lance Ulanoff puts his
access points, how to conserve game cheat sites. own unique spin on
laptop battery life, and more. technology. Visit
www.pcmag.com/ulanoff.
Opinions
7 Michael J. Miller: Forward
Thinking Coming up:
64-bit Windows beta review
41 Bill Machrone: ExtremeTech
Bow-Lingual: Understand your dog
43 John C. Dvorak DVD content protection revealed
45 John C. Dvoraks Inside Track ALSO IN THIS ISSUE (www.extremetech.com)
47 Bill Howard: On Technology 39 Feedback 118 Backspace

16 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

w w w. p c m a g . c o m /p i p e l i n e
Way-Fast Wireless
A start-up aims to improve on Wi-Fi.
f one is good and two is
I better, then six should be
better still, right? When it
comes to wireless networking,
the answer is yes, according to
start-up Airgo Networks. Airgo
is preparing an alternative to
the current class of Wi-Fi
wireless networks, with prod-
ucts slated to arrive this year.
By using multiple antennas,
Airgo claims its technology can
double the speed of the fastest
Wi-Fi networks. Airgos wireless
chipset is based on the compa-
nys MIMO (multiple in multiple
out) technology, which uses up
to six antennas to boost wireless technology. MIMO is likely the
data speeds as high as 108 Mbps
and more than double the range
[
By using multiple
antennas, Airgo claims
its technology can double
the speed of the fastest
Wi-Fi networks.
[
of existing wireless gear.
Airgos chipset is also com-
patible with current Wi-Fi stan- first access points with Airgo
dards, supporting 802.11a, b,
and g modes. With three 5-
GHz and three 2.4-GHz anten-
nas, an Airgo-equipped device
can communicate on a network
with a mix of older 802.11 equip- HDTVsto send video and
ment. It can even transmit infor- audio streams throughout a
mation simultaneously to, say,
T E C H N O L O G Y T R E N D S & N E W S A N A LY S I S
an 802.11a device at 54 Mbps
while sending data to another
Airgo device at 108 Mbps.
Only lab tests will prove the
companys claims, but Airgo
officials say that slower Wi-Fi
devices on the same network
wont degrade overall perfor-
mance. It goes further than any
other product so far to be com-
patible with all the standards,
says Airgo CEO Greg Raleigh.
Airgos chipset uses smart
antenna signal processing.
Some analysts see good
things ahead for Airgos core
only viable path to improved
range and throughput in WLAN
systems, both today
and in the future, says
Craig J. Mathias, a
principal with wireless
advisory firm Fair-
point Group.
According to
Raleigh, the Airgo
chipset and additional
antennas will add only
about $20 to $50 to the
cost of access points and related
products. He expects to see the
chips appear this year. In the
future, Airgo hopes that faster
data speeds will mean including
the companys chips in con-
sumer electronics gearlike
home.John R. Quain
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003 EDITIONS
New-user Upgrade
price
Standard Edition $399
Student and Teacher Edition $149
Small Business Edition
Professional Edition
$449
$499
All prices are list. N/ANot applicable: This product is not
available as an upgrade.
Source: Microsoft Corp.
Debut for
Office 2003
OCTOBER IS A BIG MONTH FOR
Microsofts application software.
Thats when the company will
ship all of the core products in
Microsoft Office System, includ-
ing four separate editions of the
Office 2003 suite (see the table),
featuring new versions of Word,
Excel, FrontPage, Outlook, Pow-
erPoint, Publisher, and Visio.
Several new products are slat-
ed to be part of Microsoft Office
System, including OneNote, an
application designed to organize
notes captured from various
sourcesfrom voice apps to
tablet computers. One of the
core features and biggest gam-
bles in Office 2003 is XML
(eXtensible Markup Language),
which Microsoft hopes will
enable intelligent searching.
The company plans to roll
out the new products on October
21 in New York. PC Magazine
will cover the debut online. Look
for product reviews in our issue
of October 28. For more infor-
mation about Office 2003,
see On Technology, page 47.
Sebastian Rupley
Whats a Wi-Fi Hot Spot?
Even as public wireless hot spots are spreading
from McDonalds restaurants to public parksmany
Internet-connected households report that they are
unfamiliar with public wireless access points.
For more information on hot spots, see our feature
story Unwire Everywhere, page 97.
Level of familiarity
with public hot spots
Have used but am not a subscriber
Familiar with but have never used
Have heard of but am not familiar with
Have never heard of
Based on a survey of 1,345 Internet-connected households.
Source: Parks Associates, July 2003.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
ON THE HORIZON
The next generation of Wi-Fi
wireless networking is on the
drawing board, as the IEEEs
802.11n Working Group gets
rolling. Proposals for an
802.11n draft standard report-
price
edly call for speeds ranging
from 108 Mbps to 320 Mbps.
The proposals also aim to
$239
reduce current wireless-
N/A
$279
$329
networking overhead caused
by packet management, en-
cryption/decryption, and error
correction. A ratified standard
isnt expected until 2005 or
2006, but previous flavors of
Wi-Fi have been adopted
before standardization.
AOL GOES BLOGGING
AOLs newest service, part of
AOL 9.0, aims to make life
easier for bloggers. Web logs
(or simply blogs)sites
where individuals share their
opinions and personal mus-
ingshave been hot in 2003.
The AOL Journals service
offers templates for launch-
ing a blog, and you can up-
date your blog by instant
messaging or by phone.
HAUNTED HOUSE
What if your entertainment
center could tell you that one
of its shelves is overloaded or
your refrigerator could an-
nounce that the milk is old?
Applications like these are the
goal of the Smart-Its project,
part of the European Unions
Disappearing Computer initia-
tive. Teams of university
researchers are developing
wireless sensor networks for
monitoring household objects.
Fifteen other projects under
the auspices of the EU initia-
tive are currently under way.
Percentage of
respondents
3%
33%
30%
34%
21
 PIPELINE

Send Me a Movie Taking

GET SET FOR A NEW EXPERIMENT
in film distribution. Disneys
upcoming MovieBeam set-top
box will feature a chip called ReX broadcasters to shift to digital
designed to datacast movies
using an NTSC terrestrial analog
television signal, according to
Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
Datacasting pushes data over
the airwaves alongside television able that DTV will prevail, but
and radio. The technology has
SoBig a largely failed in the past;
Problem Intel and PBS tried
unsuccessfully to
ugust was a seismically
a video or a DVD at a retail store,
Disney officials said.
Given that the FCC has urged
television, the timing of the
dNTSC launch is odd, acknowl-
edged Siobodan Simovich, vice
president of ASIC engineering at
Dotcast. We think its undeni-
its very uncertain when that will
happen, he said at Sili-
con Valleys recent
Hot Chips confer-
Names
orried you might be
W next on the Recording
Industry Association
of Americas (RIAA) hit list of
music swappers? Theres a way
to find out. The Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF), an
Internet public policy group,
offers the Subpoena Database
Query Tool for that purpose.
An ISP may or may not
inform subscribers of an RIAA
inquiry before a subpoena is
issued, says Jason Schultz, staff

A
active month on the
security front. Multiple
viruses and wormsand vari-
ants of themwith names like
Blaster and SoBig not only
spread like wildfire but demon-
strated some of the new tricks
virus writers are up to. SoBigs
ramp-up qualified it as the
fastest-spreading virus or worm
of all time, with virus-tracking
officials at e-mail security
companies MessageLabs and
Postini reporting that some mail
servers were generating 4
million junk messages per day.
SoBig has an unusual archi-
tecture that wreaks havoc pri-
marily through mass message
generation. SoBig is unique in
several ways, says Shinya
Akamine, president and CEO of
Postini. It creates seven
instances of itself. It has its own
SMTP mailer so it doesnt have
to connect to your corporate
mail server to send messages
out. It is also much more effi-
cient at finding e-mail address-
es than predecessors.
Rumors have been swirling
that SoBig might have been
ILLUSTRATIONS BY GINA TRIPLETT, PHOTOGRAPH BY REUTERS NEWMEDIA INC./CORBIS
drive demand in ence. [NTSC] is
1998, but con- not a glorious attorney for the EFF. But by
sumers balked. success at entering your user name or IP
Disney and this point, but address, you can find out if a
Dotcast are we believe subpoena was issued, though
banking that we can use the database isnt complete.
the time has this technology The RIAAs latest assurances
come for Dot- to do datacast- that it will go after only people
casts dNTSC tech- ing. We are devel- who share a substantial
nology to beam oping a solution, amount of copyrighted content
movies at 4.5 Mbps Disney Chairman and however, that shouldnt diminish the data-
of data per analog CEO Michael Eisner has
will do both NTSC bases importance. Its very
TV channel. A small and DTV. necessary, because we dont
announced plans for
antenna on the box Since the com- know what substantial means,
datacasting movies.
will capture the pany believes says Schultz. They are pur-
movies and save them to an dNTSC technology can transmit posefully being vague because
internal hard drive, according to up to 25 GB of data per day per they want to scare as many peo-
Disney. antenna, Dotcast is considering ple as possible.
Trial units will roll out in Salt the technology for mobile Users of the database dont
Lake City and two other loca- devices, including cars and lap- have to worry about a backlash.
tions this fall. Pricing is not yet tops. It might not be long before The site guarantees that no logs
set, but the 24-hour rental fee you get movies beamed to your of user information are kept.
should be comparable to renting PDA.Mark Hachman Sonya Moore
The Antisearch Engine
ost of the time, looking for online, find related information, and bring
M information isnt simply a
matter of finding the proverbial
back intelligent answers to questions
such as What are people saying
needle in a haystack. Its also about PC Magazine, and why?
about getting intelligent informa- WebFountain can reveal what an
tion: Where the needle was before online information neighborhood looks

intended as part of a future
cyberterrorist or mass spam
attack. A potential risk is that
the massive army of computers
SoBig has infiltrated could be
used to launch an all-out attack
on large Internet infrastruc-
tures, said officials at security
firm Central Command. Autop-
sy results on SoBig arent com-
plete yet, but it has already
made clear how fragile security
infrastructures are.SR
landing in the haystack, for example.
For more than 3 years, researchers at
IBM have been working on a way to
deliver such contextual infor-
mation in online searches. Now,
they think they are getting close.
Dubbed WebFountain, IBMs experi-
mental search platform brings together
a host of state-of-the-art tools, includ-
ing pattern recognition, natural-language
processing, and Bayesian probability theory, to
attack the problem. It crawls the Net and com-
bines these different approaches to read whats
like by using a map with different colors
and brightness points.
Andrew Tomkins at IBMs Almaden
Research Center describes WebFountain as an
antisearch engine. Its about trying to get
answers to questions you cant really answer
in a traditional search paradigm, he says.
For the moment, WebFountain is con-
fined to the lab and to a handful of projects
that IBM is working on with large cus-
tomers. In the future, however, the company sees
it as a potential Google killer. The jurys out on
that for now, though.JRQ

22 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

 PIPELINE

Sony Looks to Reinvent

Digital Photography
The upcoming Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F848 will employ a ground-
breaking 8-megapixel CCD with an entirely new color system: red,
green, blue, and emerald, instead of the traditional RGB CCD. Sony
will pack this pro-level camera with a host
of features, including a Carl Zeiss 28-
to 280-mm lens, a new image Gateway Enters the
processor, dual memory card
slots (for Memory Stick as Camera Market
well as CompactFlash and As it continues its expansion beyond
MicroDrive media), five- PCs, Gateway is planning its foray into
area multipoint auto-focus, the digital-photography market. Its high-
NightShot infrared shooting, end initial offering will be the aggres-
and 640-by-480 video record- sively priced 5-megapixel Gateway DC-
ing at 30 frames per second. T50. The 6.3-ounce, point-and-shoot
Sally Weiner Grotta model will feature a 3X optical zoom
$1,200 street. lens, an SD memory slot, and 320-by-240
Sony Electronics Corp., video at 15 fps.Jamie M. Bsales
www.sonystyle.com. $399.99 direct. Gateway, www.gateway.com.

Epsons Affordable
All-in-One
Photo-quality printing as well as scanning
and copying capabilitiesall at an attractive
pricewill make the Epson Stylus CX5400
interesting to home and small-business
buyers. The 5,760- by 1,440-dpi printer
engine will deliver photo-quality borderless
prints. The 1,200- by 2,400-dpi flatbed
scanner will give you walk-up copy conve-
nience, and Epsons Easy PhotoFix utility
can restore the color to faded photos.JMB
$150 street. Epson America Inc., www.epson.com.
HPs Wireless All-in-One
The HP PSC 2510 Photosmart will be
the first to embed a wireless print
server in a personal MFP. Built around
HPs 4,800- by 1,200-dpi ink jet photo
engine, the unit will include slots for
most memory cards and a 1,200- by
2,400-dpi flatbed scanner.JMB
$400 street. Hewlett-Packard Co., www.hp.com.

Better OCR Bargain Projector

Abbyy Software is
upgrading its already
first-rate OCR package.
FineReader 7.0 will feature
an enhanced recognition
algorithm, as well as legal and
medical dictionaries, auto-
matic PDF creation, and sup-
port for 177 languages.JMB
Professional edition: $299
direct; Corporate edition:
$499. Abbyy USA Software
House, www.abbyyusa.com.
The BenQ BP2120 will be
the latest entry in the sub-
$1,000 projector market. With
a native resolution of 800-by-
600 (SVGA), the DLP engine is rated
at 1,200 ANSI lumens and should deliver $999 list. BenQ
a bright image even under normal America Corp.,
indoor lighting conditions.JMB www.benq.com.

24 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

 HANDS-ON TESTING OF NEW PRODUCTS

28 Magix Movie Edit Pro 2004 33 GoodLink Server 2.0

30 HP DVD Movie Writer dc3000 34 OneBridge Mobile
30 InFocus LP120 Groupware 4.0
31 Macromedia Studio MX 2004 35 ActionTec Dual PC Modem

Wireless Cards Give Your

PC Access Anywhere BY BRUCE AND MARGE BROWN

THE MAGAZINE
WORLDS LARGEST High-speed data services for accessing e-mail or browsing the Web with phones and PDAs
COMPUTER-TESTING
FACILITY
have generated most of the buzz for wireless WAN solutions. But data cards from the same
carriers that offer such services equip your notebook PC with the equivalent of a 56K dial-
up connection. That means anywhere you can get a signal, you can use your laptop to surf
the Internet or catch up on e-mail, without having to fumble with the small screens and
keyboards that make phones and PDAs less than ideal for these tasks.

To be sure, the speed of Wi-Fi makes it the best mobile connectiv- that promises to boost real-world data rates to 100 Kbps.
ity solution. But to use it, you must be within range of an access For this story, we the tested the Sprint PCS Connection Card
point you can connect tobe it in your home or office, or at a pub- AirPrime PC3200, the T-Mobile Sierra Wireless AirCard 750,
lic hot spot with free access (say, a coffee shop), or access to and the Verizon Sierra Wireless AirCard 555. Rebates and
which you subscribe (as in most airports). But if you often special offers are often available, and all these devices
find yourself out of range of a usable access point, or require wireless data service.
if you travel to customer sites where network We didnt test the AT&T Sierra
access is blocked to nonemployees, you Wireless AirCard 750, because it
need a Plan B. wont be available after EDGE
Four of the big five U.S. wire- launches. AT&Ts current wireless data
less carriersAT&T Wire- plans range from $30 a month for 10MB of data
less, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and to $80 for unlimited connectivity. Until the end
Verizon Wirelesssell Type II of October, customers who sign up for AT&Ts
PC Cards that give you mobile con- current GSM/GPRS unlimited
nectivity when youre out of range of wireless data service plan
Wi-Fi hot spots. Cingular Wireless, with a two-year contract
the fifth major carrier, sells two- will get a free Sierra Wire-
piece solutions, in which you less AirCard 750 and also a
use a cell phone with your $150 discount if they upgrade
notebook (connected via to EDGE cards when the na-
cable or infrared) to access tionwide service becomes
the Internet. available. (Pricing has not yet
Currently two technologies are been determined for the EDGE
in use, with a third expected later this service.)
year. Sprint and Verizon use CDMA/ The carriers are still in the first phase
1xRTT, which has a theoretical max- of 2.5G and 3G high-speed wireless WAN de-
imum data rate of 144 Kbps; typical real- ployments. During the next few years, expect speeds to
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOM OCONNOR

world throughput speeds range from 40 to
60 Kbps (slightly better than that of a 56K
modem). AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile use GSM/GPRS network
technology, which is a bit slower. This technology has a theoretical
maximum rate of 110 Kbps, with realized speeds ranging from 20 to
40 Kbps. By years end, AT&T will launch EDGE, a new technology
increase dramatically. But dont turn your nose up at the current
GSM/GPRS and CDMA/1xRTT speeds. Even though theyre much
slower than cable and DSL throughputs, the current speeds are prac-
tical for typical Web browsing and e-mail (especially since the alter-
native is having no connection). The deciding factor for potential buy-
ers should be cost and coverage; each carrier has a state-by-state

26 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com


coverage map on its Web site.
All the carriers are building
out their networks as quickly as
they can afford to. Consequent-
ly, in major metropolitan areas,
coverage should be pretty
goodalthough pockets of bad
reception are to be expected.
Your best bet is to choose a
wireless data carrier with the
best voice coverage in the areas
where you need wireless access.
You can find that out by asking
friends and colleagues to see
which carrier has the best real-
world (as opposed to claimed)
voice service in a given area.
As the networks are going all-
digital, there is no longer the dis-
parity between voice and data
service that was common with
analog cellular networks.
Wireless data service available
Wireless voice service available
No service available
As this map from Sprint PCS shows,
youll need to check to see if data
service is available where you need it.
Pricing for wireless data ac-
cess is still prohibitive for casual
users, but relatively low-cost, un-
limited-access plans, such as $20
a month (with an accompanying
voice plan) or $30 a month (data
only) on T-Mobiles GSM/GPRS
network, are a good bet for busi-
ness users who can justify the
cost through enhanced produc-
tivity while on the road. Data
plans for Sprint and Verizon
(both use CDMA/1xRTT net-
works) start at $40 a month for
20MB of data, which should be
enough for you to check your
e-mail and the news and weath-
er a few times a day. The trade-
off for their higher pricing is that
CDMA/1xRTT networks are
clearly faster than GSM/GPRS
36 Toshiba Portg R100
36 Maxtor OneTouch
37 Xerox Phaser 6250
37 Garmin iQue 3600
networks, given the same signal
strength. But if you try to use
todays WAN carriers as your
sole Internet connection, it can
get quite pricey. These plans are
meant to augment normal ISPs
while youre mobile, not to re-
place them for permanent loca-
tions like your home or office. By
the end of the decade, we should
see wireless carriers offering ser-
Are You Covered?
vices that compete in through-
put with todays cable and DSL
services. But currently their best
use is for keeping in touch while
youre on the go.
Sprint PCS
Sprint PCS currently has the
widest selection of wireless data
cards among the U.S. carriers, in-
cluding Type II PC Cards from
AirPrime, Novatel Wireless, and
Sierra Wireless. Sprint also sells
the only CompactFlash wireless
data card currently available
the Yiso PCS Connection Card
CF 2031 ($180 street). The Sprint
PCS Connection Card AirPrime
PC3200 ($200 street) we tested
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /f i r s t l o o k s
has a stubby antenna protrusion
and looks like a wireless LAN
card; the antenna extends for bet-
ter reception and transmission
and folds down into the end
piece for protection. The PC3200
does not support voice calls, al-
though some of the other Sprint
PCS Connection Cards do.
Sprints wireless data service
pricing for consumers and small
businesses is $40 a month for
20MB, $60 a month for 40MB, $80
a month for 70MB, and $100 a
month for 300MB. There is no
unlimited data plan, which may
put off hard-core users.
In our testing, the PCS Con-
nection Manager software in-
stalled without fault. Using a
Dell Inspiron 8200 notebook
loaded with Microsoft Windows
XP Home Edition, we didnt
have to reboot the system after
installation. We tested the card
in an area with only marginal
Sprint PCS coverage (as indicat-
ed by one bar of signal strength
on the PCS Connection Manag-
er), and the Internet connection
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
lllll EXCELLENT
llllm VERY GOOD
lllmm GOOD
llmmm FAIR
lmmmm POOR
was usable. After we cleared our
browser of cookies and tempo-
rary files, the PCMag.com home
page loaded in 58 seconds. Over-
all, the installation and perfor-
mance were good. The biggest
downside of the Sprint PCS
wireless data service is the cost;
the company doesnt offer an
unlimited access plan for non-
business users.
T-Mobile
The T-Mobile Sierra Wireless
AirCard 750 network card ($350
street, before a $100 rebate) is
a triband GSM/GPRS device
thats also voice capable (youll
have to supply a separate ear-
piece). The big advantage for
international travelers is that the
support for the three major
GSM/GPRS bands means that a
single device can work in many
parts of the world. The AirCard
750, which has a detachable an-
tenna, can be used with Micro-
soft Handheld PC 2002 and
Pocket PC 2002 PDAs with PC
Card slots, as well as with Win-
27

dows notebooks. This makes the
AirCard 750 more versatile than
a laptop-only card. You can add
unlimited Internet access to a
qualifying T-Mobile voice plan
for $20 a month or get an unlim-
ited-access, data-only plan for
$30 a month.
As with other GSM/GPRS
products, a SIM card inserted in
the AirCard 750 holds your sub-
scriber and authentication infor-
mation. As soon as we finished
the installation, we were able to
connect to the Internet.
Loading the PCMag.com
home page took 90 seconds in a
relatively weak signal area, with
only two of five signal-strength
bars showing. We plugged a
small earset into the AirCard 750
to make voice calls. This worked
but was a bit awkward, since you
must first launch the utility and
then type in phone numbers
using your keyboard. Most peo-
ple wont give up their cell
phones in favor of using a note-
book PC for voice calls.
Movie Edit Pro: Mixed Signals
BY JAN OZER
M
agix Movie Edit Pro
2004 is a likable, capa-
ble video-editing pro-
gram with features far beyond
those offered by similarly priced
packages such as Pinnacle Stu-
dio 8 or Ulead VideoStudio 7
(reviewed in our feature Hot
Shots, Cool Cuts, October 1,
page 105). Unfortunately, Movie
Edit Pro (MEP) trails those pro-
grams in usability, making it a
poor choice for beginners or
users who want to complete rel-
atively simple projects quickly.
Unlike most other consumer-
oriented editors, which offer
only fixed interfaces and limited
timeline tracks, MEP offers up to
16 tracks. It also has effects such
as still image, video overlay, and
picture in picture, as well as an
eight-track real-time audio
mixer for managing volume
across audio tracks. MEP excels
at the basics of capture and
28 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
FIRST LOOKS
Although the throughput
speed was noticeably slower
with the T-Mobile service than
with the Sprint PCS network, the
connection was stable. And
T-Mobiles lower monthly cost
is an advantage for consumers
or small-business users on a
tight budget.
Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless sells two wire-
less data cards: the data-only
Verizon Wireless AirPrime
PC3220 and the Verizon Sierra
Wireless AirCard 555 ($300
street), which we tested. The
AirCard 555 is a dual-mode data
device with support for 14.4-
Kbps and CDMA/1xRTT data.
By adding an earset, you can
also use this card for voice calls.
The Verizon AirCard 555, like
the T-Mobile AirCard 750, can
be used with Microsoft Hand-
held PC and Pocket PC devices.
The AirCard 555s detachable
antennathe same style used
on the AirCard 750is easy to
timeline trimming, with lots of
accessible controls for resizing
the timeline and quickly cutting
and arranging your scenes.
Some workflow decisions,
however, left us scratching our
heads. For example, you cant
create titles over the back-
ground video, nor can you drag
replace and does not protrude
from a notebooks PC Card slot.
But you have to carry and pro-
tect the antenna in a bag or
pocket.
Verizons Express Network
wireless data service has plans
starting at $40 a month for up to
20MB of data transfer, $60 a
month for 60MB, or $80 a month
for unlimited access. (Voice calls
are billed separately under these
plans.) Verizon bundles Telus
Mobilitys Venturi Personal
Client compression software
with the AirCard 555. The soft-
ware isnt required, but it can
speed up some Internet down-
loads. In our testing with the
Venturi program loaded, the
PCMag.com home page took 45
seconds to load in an area with
full signal strength (five bars on
Sierra Wirelesss Watcher con-
figuration and control utility).
The versatility of the AirCard
555 and the added boost of the
Venturi compression software
make this card an attractive
text and drop it to the desired lo-
cation, which complicates pro-
duction. MEPs tools for control-
ling motion and speed are very
complicated and sprinkled with
jargon such as sawtooth de-
creasing rhythmic envelopes.
The program also lacks visual
feedback in many key areas, par-
ticularly audio volumea sur-
prising feature gap on a 16-track
video editor.
With Magix Movie Edit Pro 2004, youll
notice the large preview window on the
upper-left-hand side, the visual FX
editor on the upper-right-hand side,
and the audio mixer on the bottom left.
choice. For small-business users
or corporate executives who
dont want to concern themselves
with surpassing a monthly data-
transfer limit, the $80 unlimited-
access plan has some appeal.
Sprint PCS Connection Card
AirPrime PC3200
Street price: $200 plus monthly
service plan. Requires: Type II PC Card
slot; Microsoft Windows 98 SE, Me,
2000, or XP. Sprint Spectrum LP, 877-
510-3733, www.sprintpcs.com.
lllmm
T-Mobile Sierra Wireless AirCard
750
Street price: $350 plus monthly
service plan. Requires: Type II PC Card
slot; Microsoft Windows 95 or later,
Handheld PC 2002 or later, or Pocket
PC 2002 or later. T-Mobile USA Inc.,
800-937-8997, www.t-mobile.com.
lllmm
Verizon Sierra Wireless AirCard
555
Street price: $300 plus monthly
service plan. Requires: Type II PC
Card slot; Microsoft Windows 95 or
later, Handheld PC 2002 or later, or
Pocket PC 2002 or later. Verizon
Wireless, 800-256-4646, www
.verizonwireless.com. lllmm
DVD-authoring capabilities
are template based, with good
control over design elements
like text, background image, and
window placement. But this
module offers limited naviga-
tional capabilities, especially
compared with Pinnacle Studio.
In testing, MEP proved very
competitive on our 2.4-GHz
workstation, rendering our 7-
minute test project to DV in 7:42
and to MPEG-2 in 14:50. Thats
faster than Studio (7:44 and
18:01, respectively) but behind
VideoStudio (7:39 and 9:08).
Magix Movie Edit Pro 2004
Direct price: $99.99. Requires: 450-
MHz CPU; 128MB RAM; Microsoft
Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000, or XP.
Magix Entertainment Corp., 888-326-
2449, www.magix.net. lllmm

Converter and DVD Burner in One
BY JAN OZER
T
he HP DVD Movie Writer
dc3000 makes analog
tape-to-DVD conver-
sions extraordinarily easy. It
provides a competent suite for
video editing, DVD authoring,
and other CD/DVD recording
functions, and its ideal for non-
technical users who want to
save their tape-bound memories
to DVDs with minimal fuss.
The dc3000 combines a
DVD + RW / CD - RW recorder
with analog-capture and MPEG-
2 encoding capabilities. The
dc3000 features S-Video, com-
posite video, and stereo audio
input, which lets you connect
an analog camcorder or even a
VCR. It does not support direct
DV input, so its not a good
choice for digital camcorder
owners.
The HP Transfer Wizard
walks you through analog-to-
DVD conversions, and it launch-
es with the press of a button on
the dc3000 or via the Windows
Start menu. In five simple steps,
you can configure your camera
or VCR connection, choose your
encoding parameters, and select
your DVD menu. Then you press
play on your input device and
the software takes overright
down to prompting you to create
a cover for your DVD case. Its a
very straightforward interface
that should feel accessible even
to complete beginners.
Note that recording to disc
does not happen in real time, as
it does with products such as
ADS Technologies Instant DVD
2.0 (First Looks, August 19). Its
actually a two-step process of
capture, then burn. On our 2.4-
GHz HP xw4100 test bed, the
dc3000 needed 90 minutes to
create a 58-minute disc, though
no user intervention is required
during the process.
If you want more control over
your creations, the bundle in-
cludes Arcsofts ShowBiz, a like-
able video editor with a great
range of usable effects, such as
frames that display your video
30 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
FIRST LOOKS
from a billboard, blimp, or
through a keyhole. The only sig-
nificant feature gap compared
with programs like Pinnacle
Studio or Ulead VideoStudio is
the inability to overlay an image
on a background video.
HPs all-in-one conversion
device lets you save
analog tapes
to DVD.
Big Projector,
Small Package
BY ALFRED POOR
T
he 2.0-pound InFocus
LP120 is about the size of
a carton of cigarettes,
yet it can fill a small wall with
vivid computer and video im-
ages. Image quality is very good
(especially considering its size),
and you wont have to pay up
for such miniaturization: The
$2,800 street price is competi-
tive with other XGA (1,024-by-
768) projectors.
The remote control that
comes with the projector has
forward and back buttons for
presentations, a status button,
and a red laser pointer. Thats a
fairly limited set, so youll need
to use the projectors top panel
controlswith buttons that
light up, thankfullywhen you
set up the projector. (InFocus
sells remotes with more features
if you desire). One unexpected
touch, given the units size, is the
presence of a zoom control
along with the lens focus.
The LP120 uses a single DLP
micromirror panel from Texas
Instruments. We tested using
images generated by the Display
ShowBizs new DVD author-
ing module is easy to use, but
the workflow needs some re-
thinking. Specifically, if youre
producing one long video, you
must first output separate files
for each major section in order
mate utility (www.displaymate
.com). Overall, image quality
was very good. The projector
has excellent focus throughout
the image. Gray scale response
was strong at both ends of the
spectrum, color ramps were
smooth, and color tracking was
excellent. The contrast ratio
measurement of 294:1 was excel-
lent for a projector of any size.
The projector also did well
with video images, and while the
internal sound system is not par-
ticularly loud or of great sound
quality, its fine for a small audi-
ence around a conference table.
Even better in tight quarters, the
cooling fan is relatively quiet.
The image quality wasnt per-
fect, however. The LP120s test
image did show the muddy yel-
lows common to single-panel
to place each on its own sepa-
rate menu, which takes time
and disk space. Programs like
Pinnacle Studio are much more
flexible here.
If you have a DVD burner, you
may want to consider a less cost-
ly, converter-only alternative,
such as Instant DVD 2.0 or Pin-
nacle Studio MovieBox USB
(First Looks, August 19). But if
youre starting from scratch and
have been waiting for an easy
way to convert tape to DVD, HP
has a winning answer.
HP DVD Movie Writer dc3000
Direct price: $399. Requires: Pentium
III/800 or better, 128MB RAM (256MB
recommended), 550MB hard drive
space for included software, 10GB free
space for DVD video disc creation,
1,024-by-768 video resolution, USB 1.1
or 2.0, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP2
or XP. Hewlett-Packard Co., www.hp
.com, 888-999-4747. llllm
DLP projectors. Another weak
point was the projectors bright-
ness. Rated at 1,100 ANSI lu-
mens, our evaluation unit mea-
sured just 649 lumens using our
more rigorous test procedures.
This is considerably less light
than many portable projectors
yield, and it means that the pro-
jector will not produce good
contrast or saturated colors on a
large screen under normal room
lighting.
So if you need a projector that
can produce wall-sized images
in a lit room, look elsewhere. But
if small size is paramount, the
LP120 delivers without compro-
mising on the major factors.
InFocus LP120
Street price: $2,800. InFocus Corp.,
800-294-6400, www.infocus.com.
llllm
Slip the InFocus LP120 into the
same bag as your laptop and
go from two carry-ons
to one.

Macromedias Suite Gambit Pays Off
BY LUISA SIMONE
N
ot just a collection of
disjointed apps in a sin-
gle box, Macromedia
Studio MX 2004 proves the old
adage that the whole is more
than the sum of its parts. Each of
the main programs in this suite
Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fire-
works MX 2004, Flash MX 2004,
and FreeHand MXdominates
its niche of the Web develop-
ment market. But together these
programs offer synergies that
help developers accomplish
more with fewer resources.
At only $899, Studio MX is an
incredible bargain. It delivers not
only the four stellar authoring
programs but also ColdFusion
MX 6.1 Developer Edition for
building and deploying Web ap-
plications and services (First
Looks, September 3, 2002). The
only deal better is the Macrome-
dia Studio MX 2004 with Flash
Professional version, which for
only $100 more delivers the
more robust Flash developer
(with advanced features such as
support for forms, database con-
nectivity, an enhanced video en-
coder, and more).
Here we review the programs
that have been updated for this
release: Dreamweaver, Fire-
works, and Flash (see First Looks,
Dreamweaver MX 2004 delivers a CSS-savvy workspace, including
a revamped Tag Inspector (right) that displays editable attributes
for CSS rules.
FIRST LOOKS
April 8, for our review of Free-
Hand). All the programs now
share a number of similar fea-
tures and interface conventions.
So, wherever possible, the pro-
grams preview formatting op-
tions to help users make choices
intuitively and visually. For ex-
ample, the Properties Inspector
in Dreamweaver will preview the
actual formatting of your CSS
custom classes when you open
the Styles drop-down list.
Across-the-board features
like Unicode support, improved
CSS (cascading style sheets)
handling, and Check-In/Check-
Out file management functions
help developers work more
consistently. And the programs
are more capable of sharing na-
tive objects or round-tripping
code. So, for example, Fire-
works will no longer choke
on server-side code from
Dreamweaver, and Dream-
weaver can reformat prescribed
features of a Flash element.
MACROMEDIA
DREAMWEAVER MX 2004
At the moment, if you want to
build a cutting-edge Web site
using the full power of cascad-
ing style sheets, you still have to
code it by hand. Macromedias
Dreamweaver MX 2004 plans to
change that by providing robust
CSS features in a visual editing
environment.
Dreamweaver MX 2004 inte-
grates support of CSS in a num-
ber of different ways. Most im-
portant, the Tag Inspector now
displays style attributes, such as
text size or padding. Edits made
in the Tag Inspector are immedi-
ately reflected in the design view
of the document. An improved
CSS panel lets you jump directly
to a specified style definition
within the code. Even if you still
prefer to hand-code, youll find
that code hinting and auto-com-
pletion make you more efficient.
Dreamweaver renders CSS
code internally with a high de-
gree of accuracy. During testing,
however, we discovered that
some fairly common constructs
like psuedo-classes or nega-
tive valuesdont render prop-
erly within Dreamweaver and
still require you to preview your
work in a browser. But even with
this minor inconvenience,
Dreamweavers visual editing
environment will encourage
Web developers to use CSS for
complex page layout as well as
text styling.
The rest of Dreamweavers
new features share a common
theme: convenience. For exam-
Flash MX 2004 makes animation more accessible with automated
effects. Here the pie chart, which was created in Illustrator and
imported as an EPS file, is set to fade out over 20 frames.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
ple, you no longer need install
different browsers for testing
purposes, because Dreamweaver
offers internal validation that
can check for cross-browser
compatibility. You can target
specific browser or language
versions and have Dreamweaver
report on the tags or CSS rules
that will prove problematic.
Likewise, you are no longer
forced to define an entire site in
order to access and edit a lone
HMTL page.
And though you still have to
launch an external program
(like Fireworks) to perform
complex image-editing tasks,
you can make simple edits to a
picture (such as cropping, resiz-
ing, or sharpening) directly
within Dreamweaver. We were
impressed with the new import
filter for Word and Excel files,
which creates clean HTML from
formatted documents and pre-
serves Word styles as cascading
style sheets.
Dreamweaver also boasts
tighter integration with Flash. A
new flavor of Flash (actually a
variation of a Flash component
object, or SWC) allows Dream-
weaver users to modify attribut-
es of a Flash element via the Tag
Inspector. These new Flash ele-
ments must be parameterized
within Flash, so that individual
attributes (such as font family,
background color, text strings,
31

or image links) can be edited
within Dreamweaver.
But the ultimate convenience
feature may prove to be a set of
six templates that share a com-
mon aesthetic. The new Halo
templates provide sophisticated
CSS-based layouts, which only
require that users import their
text and graphics.
Dreamweaver dominates the
Web development marketplace,
and for good reason. It supports
an amazingly broad range of
standard documents, including
HTML, XML, PHP, ASP, Cold-
Fusionand now CSS. The new
features streamline workflow by
giving developers the ability to
tweak CSS style sheets, images,
and Flash Elements without
ever leaving Dreamweaver.
MACROMEDIA
FLASH MX 2004
With this release, Macromedia
Flash has developed a split per-
sonality. The Flash product line
now consists of Flash MX 2004
and Flash MX Professional 2004.
Dont be fooled by the lack of
the word professional in its
name: Flash MX 2004 is clearly
intended for high-end Web de-
velopers, with a number of new
features that enhance efficiency.
Chief among them are two time-
line effects: Transform and
Transition.
These commands present
you with simple point-and-click
options to animate an objects
properties, such as position,
size, or opacity. Their dialog
boxes are much easier to use
than the existing Create Mo-
tion Tween command, if only
because you can return to the
dialog box to further tweak the
animation effect.
Flash MX 2004 offers a slew of
workspace enhancements. Spell-
checking and search-and-replace
functions are a real boon, be-
cause they work across an entire
application including the stage,
actions, frame labels, and text
fields. The new History panel
does double duty: It provides
multiple undos (of up to 9,999 op-
erations). And it allows users to
save a series of steps as a custom
32 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
FIRST LOOKS
command. New import filters
save time by letting you incorpo-
rate a wider range of graphics
formats, such as PDF and EPS,
into a Flash composition.
Flash has always let you con-
figure output options for SWF
movies, including the version of
the Flash player required to view
Fireworks MX 2004 offers new file management options, like
the Dreamweaver-style Check-In/Check-Out functions shown
here. Notice the new AutoShapes, which sport control handles
for easy reshaping.
the content. Flash MX 2004
makes this process more effi-
cient in two ways. First, you can
save your Publish settings for
easy reuse. Second, with the help
of the automated Deployment
Kit, you can create a specialized
SWF file that detects the Flash
player version and redirects the
visitor to appropriate content.
The nitty gritty of coding is
also improved in this release.
Macromedia has upgraded
ActionScript, making it more
compliant with ECMA standards
and therefore more familiar to
Java programmers. You can also
maintain visual consistency
with Dreamweaver applications
by applying a subset of CSS tags
(for text styling) to HTML- or
XML-formatted text fields.
Youll also want to take advan-
tage of the new Flash player,
which offers improved playback
performance with a special em-
phasis on business application
functions (such as connecting to
a back-end database). Version 7
of the Flash player, like its pre-
decessors, will be available as a
free download from the Macro-
media Web site.
In short, there is no doubt
that Flash MX 2004 is a must-
have upgrade for serious Web
developers.
MACROMEDIA
FIREWORKS MX 2004
In the real world, professional
graphic artists and Web devel-
opers choose programs for
power, efficiency, and integra-
tion with other essential appli-
cations. Macromedia Fireworks
has always maintained an edge
over competing products (like
Adobe ImageReady) by offering
the widest range of automated
Web effects. The latest release
Fireworks MX 2004 leverages
collaboration tools and inte-
gration with Dreamweaver to
widen that lead.
In a workgroup situation,
artists can now safely share
source PNG files, because Fire-
works supports the same Check-
In/Check-Out functions as
Dreamweaver. This feature lets
you easily FTP files to a remote
server, and it locks a file to pre-
vent team members from over-
writing one anothers edits. Fire-
works relies upon Dreamweaver
to supply the necessary site defi-
nitions, so this feature wont
work with other HTML editors.
Fireworks MX 2004 also im-
proves its round-trip support
with the ability to open files that
have been modified in Dream-
weaver with server-side code or
nested tables.
Extensions developers will be
thrilled with Fireworks new-
found ability to run in the back-
ground while accepting Action-
Script commands from other
applications. This powerful inte-
gration feature will enable Fire-
works plug-ins to use custom
Flash interfaces or Dreamweaver
plug-ins to borrow advanced
image-editing functions.
This version of Fireworks
adds a number of artistic tools
that are nevertheless common-
place in other graphics pro-
grams. For example, FreeHand
users will recognize contour
gradients and dashed line styles.
In the same way, the new image
correction tools, such as red-eye
removal or replace color, are
ubiquitous in image-editing pro-
grams. Even Fireworks Auto-
Shapes (which let you reshape a
geometric object using special
control handles) are similar to
the AutoShapes found in Office
apps. Incorporating these tools
makes it easier to create com-
plex illustrations entirely within
Fireworks without importing
images from external programs.
Fireworks is well known for
its Live Effects, which are non-
destructive filter effects that re-
main editable. This version of
Fireworks lets you create the
illusion of movement or add tex-
ture by applying new effects
such as motion blur, zoom blur,
or noiseto either vector or
raster objects. Designers who
develop graphics for handheld
devices will appreciate the new
text anti-aliasing options, which
can utilize either customizable
settings or OS support. The bot-
tom line is that Fireworks text
looks more legible at even small-
er sizes.
Fireworks MX 2004 has been
optimized to improve perfor-
mance. Faster response times
are always appealing, but the
real productivity boost comes in
the form of better support for
collaborative teamwork.
Macromedia Studio MX 2004
Direct price: $899; upgrade pricing
available. Requires: Pentium/600,
256MB RAM, 800MB hard drive
space, Microsoft Windows 98 SE,
2000, or XP. Macromedia Inc., 800-
470-7211, www.macromedia.com.
lllll

Vying for a Slice of BlackBerrys Pie
BY RICHARD V. DRAGAN
T
oday there are plenty of
options for keeping up
with your e-mail on the
road using wireless handheld
devices, namely connected
PDAs and data-enabled phones.
But since corporate e-mail, ad-
dress books, and appointment
information is usually stored on
Microsoft Exchange or Lotus
Notes/Domino servers, keeping
your desktop and handheld in
sync can be a real chore for a
typical business user.
Three recent software solu-
tions make it easy to sync up
with the home office and keep
your server-resident and PDA-
resident data in step, without
having to cradle several times a
day. This push approach can en-
sure that you stay in touch all
the time.
First, Good Technologys new
GoodLink Server 2.0 builds on
the companys cradle-less push
technology, with an emphasis on
simplicity. The new version
sports policy-based manage-
ment, instant messaging on the
client end, and other improve-
ments. Good offers RIM Black-
Berry devices that work with its
system, as well as its own cus-
tom G100 hardware. The com-
pany has also announced a part-
nership with Handspring to
bring new models into the fold.
While its the most easily de-
ployed end-to-end solution, its
also the most restrictive when it
comes to hardware choices.
RIM BlackBerry Enterprise
Server for Microsoft Exchange
3.6 ($4,999 direct per server; First
Looks, August 5) offers a solid
messaging system that works
with a growing line of BlackBer-
ry PDAs. This package excels at
fine-tuned policy management
to stay on top of administration
costs, and it provides excellent
control of e-mail filtering. Black-
Berry Enterprise Server gives
you several more choices than
GoodLink does for hardware, in-
cluding the voice-enabled Black-
Berry 6710 and the sleek 7210.
FIRST LOOKS
The new GoodLink Server 2.0 lets administrators set company-
wide and user-specific policies.
You can view a wide variety of stats for handheld users within
the GoodLink Server admin console.
Even more flexible in hard-
ware, software, and connectivity
options is Extended Systems
OneBridge Mobile Groupware
suite. This solution aims to sup-
port virtually every type of wire-
less handheld from most any
vendor, including those running
Microsoft Pocket PC, Palm OS,
and Symbian. Better yet, you can
connect any way you want
wirelessly over a service carrier
or even via an access point
(which is perfect for the ware-
house or corporate campus).
Best of all, the platform sup-
ports custom enterprise applica-
tions (CRM, inventory, and so
on) designed to run on a specific
handheld, so your users can have
access to more than just PIM
data. Of course, youll spent a
little more time administering
all these different devices and
apps, but this new offering earns
points for letting users tap
Exchange/Lotus data in different
ways without having to buy new
handhelds.
Each of the three has its
strengths. GoodLink Server 2.0
wins on ease of use for adminis-
trators and end users alike, and
its the most affordable of the
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
three. That makes it a natural
choice for midsize businesses
just starting to roll out a push
solution.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server
offers the most precise control
over policies for mobile users,
with dozens of available options
for administrators. That, and
RIMs established relationship
with a range of wireless carriers,
makes it ideal for larger enter-
prises where control and cover-
age are paramount.
For its part, Extended Sys-
tems OneBridge Mobile Gate-
way is the most device-indepen-
dent of the three solutions. Its
per-server deployment cost is
higher than that of the others,
but that can be quickly offset in a
large enterprise that has already
deployed handhelds to end
users, since you dont need to
buy new devices for everyone.
And the fact that users can run
full-blown applications in a wire-
less environment is a bonus.
GOODLINK SERVER 2.0
Good Technologys GoodLink
Server 2.0 solution succeeds at
keeping wireless corporate mes-
saging simple for both IT admin-
istrators and users. The new re-
lease offers improved support
for on-the-fly synchronization
with Exchange and Lotus mes-
saging systems, plus instant
messaging and a new policy-
based approach to managing
mobile users. Though it current-
ly supports relatively few hard-
ware choices, this end-to-end
package strikes an appealing
balance between simplicity and
effective push e-mail adminis-
tration.
We installed GoodLink Serv-
er 2.0 on Windows 2000 Ad-
vanced Server running against
Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5.
(Support for Lotus Notes/
Domino is also included.) Setup
was the simplest among the
three. For example, the setup
utility applied a required Ex-
change service pack to update
our version of CDO, a really nice
touch. As with RIMs BlackBerry
Enterprise Server, administra-
tion is accomplished using a Mi-
33

crosoft Management Console
(MMC) plug-in. This tool dou-
bles as a provisioning tool for
new handhelds.
Using a dozen simulated Ex-
change users, we set up several
identities on Goods G100 wire-
less handhelds. The vendor also
offers support for the RIM Black-
Berry 950 and 957, as well as the
Handspring Treo 600 with inte-
grated phone support. Good
Technology plans to move from
designing its own hardware to
partnering with other manufac-
turers and carriers, especially as
wireless devices get voice capa-
bilities.
Provisioning a new handheld
in GoodLink was a veritable
snap. We cradled, and the MMC-
based admin console tool detect-
ed the serial number from each
device. This handy built-in utili-
ty then downloaded the Good-
Link client software onto each
handheld, which took just a few
minutes.
New in Version 2.0 is policy-
based control for your handheld
users. First, you can set a global
policy for users, with options
such as whether to require pass-
words (including type and
length) and which applications
to permit (such as the new
instant-messaging application
or solitaire). Generally, we like
the new policy management
here; it should be a good deal
easier to master than that of Ex-
tended Systems and RIM.
As weve said, the MMC admin
console in GoodLink favors sim-
plicity. Theres easy access to
server status, usage statistics,
and configuration options for in-
dividual users, including the
ability to kill a users device re-
motely. (The other solutions
here offer a similar option.)
Like BlackBerry, GoodLinks
client application takes com-
plete control of the handheld.
Options for mail, contact infor-
mation, and appointments run
down the left side of the display
on the G100 (and RIM 957). New
features here include the ability
to use global address books for
your company and to synchro-
nize Sent and Outbox folders. A
34 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
FIRST LOOKS
With the OneBridge console, administrators can set syn-
chronization options for Exchange and Notes content with
support for all major handheld devices.
By setting profiles for different user groups and types of
handheld devices, OneBridge administrators get extremely
fine control of virtually every aspect of this corporate
messaging solution.
side effect of this is that the first
time you boot your handheld,
you have to wait a few minutes
while all this data syncs up.
After this initial setup, you
wont often need or want to cra-
dle again for synchronizing. The
G100 handheld with which we
tested ($349 direct) still earns
points for its design, which per-
mits scrolling and clicking using
the same trackbar control near
the middle of the device. Raised
buttons on the keyboard, though
still small, should allow success-
ful two-thumb typing.
The GoodLink e-mail client
simplifies typing further by
using auto-complete wherever
possible for addresses. We like
that the new version adds a cor-
porate history feature for access-
ing all previously used e-mail
addresses, as well as access
to public folders and address
books. An instant-messaging
application lets you send short
text messages (which can be
archived automatically) via e-
mail to other users.
Our review caught Good
Technology in the middle of
several upgrades and a shift in
corporate strategy. Besides
planned support for Palm OS
and integrated voice in the
promising Handspring Treo 600
model due out by the time you
read this, the company plans to
offer more carriers (right now
Cingular is the only choice) in
the near future.
In this new release, what
GoodLink does, it does very
well. Though it still has a narrow
range of hardware options when
compared with its competitors,
it offers a highly polished and
very functional push solution.
GoodLink Server 2.0
Direct price: $2,000 per server, plus
monthly carrier charge per user. Good
Technology Inc., 866-723-4663,
www.good.com. llllm
ONEBRIDGE MOBILE
GROUPWARE 4.0
With the widest support for
handheld hardware and connec-
tivity options, Extended Sys-
tems OneBridge Mobile Group-
ware 4.0 offers a powerful suite
of mobile tools and an extreme-
ly flexible approach to serving
all major PDAs and phones.
Installing OneBridge Sync
Server proved easy enough, al-
though the setup utility used
well over a dozen wizard screens
(the most weve seen in any en-
terprise solution). Connecting to
our Exchange 5.5 server was sim-
ple with the provided adapter
module, though the installer
complained when we tried to
use Microsoft Outlook XP in-
stead of Outlook 2000 for the re-
quired version of CDO. We also
took a look at the One Bridge
Real Time Server, which pro-
vides browser-based access to
wireless content, available on the
same setup program.
A distinguishing feature in
the Extended Systems solution
is its powerful handheld client
installation package. This tool
creates installations for virtual-
ly all handheld platformsin-
cluding Palm OS, Pocket PC,
Symbian, SyncML, and even
desktop Windows accessed
through a wireless (or wired)
network. These setup modules
can be used to provision differ-

ent devices by running a sepa-
rate installer tailored to each de-
vice. This approach permits ad-
ministrators and even end users
to set up their devices for use
with OneBridge quickly.
Inevitably, this wide-ranging
support for hardware means a bit
more complexity on the adminis-
tration side. In the standalone
OneBridge administration con-
sole, we were at first a bit over-
whelmed by the range of options.
Multiple actionslike synching,
backing up, and restoring con-
tentcan be defined at a precise
level of granularity for each of the
half-dozen supported classes of
devices. This all makes for a
somewhat cluttered console, list-
ing dozens of options, with the
actions exposed for each device.
(You can streamline the clutter
by selecting only the few types of
devices found in your organiza-
tion.) The bottom line is that this
admin console will be a bit more
difficult to master.
Extended Systems does not
market its own hardware. We
tested OneBridge with several
handheld models: a Palm OS-
based Tungsten W and a Com-
paq iPAQ Pocket PC. The custom
installers for these two plat-
forms worked well, and we were
up and running quickly. Unlike
Good and (to some extent) RIM
which take over the entire hand-
held client, the OneBridge client
software integrates with the
handhelds existing software,
presenting a few additional ap-
plets for e-mail. After we ran the
installer, server settings were
configured automatically on
each PDA The provided desktop
connector software manages the
synchronizing when cradled.
The communication options
for OneBridge are admirably
flexible and were simply the best
weve seen. Using the Live Con-
nect option, we could synchro-
nize with Microsoft Exchange
data via cradling or through
T-Mobiles GPRS network.
Reading and writing e-mail
on the Palm OS is done with Ex-
tended Systems custom Mail-
Plus utility. We like the ability to
scroll through messages quickly
FIRST LOOKS
and view filtered messages sep-
arately. Contact and appoint-
ment information is displayed in
the standard Palm Address and
Data Book applets.
There is no need for a custom
e-mail app on the Pocket PC plat-
form. E-mail, contact, and ap-
pointment data are displayed
within the standard Pocket PC
environment. On both Palm and
Pocket PC devices, a OneBridge
icon is added, enabling users to
configure settings. We liked that
you could choose a connection
profile easily, which simplifies
switching between faster and
slower connections as you travel.
A unique option with One-
Share a Dial-Up Connection
BY CRAIG ELLISON
I
f you thought you needed
broadband to be a part of
the wireless generation,
think again. The Actiontec Dual
PC Modem is a simple hardware
device that lets two computers
share a dial-up Internet connec-
tion. Connect an access point to
one of its two Ethernet ports and
those machines can go wireless.
The Dual PC Modem con-
tains a V.92 modem and a DHCP
server. That component assigns
IP addresses to the connected
PCs and performs network ad-
dress translation, so that multi-
ple PCs can share the Internet
connection.
Installation is simple. Con-
nect the Dual PC Modem to
your phone line, plug in Ether-
net cables to each of your PCs,
and youre ready to begin a very
simple setup process. If you
want to use the modem with
your wireless notebook or de-
vice, you can plug in a wireless
access point to one of the Ether-
net ports and share your dial-up
network wirelessly.
To configure the unit, you
merely point your browser at
the IP address of the Dual PC
Modem (provided in the quick
start guide) and fill in your log-
on name, password, and the
phone number of your ISP. You
Bridge is the ability to run a
thin-client version of mail
using its Real Time Server,
which relies on your mobile
browsers to display Exchange
or Lotus data. But OneBridge
trails the others in e-mail man-
agement for end users, since
you cant sort messages into
subfolders on the handheld and
have those changes propagate
back to the server.
Extended Systems philoso-
phy of playing well with others,
both in hardware and wireless
carriers, means that OneBridge
can fit the hardware require-
ments of most any organization.
You dont even need a wireless
can also perform all these steps
with a setup wizard walking you
through the process and testing
the connection for you.
The Dual PC Modem sup-
ports dial on demand (DOD).
When you type in a Web ad-
dress, the modem automatically
dials your service provider and
makes the connection. Unfortu-
nately, in many cases, the Web
page will time out before the
modem has finished connecting
The ActionTec Dual PC Modem lets you share a dial-up connec-
tion or add a wireless gateway to its Ethernet port.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
service carrier for warehouse or
campus deployments, as it can
run over an 802.11x network,
Bluetooth, or even a standard
network when cradled.
Though administration in
OneBridge will probably take a
bit more work than with the
other packages, this all-around
player offers an appealing solu-
tion, especially if your users have
different types of handhelds.
OneBridge Mobile
Groupware 4.0
Direct price: $10,000 per server, plus
$215 per user (volume discounts avail-
able). Extended Systems Inc., 800-
235-7576, www.extendedsystems
.com. llllm
to your ISP. To avoid this prob-
lem, you can use a system tray
utility to connect and disconnect
to your ISP manually.
If dial-up service is all you
have and you need to shareor
if you want to add wireless ca-
pabilities to a dial-up PCthe
Dual PC Modem could be a good
choice for you.
ActionTec Dual PC Modem
Street price: $70. Requires: 64MB
RAM, Ethernet port, Microsoft
Windows 98 or later. Actiontec
Electronics Inc., 800-797-7001,
www.actiontec.com. lllmm
35

Portg R100: Nearly Flawless
BY BILL HOWARD
T
he dazzling Toshiba
Portg R100 is an
impressive 2.4-pound
ultra-ultraportable (most ultra-
portables weigh 3 to 4 pounds)
with a full-size keyboard, 40GB
hard drive, and 12.1-inch XGA
display. The only flaw in this
otherwise impeccable system is
low battery lifean unavoidable
trade-off given the systems
diminutive size.
The R100 is Toshibas follow-
up to last years breakthrough
the Toshiba Portg 2000 family.
The R100 continues the useful
features found in those systems,
such as a full-size keyboard (vir-
tually unheard in notebooks
under 3 pounds), an external
switch that controls the internal
wireless Ethernet, a bright poly-
silicon display, and an ultra-
compact 1.8-inch hard drive
(which is 40GB in the R100 ver-
sus 20GB for the 2000 family).
New to the R100 is a Presen-
tation button that lets you
quickly set up a PowerPoint
show. And performance from
the R100s 1.0-GHz Pentium M
processor (19.6 on Business
Winstone 2002) trumps the
Portg 2010s score of 13.9. Per-
formance from the R100s inte-
grated Intel 802.11b wireless
adapter was acceptable, though
throughput was generally
slightly below that which weve
seen on larger notebooks.
Although you can take the
R100 anywhere, it may not run
long enough to complete the
journey. All youll get from the
internal battery is 2 hours 20
minutes, according to our Busi-
ness Winstone BatteryMark
2003 test. Travelers will have to
make a constant companion of
the included undermount
battery, which brings total run-
time to a laudable 7:25. This
power pack, however, messes up
the sleek lines of the R100s 0.7-
by 11.3- by 9.0-inch (HWD) mag-
nesium chassis and brings its
system weight to 3.1 pounds. The
R100 does not include an optical
36 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
FIRST LOOKS
drive, but Toshiba sells a Targus
CD-RW ($149) and a DVD-RW
($349) drive, which both connect
to the R100 via the PC Card slot.
Deciding between the sleek
R100 and a heavier ultra-
portablenamely the class-
leading IBM ThinkPad X31
comes down to your priorities.
The X31 is larger and weighs
more (3.6 pounds) but runs for
4:40 on its internal battery. The
X31 also has more features, such
as Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire,
and Bluetooth capabilities. But if
youre considering the 3.0-pound
Dell Latitude X300 we recently
tested (First Looks, September 16,
page 42), the Toshiba model may
be a better choice. The R100 deliv-
Solve Your
Backup and
Storage Woes
BY M. DAVID STONE
M
axtor likes to empha-
size how easy backing
up your system is
with its Maxtor OneTouch exter-
nal hard drives. For us, an equal
draw is that these drives are also
the easiest way to add capacity
to your PC (in chunks of 120GB
to 300GB).
Because the drives are exter-
nal, you dont need to open your
PCs case. With a Microsoft
Windows XP system, you just
plug in a OneTouch drives
power cord, turn it on, and con-
nect a USB or FireWire cable
(both are included). The 120GB
model supports USB 1.1 and 2.0,
while the 200GB, 7,200-rpm
250GB (which we tested), and
300GB versions also each have a
pair of FireWire connectors,
which let you easily daisy-chain
multiple drives.
Windows XP automatically
recognizes a OneTouch drive,
which you can then use the same
as any other driveexcept you
cannot boot from it. A wizard
ers similar runtime and a larger
keyboard in a lighter package.
If a full-size keyboard and
the lightest weight going are
crucial, the Toshiba Portg
R100 stands alone.
Toshiba Portg R100
Direct price: With 1.0-GHz Pentium M,
256MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB hard drive,
Trident XP4m32 graphics, 12.1-inch
XGA display, 802.11b wireless
Ethernet, Windows XP Profes-
sional, $2,299. Toshiba Ameri-
ca Information Systems,
800-867-4422,
www.shop
toshiba.com.
llllm
The 2.4-pound
Toshiba Portg R100
packs a full-size keyboard.
guides you through the painless
process of configuring the auto-
5,192 files took 5 minutes 4 sec-
onds, including a second pass for
matic backup settings. Pressing a verifying the files. Subsequent
button on the front of a One- backups are far faster, because
Touch drive causes a monitor- Retrospect Express backs up
ing utility to launch the backup only new and changed files.
software. By default, its set to We also kept working while
use the included Dantz Retro- backing up with little to no effect
spect Express 6.0. If you have on the performance of the fore-
some other favorite back-up pro- ground program. By compari-
gram, you can set the Maxtor son, it took almost 24
software to call it up instead. minutes to back
Over a USB 2.0 con- up a similar set of
nection, a 620MB files with the pre-
backup of vious-generation
5,400-rpm One-
Touch over USB 1.1
In short, you get
everything you
could want in an ex-
ternal drive. The
OneTouch button
for easy backups and
fine Dantz software
give you a little extra.
Maxtor OneTouch
Direct price: 250GB, $349.95.
Requires: 32MB RAM; USB 1.1 or
2.0 or FireWire port; Windows 98
SE, Me, 2000, or XP. Maxtor Corp.,
408-894-5000, www.maxtor.com.
lllll
The anodized aluminum case of the Maxtor OneTouch drive
looks as good as it works.

New Phaser Delivers Stunning Speed
BY M. DAVID STONE
T
he Xerox Phaser 6250
midrange color laser is a
significant step up from
the already admirable 6200 that
it replaces. The easy setup and
excellent network management
tools are much the same, but
under the hood is a new design
that can blow the 6200 away
cutting print time in half or more
on almost all of our tests.
Physical installation is as easy
as youll find for a color laser, as
the printer comes with the toner
cartridges in place. Xeroxs net-
work administration tools are
among the best available, start-
ing with the tools for installing
the driver. When you insert the
CD, the setup routine gives you
two choices for automated setup.
You can let it search your net-
work for printers, pick the ap-
Find-Your-Way PDA
BY BRUCE BROWN
A
dd-on GPS units were
among the earliest and
sexiest accessories for
PDAs. A GPS could help you find
out where you were and track
your progress on trips, using the
PDAs display and software
downloaded from a host PC. But
adding GPS capability typically
requires a bulky add-on or a
CompactFlash card.
Now Garmin, one of the most
respected names in the GPS in-
dustry, has entered the PDA mar-
ket with an intriguing conver-
gent device, the Garmin iQue
3600 ($590 street). While the
Palm OS 5.0based iQue 3600
isnt inexpensive compared with
many conventional PDAs, its
cheaper than buying a PDA and a
GPS add-on.
The iQue 3600 has 32MB of
RAM for map data and other
Palm applications. Convenient-
ly, an SD card slot lets you save
map files (which can be large)
separately. The 6.6-ounce device
FIRST LOOKS
propriate printer, and sit back
while the software takes care of
the installation. One minor in-
stallation issue is that if you
want to share the printer and au-
tomatically make drivers avail-
able for downloading for addi-
tional operating systems, you
have to pick an Options button
has a 2.2- by 3.2-inch 320-by-480
backlit 16-bit color display.
The GPS unit itself is a WAAS-
enabled, 12-parallel-channel re-
ceiver with rated GPS positional
accuracy within 15 meters and
rated WAAS accuracy within 3
meters. The GPS antenna fits
into and folds out from the top of
the back of the case. Close it and
it turns off, conserving battery
power. If youre going to use the
iQue in your car for long trips,
its probably a good idea to buy
the optional 12-volt car power
adapter ($30 direct).
The iQue includes a vibrating
alarm and an MP3 player func-
tion, but its primary function is
as a location and navigation de-
vice. Bundled software includes
Garmins GPS clock, address
lookup, mapping, tracking, trip
computer, router generator, and
turn-by-turn voice guidance
programs. On our tests in the
Hartford and New Haven, Con-
necticut, areas, the iQue 3600
performed as well as any add-on
sheet with color charts in 14.4
seconds, a 100-page Word file
(with color on every page) in 4
and set that option. If you dont minutes 57 seconds, and an as-
know that you need to choose sortment of 8- by 10-inch photos
the button up front, youll have in 13 to 33 seconds, depending
to go into the driver and make on the photo.
those changes manually later. Even better, output quality
Rated at 26 pages per minute was good to excellent across the
for both monochrome and color, board. Text and lines were ap-
the 6250 is fast. On our tests, it propriately crisp, photos were
printed a 2-page Excel work- near photo quality, and graphics
offered smooth gradients and
saturated colors.
The Xerox
All told, the Phaser 6250s
Phaser 6250
combination of ease of installa-
delivers fine-
tion, network management fea-
quality output
at a very good
tures, fast performance, and out-
clip, making put quality should put it high on
it ideal for anyones short list.
midsize
offices and Xerox Phaser 6250
workgroups. Street price: $2,000; as tested, with
duplexer, network card, and additional
memory, $2,500. Requires: Microsoft
Windows 98 SE or later, or Mac OS 9.x
or 10.1 or later. Xerox Corp., 877-362-
6567, www.xerox.com. llllm
GPS unit weve tested.
During installation a base
help, flip up the back panel with
confidence.
map of major cities, roads, and Garmin iQue 3600
state and county boundaries is
Street price: $590. Microsoft Win-
loaded on the PDA. A license is dows 98, 2000, Me, or XP. Garmin
included to use detailed map International Inc., 913-397-8200,
and POI data from a two-disc www.garmin.com. llllm
MapSource City Select.
The iQues applications use The integrated
moving maps; just move the cur- GPS unit makes
sor to any edge and the map this the perfect
moves to the next area. You can PDA for
also easily zoom in or out for travelers.
more or less detail. We tested
routing to locations in the Hart-
ford area, and the software quick-
ly showed us the best way to get
to our favorite pizza places.
Integration with the Palm ad-
dress book is helpful: Tapping
the Route to button automati-
cally generates a route to any ad-
dress on your contact list. And
the mapping feature quickly
shows you how to get to the next
appointment on your calendar.
If you often travel in new
areas, Garmins iQue 3600 is a
handy single-device combina-
tion. Use it as a regular PDA
when youre not out and about,
but when you need directional
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 37
 There is never a legitimate reason to communicate anonymously
on the Internet. If you cant put your name on
something, dont send it!
S M A RT E R S H O P P I N G
AFTER I SAW YOUR story Build or Buy (September
16, page 83), I checked out the prices you paid for the in-
dividual components. You spent too much! I surfed on
PriceGrabber.com and looked up each of the compo-
nents that were in your high-end system, and I was able
to find lower prices for nearly all of them. The result
was about $365 in savings! PC Magazine has carried advertising for
PriceGrabber.com, so why dont you use it?
MATT ROLLICK
C O M E O N O U T A N D S H OW YO U R S E L F
I DONT AGREE WITH YOUR recent Security Watch story about
anonymous e-mail (Hiding Your Identity, September 16, page 68).
There is never a legitimate reason to communicate anonymously on
the Internet. If you cant put your name on something, dont send it!
I am so sick of people who hide behind screen names and AOL
and Yahoo! accounts; they can say anything and spread as much
misinformation as they like without repercussion. And your story
shows everyone how to hide their IP addresses, too. Why not tell us
how to create more destructive worms and viruses?
ROGER HENSLEY
U N SAT I S F I E D I N V I R G I N I A
COX HIGH SPEED INTERNET earned an A+ in your Broadband Score-
card (September 16, page 102). Apparently, you didnt survey Cox cus-
tomers from northern Virginia (part of the greater Washington, D.C.,
metro area). If you had, the grade would have been a lot different.
For starters, the cost for Coxs service is a whopping $49.95 per
month, unless you sign up for cable TV. The company advertises
1,500-Kbps downloads and 192-Kbps uploads, but it rarely delivers
that kind of speed. We also experience unplanned outages too fre-
quently. Static IP addresses are the norm, as Cox has never been able
to get dynamic IP addresses working properly. Report a service
problem and Cox may or may not get a technician out to fix the
problem within two or three days. Also, Cox does not provide even
a reasonably good video signal, unless you like 1950s-style television.
If this is considered A+ performance, we are all in serious trouble.
RALPH L. SORRELL
How to Contact Us
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
When sending e-mail to Letters, please state in the subject line of
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E-MAIL pcmag@ziffdavis.com
MAIL Letters, PC Magazine, 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016-7930.
All letters become the property of PC Magazine and are subject to editing.
We regret that we cannot answer letters individually.
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /fe e d b a c k
D R I V I N G T H E W R O N G WAY
IN DRIVING THE FUTURE (September 2, page 67),
Bill Howard praises the technical elegance of the Audi
A8 Ls electronic cockpit. But in reducing the multiple
dashboard controls to a single Multi Media Interface,
which requires the driver to read an LCD screen and
navigate through different settings, Audi has taken a
huge step backward for safety. A system so complex that it contains
a Return key because users sometimes make mistakes will prob-
ably distract a motorist at 65 miles an hour. Does anyone really want
drivers to be even less attentive than they are now?
EVAN BRODY
W I R E L E SS C O N U N D R U M
I HAVE ENJOYED READING John C. Dvoraks column for years, but
I think hes becoming more entertaining than incisive or informa-
tive. In his editorial on Wi-Fi (September 2, page 63), he derides the
current state of wireless standards as constantly shifting, hard to
use, and incompatible. Then, in the closing paragraphs of Inside
Track (page 65), he talks about how wonderful the D-Link AirPlus
DWL-900AP+ access point is because it can operate at an enhanced
22 Mbps. He doesnt say that you must also buy one of D-Links pro-
prietary Turbo cards to use that mode. He also does not state that
several other manufacturers offer devices that achieve similar
speeds, as long as you buy matching, proprietary components.
These souped-up systems are clearly not standard. If he wants
faster wireless performance, he should ditch 802.11b and move to
802.11g, which is now fully ratified. So which is it? Innovation cannot
be bad on one page and the epitome of modern gear on the next.
STEPHEN F. HOULT
Corrections and Amplifications
n In our recent First Looks review of sales-force automation tools (September 2, page 35),
we reported that Salesforces sales records are stored in XML files, but the actual sales
data is stored as machine-readable code to make it invisible to any intruder. Although the
data is invisible to unauthorized users viewing it in Web browsers and most popular text
editors, it is visible within the XML code and can be viewed in an ASCII editor.
n In a Quick Clips review of Visual Thesaurus (After Hours, September 16, page 137)
we incorrectly referred to the product as Virtual Thesaurus. The price and URL we list-
ed were also incorrect: The correct price is $29.95 direct, and the URL is www
.visualthesaurus.com. We apologize for the errors.
n In our recent review of SSL-based remote-access products (Simpler, Safer Remote
Access, August 19, page 104), we indicated that the SafeWeb SEA Tsunami lacks sup-
port for legacy applications. In fact, legacy application support is handled in a fashion
very similar to that of the Neoteris Access 1000. SafeWeb is currently revising both its
printed documentation and its online materials to emphasize this important feature.
n We also reported that the Tsunami can leave the network open and vulnerable if a
remote user forgets to log off. This should have read if a remote administrator forgets
to log off. SafeWeb reports that the next release of the Tsunami will convert the admin-
istrator log-on to a session cookie, alleviating this problem.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 39
 w w w. ex t re m e te c h . c o m
ExtremeTech
Program Your Cars Performance
ou can do anything online. You can even
Y give your car an extra 20 horsepower. If
you have the right car and the right In-
ternet connection, almost anything is
possible, including remote diagnostics,
performance enhancements, and service.
Cars today have dozens of microprocessors. Some
have utterly mundane jobs, such as controlling the
speed of the windshield wipers or remembering
your seat position. Othersthe airbag controller, for
instancecould save your life in an emergency. The
engine control unit (ECU), by contrast, monitors
more variables than a Florida weatherman with two
hurricanes off the coast.
The ECU looks at air and engine temperatures, air
pressure, airflow, engine speed, vehicle speed, throttle
position, flywheel rotation, and other variables. It also
continually recalculates the rate of change of many of
these variables to see whether youre speeding up,
slowing down, or driving at a steady speed. It then
determines the precise amount of gasoline, spark
advance, and other controllable factors that will give
you the most performance or the best economy
within the engineers design envelope.
An engine is a pump. To get more out of it, you re-
duce the intake and exhaust restrictions to get more
air into it. Then you can add more fuel to get more
power. Back in the bad old days of carburetors, we
used to drill out the jets, small brass inserts with holes
that metered the gasoline dispensed to the primary
and secondary barrelscrude but effective.
Then came fuel injection, and there were no more
jets to drill but a rather stupid, analog, purpose-built
computer that monitored a few variables and metered
fuel accordingly. The early ones were in sealed cans,
so there was no way to hack the programming. But
you could lie to the computer and indicate, for exam-
ple, that the engine was colder than it really was, and
the computer would obligingly provide more fuel. I
spent numerous evenings with my Heathkit oscillo-
scope balanced on the fender of my early BMW 530i,
measuring the pulse width on the fuel injectors as I
messed with the resistors and sensors.
Engine management computers eventually went
digital, as microcontrollers became absurdly in-
expensive and allowed easy reprogramming and far
more input variables than could be handled by ana-
BILL MACHRONE
log computers. Since the microcontrollers were
rugged variants of standard, off-the-shelf parts, it
didnt take long for tuners to disassemble the man-
agement program and analyze the variables. Thus
began the era (which continues) of chipping
carsproviding new performance levels by swap-
ping the factorys read-only memory for an EPROM
(erasable programmable read-only memory) or in-
stalling a socket on the processor bus so that a high-
performance program could be substituted for the
factory program at will. Laptop computers live right
alongside socket wrenches in the pits, as race crews
fine-tune fuel-injection and spark-advance curves.
In 1997, auto manufacturers standardized an on-
Cars today
board diagnostics interface, OBD II, which provided have dozens of
direct access to readable areas of the engine control microproces-
unit, and manufacturers adopted flash ROM. Sud-
denly it was open season on the ECU, as tuners found
sors. Some
ways to hack into the system. have mundane
The state of the art today is amazing, especially on jobs; others
turbocharged cars. Turbos are well suited to a pro-
grammed soup-up, because the boost pressure is could save
under computer control. So instead of a 5- to 7-horse- your life in an
power gain, 25 horsepower or more may be on tap.
emergency.
Thats a difference you can really feel.
No one is capitalizing on the boom more than
Atlanta-based Audi Performance & Racing (APR),
which has focused on Audi, Porsche, and Volks-
wagen upgrades. The procedure is all but instanta-
neous: Connect a laptop with APRs software to the
OBD II port and press a key. APRs top-of-the-line
product loads the ECU with four different perfor-
mance profiles, which you can select via the cruise
control buttons. A competitor, Revo, keeps its soft-
ware in a remote-control-like device. You press the
button for the program you want, plug it into the
OBD II port, and wait for the beep. Both solutions in-
clude lockout codes, low-power valet modes, and
antitheft modes, among other features.
The question, of course, is why manufacturers
dont provide more of this flexibility. Valet mode is
great; why not a teenager mode, too? Fortunately, we
can rely on the aftermarket to fill in the blanks.
Bill Machrone is VP of editorial development for Ziff Davis
Media. Visit his digs at www.extremetech.com. You can
also reach him at bill_machrone@ziffdavis.com.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 41
John C. Dvorak
Think Big
ometimes my family and I stay at our res-
S idence in Clallam County, Washington.
When were there, I encourage my chil-
dren to enter arts and crafts in the county
fair. Its great for their self-esteem when
they win, and its fun. I enter something myself once
in a while, and this year I decided to submit a spec-
tacular digital image of a storm over the San Fran-
cisco Bay that I captured with an Olympus E-10. I won
a blue ribbon, along with a surprise merit award and
a gift certificate that more than paid for my effort and
supplies. I printed this digital photo with a large-
format ink jet printer. Over 40 million digital cameras
are expected to sell this year, but the overlooked vari-
able in digital photography is printers. And Im con-
vinced I would not have won the county fair compe-
tition if I had not gone to a larger format.
All photo hobbyists should consider large-format
printers, which the professionals often use. Such mod-
els can print on 13-inch-wide paper (including roll
paper). My photo, which was a stitched panorama,
was about 7 by 17 inches. Printed on a normal 8-by-10
printer, the photo would have been too small.
Before the event, I chatted with Epson about its
two best-selling large-format printers, which are the
definitive models in this category: the Epson Stylus
Photo 1280 (dye-based) and the Epson Stylus Photo
2200 (pigment-based). I knew the 2200 would make
a more permanent image, since pigments are less
subject to fading than dye. But the color range of the
dye-based printer was greater, and I was looking for
an edge in image quality. So I got the 1280.
I stitched the image with MGI PhotoSuite 4 and
then moved it to Adobe Photoshop 7 for completion.
This consisted of little more than an automatic level
boost and scaling the picture to a printable size. The
file was massive, because the stitched image was
4,000 by 1,700 pixels. I sent it to the printer on a sheet
of superglossy 11-by-17 paper with the printer set on
vivid, which uses an amazing 2,880-dpi microweave
pattern. Not one person in a million would think the
final result was anything other than an incredibly
well-done darkroom color print. In fact, the county
fair used to have a digital-photography category and
gave up on the idea: Since most serious amateur
photographers have moved to digital cameras and ink
jet printers, the category no longer makes sense.
What makes sense is the larger format. When
scaled properly, even a 2-megapixel image can easily
be blown up to 11-by-17. And the Epson printers can
also do edge-to-edge printing. The impact of a big
print is formidable, but owning the large-format
Epson doesnt mean you cant have one of the small
snapshot printers as well. The Epson 1280 costs
around $300 (street), and supply costs are standard.
I figure that one big print costs between $2 and $3 for
the paper and ink.
This will be the year of the printer, and you can
expect Epson and Hewlett-Packard to make the most
noise. Epson has already done the impossible with
All photo
the miniature pigment dot on the 2200, which
experts said couldnt be done. And HP is going to hobbyists
raise the bar with fade-resistant dyes that it claims should consider
can last as long as pigment. More important, HP is
promoting new papers since the recent discovery
large-format
that ozone fades printouts more than ultraviolet rays printers, which
do. Superfast-drying, ultraglossy ink jet paper is as the profession-
porous as activated charcoal, and ozone can perme-
ate it and attack the ink from within. Even pigment
als often use.
ink can fade quicker on such paper. Thats why seal-
ing the print under glass or plastic is recommended.
HP will also bring out slower-drying, nonporous
paper for archival prints (and print algorithms
specifically geared to the paper).
Epson has introduced a line of paper called
ColorLife. As far as I know, only Canon is ignoring
the issue. Canon is emphasizing faster speeds, which
clearly require fast-drying porous paper. This
strategy may be a blunder. Im not convinced speed
is an issue, although it does take around half an hour
to produce a large-format print on the 1280. I think
the real goal of higher speeds is to make people blow
through supplies faster. I prefer quality and fade
resistance over quantity, especially when Im enter-
ing a competition.
Considering what youll be hearing about print-
ers in the next 12 months, you may decide youre
ready for an upgrade. All I can tell you is that if you
take your photography seriously, you should think
big. You wont regret it.
MORE ON THE WEB: Read John C. Dvoraks column every
Monday at www.pcmag.com/dvorak. You can reach him
directly at pcmag@dvorak.org.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 43
 Inside
JOHN C. DVORAK
igh-Speed Wireless Dept.:
H While you were sleeping,
the IEEE and the Ultra Wide
Band (UWB) folks have
been working on 802.15.3a.
This is because we need more standards
that have a lot of numbers and dots, with
a few letters thrown in for good measure.
802.15 is the number for so-called wire-
less personal area networks (WPANs),
which are generally short-range pico-
networks, or personal data clouds. 802.15.1
is the best example of a WPAN standard.
You know it as Bluetooth.
Anyway, 802.15.3a is most interesting,
because its a high-speed initiative that
uses UWBalso called pulse radio. It
broadcasts by sputtering a signal in a
crazy way, unlike anything else out there.
Because the pulses are all over the spec-
trum, the signals seem like noise. You can
receive a signal only if you can decode
the timing of the sputterings. In the past,
the military has used this technology, call-
ing it LPI (low probability of intercept)
radio. Numerous companies, including
Time Domain Corp. and Staccato Com-
munications (formerly Discrete Time),
have been perfecting this technology.
UWB can also be used as a form of
ground-penetrating radar, and construc-
tion companies use UWB devices to find
steel reinforcement inside concrete.
The technology is controversial. Some
engineers say that the sputtering must
cause interference with traditional wave-
forms, despite assurances that the pulse
radio signals are below normal noise
levels. Ive heard rumors that illegal high-
power UWB networks are already broad-
casting and providing members of secret
networks with very high bandwidth.
Only military intelligence gear could find
such systems.
Papers on 802.15.3a clearly show wire-
less speeds up to 1.3 Gbps, although it
looks as though the technology is opti-
mized for about 480 Mbps. These are hot
speeds for casual Internet connections!
The technology is revolutionary and
more mature than youd imagine, since it
has been on the back burner for so long.
Meanwhile, wireless networking is
moving ahead rapidly with the almost
universal deployment of 802.11g. D-Link
now has g products that deliver 54-
Mbps throughput. The company has just
announced an inexpensive product called
the D-Link DSA-3100 Express Ether-
Network Public/Private Hotspot Gate-
way. Capable of serving 50 simultaneous,
discrete users, this $599 gateway should
be the perfect system for a coffee shop or
hotel lobby. Its features include firewall
protection and even the log-on page you
get on public systems.
While Im on the subject, Netgear is
back in the game and upping the ante
with its new line of dual-band 802.11a/b/g
access points/routers with 108-Mbps ca-
pability. Wow! Notice how real competi-
tion heats things up nicely.
Whats in a Name? Dept.: I had high
hopes that Transmeta was beyond this,
but no. The company has decided to join
the Wacky Processor Name Club. The
next chips it releases will not have the
Crusoe name; instead, they will have an
Intel-style namethe Efficeon. Okay,
weve got the Pentium, the Xeon, the
Athlon, the Duron, the Itanium, and the
Celeronnow this.
Disregarding the first wacky name
the Pentiumall these names are quietly
suggestive. Pentium suggests the number
5 and lets the company move beyond the
586 moniker. Since then, the approach has
been to use a word that suggests reliabil-
ity or performance.
My question: Is this the best we can
do? These names stink. And as far as I
know, companies are paying consultants
a lot of money to come up with the
names, although Efficeon sounds as if it
was developed by a bookkeeper (after
Accountium and Financeon were elimi-
nated by consensus). Hey, how about the
Consensium? Or maybe the Commit-
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
Track
Ive heard
rumors that
illegal high-
power UWB
networks are
providing
members of
secret
networks with
very high
bandwidth.
teeon? Ugh. Good luck, guys.
Interesting reader requests: I often get
mail from baffled readers looking for
help. For example, David Dreis writes:
One thing I have wondered about over
the years is the lack of any ink jet
printeror for that matter any other type
of printer, except the now-not-available-
anymore Alps printersthat prints in
white ink. Evidently, every [printer com-
pany] thinks that everyone prints on
white paper. Not so! I have a small busi-
ness I operate at home evenings and
weekends. Part of that business requires
the purchase of decals where white paint
is required. Unfortunately for me (and I
know many others, both business and
private persons), since I need the white
paint on a clear background, I cant print
my own decals and save a bundle. If
white-ink printers were available, it
would add to immediate sales for the first
[company] to do it.
Any ideas? I didnt think so.
Unwanted Trend Dept.: If any of you do
a lot of public speaking, then youre start-
ing to see a new and disturbing develop-
ment: people in the audience using their
laptops, often on wireless connections.
Some even blog the event as a speech is
given. This can change the way you orga-
nize your speech. It can also turn the
speaker into background noiselike a
TV show.
45

On Technology
Office 2003: The Lowdown
icrosoft Outlook 2003, part of the
M new Microsoft Office 2003, lets
you capture any block of text with
address and e-mail information as
a new contact by pressing Ctrl-C
twice. This neat feature doesnt require a Microsoft
vCard, which hardly anyone uses anyway. It works
because a tiny company called Anagram (http://
getanagram.com) makes a $20 add-in that does what
Microsoft still hasnt done.
In other words, despite all the advances in Office
2003, the software has shortcomings. Some needed
enhancements were left out, while others are avail-
able as extra-cost add-ins from nimble third parties.
In the case of Office 2003, the glass is half full and
your wallet is half empty.
Heres my take on the public beta of Office 2003.
This version heeds the doctors maxim: First, do no
harm. Office 2003 is relatively robust. If (or when)
it crashes, losing data is rare, though by no means
impossible. And Office 2003 is backward-compatible
with previous versions; there are no new Word or
Excel 2003 file formats creating confusion when you
upgrade and a friend doesnt. Microsoft learned that
lesson the hard way with Office 2000.
The core productsWord, Excel, and Power-
Pointhave changed little. And in my opinion, Micro-
softs help screens and wizards havent come any
closer to addressing usage hurdles for the average
user. Excel provides lots of functions, but figuring out
the right functions for a mortgage payments table is
still a hassle. Common functions remain inconsistent:
Ctrl-F may mean Find or Forward (mail), depending
on the app. On the plus side, Words reading layout is
useful for working your way through long documents,
and the new Business Contact Manager is handy for
even the smallest companies. Microsoft OneNote, a
$100 add-in, is useful for ad hoc note taking.
Office still looks online to perform some tasks
that can be better addressed locally. When I went
into the Outlook contacts database and clicked on
the Display Map icon to look up a nearby address,
Outlook ignored my installed copies of Microsoft
Streets & Trips and DeLormes Street Atlas USA
and attempted to make a Web connection to Micro-
softs MSN Maps & Directions. Until every comput-
er is online at all times, thats a silly feature. And
B I L L H OWA R D
even then you ought to have a choice.
E-mail users will love and hate the new Outlook.
It is superb at handling large quantities of mail and,
if you wish, providing a single place for your per-
sonal and business e-mail accounts (not AOL Mail,
though). When new messages come in, the first few
lines appear briefly in a ghosted window in the lower
corner. The Date view groups mail logically: Today,
Yesterday, Last Week, Two Weeks Ago, Three Weeks
Ago, Last Month, Two Months Ago, and Older.
When you sort by size, theres a splash of humor:
The groups are called Tiny, Small, Medium, Large,
Very Large, Huge, and (more than 5MB) Enormous.
In the case of
Youd better learn to like Outlook, though, because
Microsoft says it has no current plans to enhance the Office 2003,
free Outlook Express beyond Version 6. Plenty of your glass is
users who managed to install OE6 successfully will
be stumped by Outlook. (Microsofts reply, when
half full and
asked whats in store for OE6 fans: Give more your wallet is
thought to Hotmail.) half empty.
If you do upgrade, which version of Office should
you get? There will be more than two dozen available
in retail, through volume licenses, in academia, and
preinstalled on new PCs. For individuals, Office Pro
will be about $500 ($300 for upgrades).
Fortunately, even having a lowly copy of Microsoft
Works installed on a PC you bought two years ago
should qualify you for the upgrade price. The best
deal for many of us may be one of the academic-
license editions, for $150 (these include Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, and Outlook but not Access, Publisher,
or Outlook Business Contact Manager, all included
in the full Office Pro). You qualify if somebody in
your family goes to school or teaches, and the license
covers three PCs.
But should you upgrade? If e-mail is your life, or if
you spend a lot of time managing contacts, you
should. Businesses will have more motivation to up-
grade than individuals. New Office technologies
such as InfoPath (XML forms) are geared to team
and organization productivity. And there will still be
a robust market for products like Anagram that fill
in some of the gaps for individual users.
MORE ON THE WEB: You can contact Bill Howard directly
at bill_howard@ziffdavis.com. For more On Technology
columns, go to www.pcmag.com/howard.
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 47
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /s o l u t i o n s

Wireless Security:
WPA Step by Step
Heres how to upgrade to the newest security standard for
wireless networks. BY CRAIG ELLISON

Odds are, your wireless network is not secure. Even if youve enabled WEP
(Wired Equivalency Protocol) encryption, the flaws in that standard are well
documented, and hackers can break WEP easily. You need WPA (Wi-Fi Pro-
tected Access), a far stronger protocol that fixes the weaknesses in WEP. For
further discussion of WPA, see our wireless security story on page 88.
Here well take you through the process testing will have the Wi-Fi Protected
of upgrading your networking equipment Access box checked on its package label
and enabling WPA security for your home (Figure 1). FIGURE 1: Look for the WPA label when
WLAN. To upgrade your wireless securi- You can also visit the Wi-Fi Alliances youre shopping for wireless equipment.
ty to WPA, you must have three critical Web site and search for WPA-certified
components: products (www.wi-fi.org/OpenSection/ upgrades for legacy products. If you find
certified_products.asp?TID=2). WPA support, it will probably be for rel-
an access point (AP) or wireless router If you already own wireless network- atively new products. If you dont find
that has WPA support; ing hardware, upgrading may not be pos- driver upgrades for your hardware, youll
a wireless network card that has WPA sible. You must check the Web sites of either have to buy new equipment or live
drivers available; your hardware makers for WPA up- with WEP.
a client (called a supplicant) that sup- grades. WPA is designed so that legacy For this article, we selected the Linksys
ports WPA and your operating system. wireless hardware can be upgraded via WRT54G broadband router and the
drivers, but with the product cycles of Linksys WPC54G client card. Both prod-
WPA replaces WEP in small-office or wireless gear being about six months, ucts are widely available and have online
home routers, so moving to WPA is an most manufacturers do not provide WPA driver and firmware upgrades for WPA.
all-or-nothing proposition. For you to
consider an upgrade, every wireless FIGURE 4: RUNNING THE AUTOMATIC UPGRADE UTILITY
device on your network must have WPA
capabilities. This includes any wireless
bridges you might use for your Microsoft
Xbox (or other gaming device), digital
camera, home audio gateway, and print
server.
If you havent purchased wireless
hardware already, buying WPA-capable
networking equipment is easy. The
Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying prod-
ucts for WPA interoperability in April. In
addition, all new products submitted for STEP 1: When the utility opens, click on Next. STEP 2: Type in the routers password. (You did
certification after August 2003 must change the default password, didnt you?)
have WPA capability. Any product
that passes Wi-Fi WPA compatibility
 SOLUTIONS

128 Kbps

% of encrypted
music file
Streamlet server farm
52 Security Watch: Hazardous hot spots. 54 Internet Business: Rhapsody music 55 User to User: Tips and tricks.
downloads.

M A K I N G T E C H N O L O G Y W O R K F O R YO U

the new authentication and en-

cryption options of WPA. You
can check to be sure that the up-
grade has been installed by
opening the Control Panel,
double-clicking on Add or
Remove Programs, and checking
for Windows XP Hotfix
FIGURE 2: Make sure (SP2) Q815485 (Figure 2).
your WPA upgrade utility
is installed by checking in
UPDATE THE
Control Panel.
FIRMWARE
UPDATE YOUR OS Now you must down-
The easiest part of the process is adding load the upgrades for your
WPA support to your OS. Microsoft pro- router and network cards. We
vides a free WPA upgrade, but it works recommend that you download FIGURE 3: Visit your vendors sites to get the latest
only with Windows XP. If you are running everything before upgrading WPA upgrade.
an OS other than Win XP, youll need a anything. For the Linksys router,
third-party supplicant. The client soft- go to the companys Web site, click on download the utility and save the file on
ware is available from either Funk Soft- Support | Downloads, select the product your computer. Once the download
ware (www.funk.com) or Meetinghouse (WRT54G), and click on Downloads for is complete, click on Open. Now follow
Data Communications (www.mtghouse this Product. When the page loads, click the steps in Figure 4 to complete the
.com). For now, well assume that youre on Firmware and youll see the screen in upgrade.
running Win XP. Figure 3. After your router reboots, log on to it.
The WPA client is not available as an au- From this page, you can choose to If possible, use a wired connection to
tomatic Windows update. You can find it download the firmware file, manually change the security settings, because if
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article update your router, or use an automatic you change the settings wirelessly, you
815485 (http://support.microsoft.com/ update program. Well use the automatic wont be able to communicate with your
default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;815485). Down- utility. If you need to download drivers router until after youve configured
load the file into a new directory. Double- for your wireless adapter, follow the same your client.
click on it to install it. (The file is self- procedure and enter the name of your
extracting and self-installing) Once youve adapter (WPC54G), then download the CONFIGURE WPA SETTINGS
installed the update, reboot your machine. file Wpc54g_driver_utility_v1.21.zip to Your routers home page will change as a
The software adds additional dialog boxes an empty directory, such as C:\ result of the firmware upgrade. To set up
to the Network Control Panel to support downloads\linksys. Click on the link to the WPA encryption for your router, click

STEP 3: Confirm the information and click on STEP 4: Youll see a screen indicating the STEP 5: This is the screen you should see if
Upgrade. update and this screen showing its progress. youre updated properly. Your router will reboot
when the upgrade is complete.

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 49

 SOLUTIONS

FIGURE 5: SECURITY SETTINGS: BEFORE AND AFTER FIGURE 6: CHOOSING YOUR WPA OPTIONS

Pick a preshared key so you dont need an authentication server.

BEFORE: This is the old, WEP-oriented router home page.

Choose TKIP, the certified algorithm for WPA. There are stronger
options, but they dont always work on everyones hardware.

AFTER: The new home page enables you to access WPA settings. operability among
various vendors
products hasnt
on the Enable button and then Edit Secu- been certified. You could try AES on your
rity Settings (Figure 5). The following page router and client; if it works, AES pro-
has your WPA options (Figure 6). vides even greater security than WPA.
In the Security Mode field, select WPA For the WPA Pre-Shared Key, create a
Pre-Shared Key (no authentication key that wont be easily compromised.
server required). Write it down, as youll need to enter the
For WPA Algorithms, select TKIP. This same key when you configure your
is the approved and certified algorithm. network card.
Though some products support AES Leave the Group Key Renewal row set at
(Advanced Encryption System), inter- 3600, then click on Apply.
UPDATE YOUR NETWORK CARD
Now youre ready to update your
network card.
Unzip the driver file you downloaded
earlier. The directory where you
unzipped the file contains the driver you
need (Bcmwl5.sys) along with the INF
file. Make a note of this location.
Although you can uninstall the old
drivers from the Add or Remove Pro-
grams applet and reinstall the entire
package youve downloaded, its much
easier to update the driver via the

FIGURE 7: UPDATE YOUR NETWORK CARDS DRIVERS

STEP 2: Find your wireless card and right-click on
it. From the resulting context menu, click Proper-
ties | Driver. If your driver is dated before
5/26/2003, you need to upgrade.

STEP 1: Open the Control Panel | System

dialog and click on Device Manager to STEP 3: Tell the wizard where to find the driver
locate your wireless card. file that you downloaded earlier.

50 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com


FIGURE 8: CONFIGURE YOUR NETWORK CLIENT
Heres how to set up WPA on the client side.
Device Manager (Figure 7).
From the Control Panel, double-click on
the System icon and click on the Hardware
tab. Click on Device Manager.
Right-click on the wireless adapter.
Select Properties and click on Driver.
If your card hasnt been upgraded, youll
see a driver date prior to 5/26/2003.
If you driver is dated May 26 or later,
it already supports WPA. You can click
on Cancel and jump to the step that
shows the Wireless Networks dialog
(Figure 8).
Click on Update Driver.
Tell the wizard to search specific loca-
tions for the driver. Type in the directory
where you unzipped the upgrade file.
Click on Next.
Set the authentication for the preshared key.
The updated driver will show a date of
5/26/2003 or later.
Dont give up yet. Were almost finished!
Open the Network applet in the
Control Panel, right-click on your wire-
less card, and click on the Wireless
Networks tab (Figure 8).
In the Available networks window,
select the name of your network. This is
the same as the SSID (network name) you
configured in your router.
Click on Configure.
Under Network Authentication, select
WPA-PSK. If you dont select the correct
authentication mode, you wont be
allowed to select the correct encryption
mode (TKIP). If you leave network au-
SOLUTIONS
Type the name of your shared key carefully.
thentication set to Open, the only en-
cryption options youll see are WEP or
Disabled.
In Data encryption, select TKIP (or AES
if you selected AES earlier).
In Network key, type in the same
WPA Shared Key you entered into the AP
configuration and type it again under
Confirm network key. Then click on OK.
Because you enabled WPA security on
your AP previously, when you finish your
client configuration, you should be able
to associate with your access point and
use the network as you did before. Only
now you have a secure wireless link.
Craig Ellison is the operations director of PC
Magazine Labs.
 SOLUTIONS w w w. p c m a g . c o m /s e c u r i ty wa tc h

T H E LO O KO U T

BLASTER AND
SOBIG MOVE IN
Hot-Spot Hazards The Blaster worm continued to tear
through the Internet in August, followed
almost immediately by an improved
Hot spots are the cool way to connect away from your home or
version of the SoBig worm, as security
office, but theyre not secure. Heres how to use them safely. experts struggled to find and fix infected
systems. Both worms present unique
By Leon Erlanger problems for security specialists because
they are infecting a large number of PCs

H ot spots are hot. Located in cious intent can do lots of damage with owned by home users, many of whom
thousands of airport lounges, this information, both to you and the com- may be unaware that their machines are
hotels, cafs, and even public pany that employs you. And of course, compromised. Even worse, SoBig may be
parks, they allow anyone with an 802.11b youre vulnerable to the same viruses, laying in wait on infected machines,
wireless LAN card to surf the Web, check worms, and other attacks as you would be primed for a new attack on September 11,
2003. Dont miss our coverage of these
e-mail, or even connect to the company on any unprotected network.
worms and any other pests that crop up
LAN at broadband speeds. Before you ex- So what can you do? Here are several
at www.pcmag.com/antivirus.
perience the thrill of surfing the Net while ways you can protect yourself.
nursing a latte at Starbucks, however, be Disable your wireless cards ad-hoc
sure you take the necessary precautions. (peer-to-peer) mode. You can do this via Personal, which offers digital signatures
All wireless LANs have security issues, the adapters utilities or within Windows and strong encryption for messages and
but wireless hot spots raise unique con- XP by clicking on Network Connections in attachments, as well as for files stored on
cerns. As with any wireless LAN, signals the Control Panel. This will help prevent your computer.
can penetrate walls and ceilings. That anyone from connecting to your notebook. Make sure you submit credit card in-
means that anyone in range with a stan- Remove or disable your wireless card formation only to SSL-protected Web
dard wireless card can connect, even if if youre working offline. sites (look for https:// in the address bar).
theyre sitting out in the parking lot. Install a personal firewall. Windows For the best protection, use a virtual
XP offers the rudimentary Internet private network (VPN) to provide strong
Connections Firewall, but more ad- authentication and encryption for all your
vanced personal firewall products, hot-spot communications. This is partic-
such as Symantecs ularly important if youre connecting to
YOU CAN DIGITALLY SIGN and Norton Internet Secu- your companys network, in which case
encrypt e-mail messages in rity and Zone Labs youll probably get VPN client software
Microsoft Outlook. ZoneAlarm, can pre- from your IT manager. Small-business
vent others from ac- users can install VPN-enabled firewall and
cessing your notebook and even router appliances from Netgear, Sonic-
alert you when an attempt is made. Wall, 3Com, or Watchguard at the office
Hot-spot services are designed for Install personal antivirus software or use one of the many small-business
maximum ease of use, so they generally from McAfee, Symantec, or another anti- VPN services available, for example, from
dont offer WEP or WPA encryption; if virus vendor, and enable automatic sig- Sprint or Verio. Individual users can take
you connect to a hot spot, just about all nature updates. advantage of inexpensive consumer VPN
the data you send is probably unencryp- Take advantage of your e-mail clients services such as HotSpotVPN (www
ted. Since wireless LANs allow peer-to- security features, particularly digital sig- .hotspotvpn.com). Or they can limit them-
peer connections, the computer-savvy natures and e-mail encryption. Digital sig- selves to protected hot spots, such as
guy at the corner table may be able to natures verify your identity to your recip- those from EarthLink and others that
connect to your notebook and mooch ients and ensure that messages are not make up the Boingo Wireless network.
your Internet connection, look at your tampered with during transmission. Keep your OS and software up to
unprotected files, or hitch a ride as you Microsoft Outlook lets you add digital sig- date with security patches.
connect to your corporate LAN. He can natures to messages and encrypt messages And of course, make sure nobody is
also eavesdrop the airwaves with one of and attachments using S/MIME. If youre looking over your shoulder as you enter
the many wireless sniffers available on using a Web-based e-mail service, make vital information. Enjoy the freedom and
the Web and watch as you unintention- sure it offers some type of encryption. Be convenience that hot spots offer, but
ally reveal your corporate network log-on aware, however, that in many cases with make sure that hot spots dont land you
information, your credit card numbers, IP such services only the log-on information in hot water.
addresses of your connections, and even is encrypted, while text is sent in the clear.
the contents of e-mails, instant messages, You may want to use third-party e-mail en- Leon Erlanger is a freelance author and
and file attachments. Anyone with mali- cryption utilities, such as PGP Corp.s PGP consultant.

52 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

 SOLUTIONS
Rhapsody Gets Real
Digital-music downloading is back on track.
By Brad Grimes
T he music industry is moving for-
ward in its all-out assault on ille-
gal music downloads, with the
Recording Industry Association of Amer-
ica (RIAA) throwing the book at individ-
uals who share a substantial number of
music files. At the same time, however,
record companies are finally working
with the tech industry to come up with
ways to make music downloading legal.
Although the well-received Apple
iTunes service wont be available on Win-
dows until the end of the year, Windows
users already have a handful of choices.
One of the best is RealNetworks Real-
One Rhapsody, an online service where
subscribers can listen to legal downloads
of more than 350,000 CD-quality songs
and burn them to compact discs. Real-
Networks has come up with an arrange-
ment thats making everyone happy
from record execs to music fans.
The product of RealNetworks acquisi-
tion of Listen.com, Rhapsody is easy to
use. For $9.95 a month, you can listen to
any track in its database and burn tracks
to CD for 79 cents each. For $4.95 a
month, you can listen to Rhapsody radio
stations or create your own with music
from up to ten artists.
You can also download a free applet
that acts as a music player, library orga-
nizer, and window into the database. As
you browse tunesincluding rock, pop,
jazz, country, classical, and comedy tracks
from 5 major families of labels and 150
independentsyou can play the tracks
and save them to a playlist or burn them
to CD if the tracks have flame icons next
to them. Because each track has its own
set of rights and agreements, not every
track is available to burn.
Once you decide to listen to a tune,
Rhapsodys unique technology kicks in.
Listen.com has created a hybrid caching/
streaming system across an army
of Intel/Linux-based applications and
54 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
enjoy 128-Kbps CD-quality sound, and
you should definitely use a broadband
connection if you plan to burn CDs. But
the service works pretty well with a 56K
modem playing tunes at 20 Kbps.
For music fans, all this technology is
invisible, so they can concentrate on find-
ing the music they want. But Rhapsody is
good for music companies, too, meaning
that happy record execs are likely to make
streaming servers, which has improved
music quality and minimized delays. The
system is based on the premise that most
music lovers listen to their favorite songs
over and over, so why should they have to
more songs available through the service.
Because the songs are broken up and
encrypted, theyre very secure; the two
pieces are useless by themselves. The
larger pieces are merged into one huge
stream the songs each time? Such con- cache so individual song data cant be
stant streaming is subject to network traf- identified.
fic and other hiccups that can disrupt lis- Finally, record companies, performers,
tening pleasure. and songwriters all get their pieces of the
The first time you play a song, Rhap- pie. Once a month, the record companies
sody breaks it into two pieces, encrypts receive huge database files or XML feeds
the pieces, and sends the larger part detailing every one of their tracks played
about 99 percent of the fileto a cache or burned in the preceding month.
on your PCs hard drive. When you play Recently, Rhapsody subscribers listened
the song, the remaining part is streamed to upward of 11 million songs per month.
to your PC, where it reunites with the rest Imagine how many songs are called
of the file and begins playing. (Rhapsody Love, says Sean Ryan, former CEO of
can cache up to 1GB of data.) After the Listen.com and a vice president at Real-
song plays, the 1 percent of the file is Networks. Tracking every single play-
deleted, rendering the file unusable. back and reporting back to the record
When you want to listen to the song companies is a complicated process.
again, all you need is the missing 1 per- The process may be complex, but its
cent. Click on the Play button and the necessary. And the more effectively Rhap-
song starts playing again almost instanta- sody can handle online music, the more
neously. You can possess the entire file record companies will delve into their
after paying to burn it. massive archives to make songs available
The site recommends broadband to online. Thats music to everyones ears.
Secure Music Streaming
RealOne Rhapsody uses a clever distillation process that breaks music files into two parts. When you choose to listen to a
track, Rhapsody splits it into two piecesone with 99 percent of the file and the other with 1 percent. After the track is
played, the 1 percent piece is discarded. If you choose to burn the track to CD, the system streams the missing 1 percent.
This technique protects music from pirates and enables immediate playback without hiccups. It also simplifies copyright
and royalty tracking.
HTTP server farm
99% of encrypted Music fans PC
RealOne Rhapsody music file cache (up to 1GB)
music database
Listen to
350,000 songs from unlimited
5 music companies 128 Kbps music for
$9.95 per
month
1% of encrypted
music file
Streamlet server farm
Burn music for
$ $0.79 per track
Monthly royalty-tracking data
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /u s e r to u s e r
Absolute and Relative
References in Excel
I am working on a spreadsheet with thou-
sands of cells. When Im summing, Im able
to replicate formulas by using the Fill | Right
function from the Edit menu. But when I use
the same method to replicate a formula for
calculating proportions, I get an error
message. How can I replicate the formula
calculating proportions throughout the
numerous worksheets Im working with?
FRED C. B. BANNERMAN-WILLIAMS
The key here lies in understanding absolute
and relative cell references. Heres your oppor-
tunity to learn by doing. Launch Excel and
follow along as we illustrate the concept with
an example. In a new workbook, enter the
column headings North, South, East, West,
and Total, starting in cell B1. Enter the row
headings Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Total,
A DOLLAR SIGN tells Excel that a cell reference
shouldnt change when you copy the formula.
and Proportion, starting in cell A2. Enter some
random numbers in the rectangle B2:E5.
In cell B6, enter the formula =SUM(B2:B5)
or just click in that cell and press Alt-<Equal
sign> to insert the formula automatically.
Highlight the cells from B6 to E6 and choose
Edit | Fill | Right. Note that Excel did not copy
the formula exactly; it modified the cell
references relative to the column. For exam-
ple, the formula in cell E6 is =SUM(E2:E5).
The same thing happens when you copy and
paste a formula or copy it by clicking in the
cell and dragging that cells fill handle.
Now well add row totals. Click in cell F2 and ment. Then set the button at the left-hand
press Alt-<Equal sign> to insert the formula
Use the $ character in a column or row reference to
make the reference absolute.
PC MAGAZINES COMMUNITY OF
EXPERTS AND READERS
=SUM(B2:E2) automatically. Highlight the
range from F2 to F6 and choose Edit | Fill |
Down from the menu. You now have row
totals, with a grand total in cell F6.
The next step is to determine what propor-
tion each row total is from the grand total.
Click on cell B7 and enter the simple formula
=B6/F6. Now, as before, use Edit | Fill | Right
to copy that formula into the other columns.
This time, it doesnt work! All the other
columns display a #DIV/0! error message.
When you click on the formula for one of those
columns, youll see why. With each move to
the right, Excel adjusts both cell references, so
the formula in column C is =C6/G6. But G6
and the cells to the right of it are empty, so
dividing by them naturally causes an error.
To fix the problem, go back to cell B7 and
change the formula to =B6/$F6. The dollar
sign here tells Excel that the column in the
reference F6 is absolute, meaning it should
not be changed when the formula is
copied. Fill the remaining columns with
the modified formula and theyll all
correctly display the proportions of the
grand total they represent. Use the $
character in front of the column letter or
the row number or both to make that
portion of any reference absolute.
Neil J. Rubenking
Tabs in Word Tables
In Microsoft Word 2002, I generally
prefer to use tables instead of tabs
when creating columns of text. But
sometimes I am forced to use tabbed
columns, often because I need decimal
alignment in one column. I havent found a
way to put tabs in the table, because the
Tab key takes me to the next cell. Is there
some way to insert tabs in table cells so I
can use decimal tabs in one column?
JOSEPH KOENS
The short answer is that you can insert a tab
character in a table by pressing Ctrl-Tab. But
you dont need to insert a tab character to
get decimal alignment in a table.
Create a table and select all the cells in the
column for which you need decimal align-
side of Words horizontal ruler for decimal
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
SOLUTIONS
YOU CAN CREATE decimal-aligned tabs
in Microsoft Word tables.
tabs by clicking on it until you see the deci-
mal tab icon (an upside-down T with a dot
next to it). Finally, create the tab by clicking
on the place on the ruler where you want the
tab to be. If you already have numbers in the
column, they will immediately align them-
selves with the decimal tab. If you enter new
numbers, they will automatically align with
the tab as wellwithout your having to enter
a tab into each cell.
This trick works with decimal tabs only. If
you need the equivalent of left, right, or
center tabs, format the column with left,
right, or center paragraph alignment. If you
need indented first lines or indents for subse-
quent lines only for paragraphs in a column,
format the paragraphs with an indented or
hanging first line.M. David Stone
Make a Default Custom
Footer in Excel
How do I get a custom header or footer
into Microsoft Excels header and footer
drop-down lists? I use the same custom
footer on 80 percent of my Excel spread-
sheets, and of course, it is not among the
standard choices. I have to enter it manu-
ally each time. Can you help?
BOB LEWIS
You can get your footer to become a default
by adding the desired footer to the default
workbook template. In Excel 2002, the
default template is typically found in C:\Pro-
gram Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\XLStart
(for other versions, look up template in the
Help system). Open the file Book.xlt if it is
present in that folder. If not, create a new file,
select Save As from the File menu, choose
Templates (*.xlt) from the Save as type list,
and save your new blank file as Book.xlt.
55
 SOLUTIONS
Leaving wireless on all the time can certainly
affect your battery life.
One way or the other, you now have
Book.xlt open for editing. Create your stan-
dard custom footer, save the template, and
close it. Book.xlt is the default template for the access point.
ADD a custom header to Excels drop-down list.
new workbooks, so each time you create a
new workbook your custom footer will be
selected by default. For the other 20 percent
of your spreadsheets, simply choose a differ-
ent footer or none at all.NJR
Tracking Down a Better Signal
Ive set up an 802.11b access point in my
home office to network with my notebook,
which I carry back and forth to the office,
and with another computer in my base-
ment. The notebook has no trouble
communicating or sharing an Internet
connectioneven when I carry it to other
rooms. But the computer in the basement,
which is directly below my office, has
trouble getting a good signal. Is there
anything I can do to boost the signal?
JONATHAN PINZINO
A number of factors can affect your signal
strength, but given that the basement com-
puter is directly below your office, the first
thing to look at is the placement of the
basement computer relative to the access
point. If you have your access points antenna
set verticallywhich is generally the best
orientation to usethe area with the weak-
est signal coverage is directly under the
antenna. You can try repositioning the access
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E-MAIL K pcmsolutions@ziffdavis.com
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If we print your tip, youll receive a PC
Magazine T-shirt. We regret that we
cannot answer letters individually.
56 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
point, the basement computer, or both, so a
straight line between them is at a significant
angle to a perpendicular line running through
Also, you can use your notebook to
test the signal strength at different
locations in your basement. Your note-
books wireless card probably came with
a utility that shows signal strength and
quality. With the access point active, run
the utility and move the notebook to
different spots in the basement, leaving
it in each spot for a moment or two.
Keep an eye on the signal readings. You
may find a significantly stronger signal
just a few feet away from the basement
computers current position.
If this does not solve your problem, you
can find more information on getting a better
wireless connection in Stretch Your Signal
(www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1161518,
00.asp).MDS
Improve Battery Life
I really enjoy the mobility my notebook/
wireless-network adapter combo gives me,
but I am wondering about the effect of
wireless on my battery. Am I draining the
notebooks battery when I leave the wire-
less on? Short of plugging in, what can I do
to maximize my battery life?
RICHARD KOLE
Its great to dispense with wires altogether
and to be able to move around at will with
your computer. But leaving wireless on all the
time can certainly affect your battery life.
With wireless on and not associated to an
access point (AP), the wireless radio uses its
full power to search constantly for an AP to
associate to. Be sure to enable your wireless
adapters power-saving mode. That way,
once the radio associates with an AP, the
adapter will go into its low-power mode.
If you are someplace where there is no
wireless connection, turn off integrated
wireless. If youre using a PC Card, simply pull
it out of the slot. To be certain the integrated
wireless is off, check to see whether your
notebook has a hardware button or software
(or both) to disable it. In many cases, a
hardware button disables only the wireless
radio, which is actually the biggest power
draw (and the part of the device that the
airlines want off).
You may also have a software switch. If
so, you should also disable this, as it will
probably disable the mini-PCI card that
contains the actual wireless components.
Such measures will give you the maximum
power savings.Rich Fisco
Put the Control Panel on the
Quick Launch Toolbar
Id like to add a shortcut for the Control
Panel to my Quick Launch toolbar. How
can I do this?
ROB ROACH
Heres one way. Locate Control.exe (normally
found in the Windows folder or the system or
system32 folder below it) and drag the file to
the Quick Launch toolbar. A shortcut is created
automatically using a generic icon. Right-click
on the shortcut, click on Properties, and click
on the Change Icon button. If you slide the
scroll bar to the middle in the resulting display,
the Control Panel icon should be visible. Select
the icon and click OK, then OK again.
Theres another way to add a Control
Panel icon with some interesting features.
Launch Windows Explorer and navigate to
the folder whose contents define the Quick
Launch toolbar. Typically, it will be some-
thing like C:\Documents and Settings\user-
name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\Quick Launch. Right-click on the
right-hand pane, select New | Folder from
the menu, and name the new folder Control
Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-
08002B30309D}. This will create a Control
Panel shortcut that uses the correct icon
(though it may appear as a simple folder
icon until you restart Windows). As a bonus,
it will also have a ToolTip appropriate to the
Control Panel.
PUT A MENU of
all the Control
Panel applets on
your Quick
Launch toolbar.
But waittheres more! Resize the Quick
Launch toolbar so the new icon doesnt quite
fit. A button with the >> symbol will appear.
Click on the button, and then click on the
Control Panel menu item. Youll get a menu of
all the Control Panel applets without having
to open the Control Panel window.NJR
SPECIAL
ISSUE:

Your

Un
wired
World
Wireless networking has hit the

mainstream, no doubt about it, and

just gets better and betterand

more complex. Come along on a

tether-free flight through the ether.

REVIEWED IN THIS STORY
60 Unwire Your Home 61 Deconstructing 802.11 Wireless
62 Terminology for an Unwired World 62 Wireless LAN Time
Line 64 Buyers Decision Tree 68 Performance Tests:
802.11b/g vs. Centrino 70 Performance Tests: PCI vs. USB
70 Performance Tests: Internal WLAN Card vs. PC Card
71 Rock the House, Wirelessly 72 Wireless Notebooks
74 Wireless Access Points and Routers 81 Unwire Your Office
82 Tablets: Wireless, Finally 82 Enterprise Managed WLAN
Products 85 Performance Tests: Wireless Access Points
86 Corporate Access Points 88 Making Sense of Wireless LAN
Security 91 Unwiring at School 93 Deploying Wireless on
Campus 97 Unwire Everywhere 98 Choosing a Wi-Fi Provider
99 Next Stop: 30,000 Feet 100 Quickest Way to
a Hot Spot 101 Airport Hot Spots 101 Hotel Hot Spots
102 Wireless Ways for Your PDA 102 Handhelds 104 Bluetooth

N ot too long ago, everyone was abuzz about the

new wired world and this mind-boggling in-
vention called the Internet. In that world you
could get pretty much any information you
wanted. But there was a problem: You had to be
plugged in. So getting that information whenever and wherever
you wanted it wasnt an option.
Times have changed. With wirelessly enabled portable
computers and PDAs, you can roam your office, your home, or
even a park and still be connected to your e-mail, to the Web,
or to important corporate information. You have data at your
fingertips when visiting customers or suppliers. And you can
now stay connected in places you never dreamed offrom an
airport terminal, between flights, to McDonalds, between
bites of your Big Mac.
The benefits of wireless connectivity seem endless, regard-
less of what type of user you are. If you work in an office and
take your laptop to meetings, a wireless network conveniently
allows you to look up corporate information, for example, while
with a client in a conference room. If you want to connect mul-
tiple computers in your home but dont want to run cables, wire-
less makes networking easy.
The exciting news is that wireless computing is finally hitting
the mainstream. Thats because you can buy the basics for a
simple wireless network for under $100, and the products have
become very easy to install and configure. Of course, there are
still issues: As the technology evolves, there are multiple new
standards, and for many people security remains a big concern.
In the pages that follow we look at all aspects of wireless tech-
nology, along with tips for better and more secure wireless com-
puting wherever you goat home, in the office, at school, or
when youre on the road. Unplug that laptop, and lets go.

By Michael J. Miller
Illustrations by Bryan Leister

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 59

 Unwire Your Home
By Craig Ellison
When New Yorker Greg Caruso
decided to set up a home network in late
2002, he was instantly drawn to the con-
venience of going wireless. But lacking
firsthand wireless experience, he took
care to investigate his options.
Carusos requirements were straight-
forward: He needed to share cable Inter-
net access among a desktop PC and two
laptops, so he could check e-mail while
his kids surf the Internet or play games.
The laptops could be connected any-
where within his 900-square-foot loft
apartment. He didnt want to spend loads
of time or money getting the system up
and running. And if possible, he wanted
to use his laptops at neighborhood hot
spots as well as at home.
60 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
He was surprised to find just how
many products that met his needs were
already on the market. Based on that,
there seemed to be no reason not to go
wireless.
Caruso called his broadband provider
for advice on setting up a wireless router
with his cable modem, and he bought a
Linksys 802.11b router and PCMCIA wire-
less network card for his notebook. His
providers instructions: Plug everything
in and turn on the power. And it worked.
Since then, going wireless has given
Caruso a new sense of what portability
really means. Instead of having to print
e-mails and Web pages to read them later,
you can read them online anywhere, he
says. Its great.
Like a growing number of people over
the past couple years, Caruso has discov-
ered the power of unplugging. Aside from
being relatively easy to configure, wireless
networks keep you from having to run
cable around your housean undertaking
that can be pricey and a logistical chal-
lenge. Going wireless also lets you extend
your network to previously overlooked
areas in your home, such as the kitchen,
laundry room, or even the backyard.
But what is likely to prove even more
of a driver in the near future is the ability
to connect your PC network with your
consumer electronics and entertainment
devices. Many new products let you wire-
lessly connect your stereo system (see
page 71) or gaming console to your com-
puterenabling you to stream audio and
potentially video from your computer to
your home theater system.
The wireless-at-home trend is a natur-
 UNWIRE YOUR HOME

al outgrowth of home networking in gen- 2.4-GHz radio spectrum, which is shared performs well in high-density areas: With
eral. Fifty-six percent of PC Magazine by other unlicensed devices such as cord- an increased number of nonoverlapping
readers have a home network, with an less telephones and microwave ovens channels in the 5-GHz band, you can de-
average of 3.3 computers per household, potential sources of interference. ploy more access points to provide more
according to a recent survey of 13,000 B devices have an effective indoor total capacity in the same coverage area.
subscribers. Of those home networks, 48 range of 100 to 150 feet and operate at a The other benefit of a is that its higher
percent are wireless. maximum theoretical data rate of 11 bandwidth makes it ideal for streaming
While wired Ethernet networking has Mbps. But in reality, they reach a maxi- multiple video streams and transferring
been around for 30 years, wireless net- mum throughput of 4 to 6 Mbps. (The large files.
working remains relatively new to the remaining throughput is usually occupied 802.11g is the most recently approved
home market. In fact, the first widely by the processing of radio signal control IEEE wireless networking standard (June
adopted wireless standard, 802.11b, was and network protocol information.) 2003). Products adhering to this standard
ratified by the Institute of Electrical and While this is still faster than a cable or operate in the same 2.4-GHz spectrum as
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) just four DSL broadband connection and adequate b products but at much higher data
years ago, in 1999. At that time, wireless for streaming audio, 802.11b is not fast ratesup to the same theoretical maxi-
networking hardware was very expen- enough to stream high-definition video. mum of a products, 54 Mbps, with a
sive, and only corporations with big bud- The main advantage of 802.11b is the low real-world throughput of 15 to 20 Mbps.
gets and compelling needs could justify cost of hardware. And like b products, g devices have
going wireless. An ac-
cess point, or base sta-
tion, which acts as a Deconstructing 802.11 Wireless
bridge between a wired
Wireless standard 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g 802.11a/g
and a wireless network, Products began shipping* Late 1999 Late 2001 Mid-2003 Mid-2003
cost almost $1,000 in Current cost of access $55$160 $100$130 $130$200 $300
1999, while wireless point or router
client cards for note- Current cost of PC Card $30$90 $100 $80$130 $100
books were close to Frequency 2.4 GHz 5 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
Maximum theoretical throughput 11 Mbps 54 Mbps 54 Mbps 54 Mbps
$300. Compare that with
Usable throughput at 20 to 60 feet** 46 Mbps 1520 Mbps 1520 Mbps 1520 Mbps
todays pricing$55 for
Maximum usable indoor range** 150 feet 75 feet 150 feet a, 75 feet; g, 150 feet
a basic access point and Signal modulation technique DSSS OFDM OFDM OFDM
$30 for an 802.11b client Compatibility Compatible with g Incompatible with b Backward-compatible a is incompatible with
cardand its easy to products if g products and g products but with b products but b and g but can coexist
are configured to run in can coexist in the same only at b throughput. in the same device. g is
see why wireless is mixed mode. device. compatible with b.
catching on. Many note-
Approximate maximum number 32 64 64 128
book PCseven low- of users per AP
end modelsnow have Number of nonoverlapping channels 3 12*** 3 16
wireless-network cards Most popular environments and why Widely adopted in homes Adopted by offices and Still new but will be Still new but will be popular
and offices; products are enterprises; higher popular in homes, in homes, offices, and
built in, so theres no mature and inexpensive. throughput and larger offices, and enterprises enterprises; the combina-
need to buy a client card. number of channels can because of its greater tion of standards allows
serve more concurrent throughput. greater throughput and
users. user density. Home use will
THE TECHNOLOGY: pick up as audio and video
802.11B, A, AND G streaming increases.
If youve gone shopping
Common in public hot spots and why Yes, because of wide- No, because it is not No, because it is new. No; a is not widely
for wireless-networking spread adoption and the widely adopted. But g PC Cards can adopted, and g is new.
products, youve already low cost of APs and PC be used at b hot spots. But a/g PC Cards can be
Cards. used at b hot spots.
been confronted by the
* Products that are standards-based but not Wi-Fi Certified. ** Based on PC Magazine Labs testing.
maze of numbers, let- *** Currently about 12, depending on the manufacturer; could increase to 24, pending an FCC ruling.
ters, and acronyms,
which can make choosing the right prod- In late 2001, products based on a sec- an effective indoor range of 100 to 150
uct seem daunting. ond standard, 802.11a, began shipping. feet. The higher speed of g also makes
There are currently three wireless-net- Unlike 802.11b and the new 802.11g, 802.11a it ideal for streaming video and audio and
working standards approved by the IEEE. operates in the 5-GHz radio spectrum (as surfing the Web.
These are, in chronological order, 802.11b, opposed to the 2.4-GHz spectrum). Its 802.11g was engineered to be backward-
802.11a, and 802.11g. The first, 802.11b, is maximum theoretical throughput is 54 compatible with 802.11b, and they share
currently the most popular choice for Mbps, with a real-world maximum of 21 to the same 2.4-GHz spectrum, making their
wireless networking; products began 22 Mbps. Though this maximum is still products interoperable with one another.
shipping in late 1999, and approximately significantly higher than b throughput, A notebook with a b wireless PC Card
40 million 802.11b devices are in use its effective indoor range at 25 to 75 feet is can connect to a g access point, for
worldwide. B networks operate in the shorter than that of b products. But a example. However, g products, in the

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 61

presence of b products, drop to b
speeds. While a networks are not com-
patible with b or g networks, products
that include a combination of a and g
radios on-board offer the best of both
worlds. This is good news for 802.11a; in
the home environment, where the radio
signal needs to penetrate multiple walls
and obstructions, a alone may be a poor
choice because of its shorter range.
Those considering a product based on
just one standard should go with g.
These devices often cost only a little
more than b products, and because the
two standards are interoperable, sales of
g products are taking off more quickly
than those of a. Both g and a/g com- Bluetooth A wireless technology that oper-
bination products are well worth the
investment, since they future-proof your
home network for years to come.
GETTING STARTED
A wireless network connected to the
Internet requires the following compo-
nents: an Internet connection (preferably
broadband), a modem, a router, a fire-
wall, a wireless access point, and a wire-
less network adapter for your notebook
(built in or PC Card) or desktop comput-
er (PCI). Some or all of these compo-
nents often come packaged together in
one device.
What you need to buy to unwire
your network depends on what you
already have and whether you have an
existing home network. For starters, if
you have a broadband Internet connec-
tion, then you already have the modem
T E R M I N O L O G Y
Access point (AP) A device that acts as a EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol)
bridge between a wired and a wireless net-
work. In this story the term refers to either a
standalone AP or a router with an AP built in.
Ad hoc mode A peer-to-peer connection
method in which wireless PC Cards commu-
nicate directly with one another.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
A federal information-processing standard
that supports 128-, 192-, and 256-bit keys. It
is part of the forthcoming 802.11i specifica-
tion and has been approved by the U.S.
government.
2.4-GHz radio spectrum as 802.11b products
ates in the 2.4-GHz spectrum. It typically has
a range of 30 feet and a maximum theoreti-
cal throughput of 720 Kbps.
Centrino Intels wireless mobile technology,
which integrates the companys Pentium M
chip, its 855 chipset, and the Intel PRO/Wire-
less 2100, an 802.11b wireless solution. Only
systems with all three of these products
on-board bear the Centrino logo.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Proto-
col) A specification for service provided by a
router, gateway, or other network device that
automatically assigns TCP/IP network set-
tings (including an IP address) to any device
that requests one.
DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface
Specification) An industry standard that
defines how cable modems communicate
over cable TV lines.
DSSS (direct-sequence spread spectrum)
and FHSS (frequency-hop spread spec-
trum) Two incompatible technologies used to
F O R
A flexible authentication framework that
lets wireless adapters communicate with
back-end authentication servers such as
RADIUS. The most common EAP types are
EAP-TLS (EAPTransport Layer Security),
EAPTTLS (EAPTunneled Transport Layer
Security), and PEAP (Protected EAP).
802.11a, b, and g IEEE specifications
defining wireless LAN technologies. 802.11b
products operate in the 2.4-GHz radio spec-
trum and have a maximum data rate of 11
Mbps. 802.11a products operate in the
5-GHz spectrum at a maximum rate of 54
Mbps. 802.11g products operate in the same
(so the two are compatible) but at a data
rate of up to 54 Mbps.
802.11e A proposed IEEE standard that
defines quality of service (QoS) for wireless
networks.
802.11i A proposed IEEE standard that would
provide additional security specific to wire-
less LANs. Major components are TKIP,
802.1x authentication, and AES. This stan-
dard is expected to be ratified in mid-2004.
802.11n An IEEE WLAN standard proposed
for release in 2005 or 2006 that is expect-
ed to reach speeds between 100 Mbps and
320 Mbps.
Encryption The process of scrambling data
so that only authorized recipients can read it.
Usually a key is needed to decrypt the data.
ESSID (extended service set identifier)
A type of unique identifier applied to both
an access point and a wireless PC Card. The
ESSID is attached to each packet of data

you need, most likely one provided by
your ISP. This is the case for the majori-
ty of broadband subscribers, whether
they are using cable, DSL, satellite, or
fixed-point wireless.
If youre considering buying your own
transmit data over radio waves. With DSSS,
used in 802.11b, transmissions are spread
across the spectrum via overlapping chan-
nels. With FHSS, which was implemented in
early 802.11 products and cordless phones,
transmissions jump randomly from one
frequency to another. See OFDM.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETTMANN/CORBIS
transmitted between them and lets the
access point recognize each wireless client
and its traffic.
54g A chipset made by Broadcom. Products
bearing this label are 802.11g-compliant or
can be upgraded to 802.11g compliance.

1 9 5 8 The U.S. Navy develops 1 9 9 0 The Institute of Electri-

W I R E L E S S the first computer chip for radio cal and Electronics Engineers
communications based on the (IEEE) begins work on standards

LAN Time Line still-classified spread-spectrum

1 9 4 2 Composer/pianist
George Antheil and actress Hedy
Lamarr patent a frequency-hopping
radio encryption technique (later
called spread-spectrum technolo-
gy) and donate it to the U.S. Navy,
which classifies it but finds it too
unreliable for use in WWII.
technology.
1 9 8 5 The U.S. Navy declassi-
fies spread-spectrum technology,
making it available for commerce.
1989
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) authorizes the
use of spread-spectrum technolo-
gy in three unlicensed radio bands.
for wireless connectivity in the
unlicensed Industrial, Scientific
and Medical (ISM) spectrum.
1 9 9 7 The IEEE ratifies
802.11 for over-the-air interface
between wireless clients and base
stations. It does not guarantee
interoperability.
The FCC adds a fourth band for
unlicensed spread-spectrum use.
 UNWIRE YOUR HOME

A N U N W I R E D
Gateway An all-in-one device that connects
a wireless LAN to the outside world via the
Internet. It includes a modem, router, wire-
less access point, and firewall.
Hot spot A public or commercial area in
which wireless Internet access is offered,
either for free or at a daily or hourly rate.
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers) An organization that establishes
computing and communications standards,
such as all 802.11 specifications.
Infrared (IR) A basic, short-range wireless
technology with a range of 10 feet and a
maximum throughput of about 4 Mbps. It is
used mainly to synchronize data between
PCs and handheld devices.
Infrastructure mode A connection method in
which wireless PC Cards communicate with
an access point.
IP (Internet Protocol) address A numerical
identifier for a device on a TCP/IP network.
The IP address format is a string of four
numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255, sepa-
rated by periods.
MAC (media-access control) address
A hard-coded or permanent address applied
to hardware at the factory. It uniquely identi-
fies network hardware such as wired or
wireless network cards or routers on a LAN,
WLAN, or WAN.
NAT (Network Address Translation)
A mechanism that lets an entire household
share a dynamic IP address.
OFDM (orthogonal frequency division
PHOTOGRAPHY JOEL W. ROGERS/CORBIS
W O R L D
tion and clock synchronization in wired and
wireless networks.
PRISM Nitro A standards-based software
technology developed by Intersil. PC Maga-
zine Labs found that products using the
technology showed some throughput
improvement, especially in a mixed-mode
environment.
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In
User Service) An authentication and
accounting system that verifies users
credentials and grants access to re-
quested resources.
RC4 An encryption algorithm designed by
RSA Laboratories. It is a stream cipher of
pseudorandom bytes and is used in WEP and
other forms of encryption.
Roaming The ability to move from one
access point to another in a WLAN with
uninterrupted connections.
Router A device that links two discrete
networks and forwards packets between
them. A router uses a networking protocol
such as IP to address and direct packets
flowing into and out of the network on which
it sits. Many home and small-office routers
include a four-port switch, which handles
moving data inside the network from one
device to another.
Shared key An encryption key known only to
the receiver and sender of data.
Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) A type of
firewall that uses either a predefined or an
editable rule set to determine whether
packets are to be forwarded or denied.
TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)
A protocol for the 802.11i encryption stan-
dard. TKIP provides per-packet key mixing,
a message integrity check, and a rekeying
mechanism. A component of WPA, TKIP is
designed to fix WEPs security flaws.
UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) An archi-
tecture that allows easy connection between
PCs and other devices using TCP/IP and a
derivative of HTTP. It lets each device auto-
matically acquire a network address and
announce its presence to other devices on
the network.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) An encryp-
tion-based security standard for WLAN tech-
nology. It has proved to be fundamentally
insecure.
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) A certification
program created by the Wi-Fi Alliance to
ensure interoperability among 802.11 prod-
ucts. Only devices that are Wi-Ficertified
may bear the Wi-Fi logo.
Wi-Fi Alliance A nonprofit international
association formed in 1999 to certify the
interoperability of WLAN products based on
the 802.11 specification. It was formerly
known as WECA (Wireless Ethernet Compati-
bility Alliance) and currently includes 180
member companies.
WPA (Wireless Protected Access) An
industry-supported subset of the forthcoming
802.11i specification, using 802.1x authentica-
tion and TKIP. Many WLAN hardware owners
will be able to download software or firmware
that supports WPA from the manufacturers of
devices they already have.

multiplexing) A modulation technique in Xpress A standards-based technology devel-

which a radio signal is divided into multiple
narrow frequency bands to transmit large
amounts of data. Both 802.11a and 802.11g
products use OFDM.
Preamble A preliminary signal that network
hardware transmits to control signal detec-
3G Third-generation mobile-phone tech-
nology. Although still several years away,
3G promises a throughput of at least 2
Mbps. Current 2.5G phones use GSM/GPRS
and CDMA/1xRTT technologies. Through-
put rarely exceeds 100 Kbps and averages
about 40 to 72 Kbps.
oped by Broadcom that is based on the
Wireless Multimedia Enhancements (WME)
specification, a key part of the IEEE 802.11e
draft specification. PC Magazine Labs found
that products using the technology showed
some throughput improvement, especially in
a mixed-mode environment.

1999 November December Privacy (WEP), the 802.11 security

September PCMagazines Award for Technical
The IEEE ratifies 802.11b Excellence for network standards
and 802.11a. goes to the IEEEs 802.11 high-rate
standard and WECA.
The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility
Alliance (WECA) organizes to certify 2000
802.11 interoperability, opening February
the door to global adoption. M Microsoft releases Windows
2000 with WLAN sniffer ability.
Autumn
802.11b products begin shipping. March
WECA launches the Wi-Fi
certification program for
802.11b-compliant products.
Carlson Hotels Worldwide (owner scheme, is fundamentally insecure.
of Country Inns & Suites, Radisson
Hotels, and Regent International
hotels) announces wireless service.
2001
January
Starbucks launches wireless hot
spots in coffee shops. K
August
Researchers Scott Fluhrer, Itsik
Mantin, and Adi Shamir announce
their finding that Wired Equivalent

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 63

 Buyers Do you
connect to the Are you going Contact a

Decision Tree
No No broadband
Internet via a broadband to connect to
the Internet provider to
connection (like cable arrange service.
via dial-up?
If you are new to setting up a or DSL)?
wireless home network, the array
of choices out there can be con- Yes
Yes Buy a wireless
fusing. Use this chart to help you router with an
SPI firewall.
select the correct hardware for
your home network. (You will also
need wireless cards for the PCs
on your network.) Buy a modem-
sharing device Will you be
Yes Do you No Yes
(like the using a modem
already own supplied by your
Actiontec Dual
a router? ISP?
PC Modem, one
of the few
available; see
No
First Looks).
No Does your Yes
router have an
SPI firewall?

Buy a wireless all-in-

one home gateway
* A small but growing
that has a modem,
number of providers
Buy a wireless Buy a Buy a wireless Buy a router, SPI firewall offer such gateways.
router with an wireless router with an wireless switch, and wireless Check with your
SPI firewall. access point. SPI firewall. router. access point built-in.* provider prior to
purchase.

modem, understand that it generally
must be approved by your ISP for net-
work compatibility. And if you rent a
modem from your ISP and it dies, or if
the provider switches technology and
needs to upgrade your modem, replace-
ment is the ISPs responsibility. If youre
using your own modem, however, you
must purchase a replacement if the
device fails.
own device, you must have your service though youll still have to log onmost
provider authorize your cable modems likely over PPoE.
MAC address before you can start using
it. Our own informal testing of this GATEWAYS
process resulted in several phone calls So why would you bother buying your
and hours of wait time to have our self- own device, given the potential headaches
purchased modem activated, so be pre- you could experience in making it com-
pared. patible with your ISP?
Unlike cable, which First, youll avoid a
is a shared medium,
10 million monthly modem rental

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NAJLAH FEANNY/CORBIS SABA

Configuring a new modem may also DSL doesnt have fee. Second, products are
Americans surf from
require coordination with your ISP. Cable modem authentication entering the market that
cell phones or PDAs
companies allow cable modems on their issues. DSL providers (SOURCE: COMSCORE NETWORKS INC.)
consolidate equipment
networks based on the MAC (media ac- have to put DSL signals and simplify the home
cess control) address of each device. directly onto sub- networking process. So if
When the cable guy shows up with a scribers phone lines, so if you have a sig- youve had your modem for more than a
modem, its MAC address has already nal, no further authentication is needed year and are ready for an upgrade, or if
been registered. But if you purchase your for the modem to connect to the network, youre getting broadband for the first time,

W I R E L E S S LAN Time Line October March

2001
Autumn
802.11a products begin shipping.
May
The FCC modifies its rules and
clears the way for the develop-
ment of 802.11g devices.
2002
September
Lucent Technologies demon-
strates a seamless handoff be-
tween Wi-Fi and 3G cellular net-
works, enabling users to roam
between the two without inter-
rupting their Internet sessions. M
WECA becomes the Wi-Fi Alliance
(WFA), begins 802.11a certification
tests, and rolls out Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA) to replace WEP.
First 802.11a/b products ship.
2003
January
WFA launches the Wi-Fi ZONE to
certify and brand public-access
hot spots, much as it does with
Wi-Fi products.
Intel introduces Centrino mobile
technology.
McDonalds rolls out ten hot spots
in Manhattan and promises 300
by years end. K
First prestandard draft-compliant
802.11g products begin shipping.
April
The WFA certifies the first WPA
products, including chipsets from
Atheros, Broadcom, Cisco, Intel,
 UNWIRE YOUR HOME

you may want to consider a gateway. Such radio on-board and little else. The radio
a product acts as a modem, router, firewall, in this device serves as the bridge
and wireless access pointor some com- between your wired and wireless net-
bination of these devicesall in one box. works, receiving a wired signal and trans-
Major networking hardware manufactur- mitting it wirelessly. You merely plug the
ers, such as Netgear, Linksys, and D-Link, AP into the existing wired router on your
as well as some ISPs, are beginning to offer network, configure the device to add
gateways, so check with your provider security, and youre set to go. See page 74
before buying your own. for reviews of some APs.

WIRELESS ROUTERS DESKTOP EQUIPMENT

If you want to go wireless but dont want To connect your desktop to a wireless
the hassle of configuring a new modem,
and your computer is plugged directly
MORE on network, you have two choices. First is a
PCI card, but to install one you need to

into your cable modem, you should buy
a wireless router with a built-in firewall.
A wireless router typically includes a
four-port Ethernet switch so that you
can connect your wired computers to
the wireless access point, which in turn
connects to your wireless-enabled
computers.
Routers let you share a single IP
PHOTOGRAPHY (BOTTOM) BY BERND OBERMANN/CORBIS; (TOP) JOHN SHOTWELL/GETTYONE; (BOTTOM RIGHT) DAVIS D. JANOWSKI
theWEB
We show small-business owners how to start
their own wireless hot spot. To read this and all
our coverage of the wireless industry, visit us
online at wireless.pcmag.com.
Our contributors: Michael J. Miller is the
open the case of your computer. For some
users, this is not intimidating; for others
its as scary as a trip to the dentist (see
our how-to tips on page 66). Also, the
antenna is generally located on the back
of the PCI card, so if your desktop PC sits
under your desk, you may get poorer
reception than you would if the system
were on top of your desk. Some manu-

address provided by your ISP with multi-
ple computers on your network through
a mechanism called Network Address
Translation (NAT). NAT provides you
some security on the Internet because
the router assumes the public IP address
assigned by your ISP, and your computers
are each assigned a private IP address via
a DHCP server built into the router. Those
private addresses arent visible on the
Internet. For improved security, make
sure the routers firewall uses Stateful
Packet Inspection (SPI) technology in
addition to NAT (see our glossary on page
62 for more detailed definitions of many
of these terms). An SPI firewall inspects
each incoming packet to ensure that it
corresponds to an outgoing request.
Unsolicited requests are prevented from
entering your network. For reviews of
several wireless routers, see page 74.
editor-in-chief of PC Magazine. Bill Howard
and Bruce Brown are contributing editors.
Craig Ellison is director of operations at PC
Magazine Labs. Matthew D. Sarrel is a PC
Magazine Labs technical director. PC Magazine
Labs project leaders Oliver Kaven and Joel
Santo Domingo oversaw all testing for this
story. Daniel S. Evans and Laarni Almendrala
Ragaza are staff editors. Jim Akin, Carol
Ellison, Andrew Garcia, and Sonya Moore are
freelance writers. Executive editor Stephanie
Chang and associate editors Jenn Defeo and
Davis D. Janowski were in charge of this story.
ACCESS POINTS
If you are one of the many readers who
already has a fully functional wired net-
work, and youre happy with your exist-
ing modem, router, and firewall, then all
you need to go wireless is an access point
(AP). A dedicated AP simply has an 802.11
facturers offer an external antenna that
connects to a PCI card via a coaxial cable.
This enables you to place the antenna on
your desk, where the signal from your
access point might be stronger.
The other option is a USB adapter.
Installing one requires simply plugging
the adapter into a USB port on your com-
puter; power will be supplied by the bus.
One of the most obvious advantages of
USB adapters over PCI cards is the sim-
ple installation process. Another is the
ease of placement; you can put your USB
wireless adapter anywhere, limited only
by the length of the USB cable (up to a
maximum of 15 feet due to the limitations
of USB). This lets you move the device
and consequently its antennato get the
best reception. And the same adapter
will work on either a desktop computer
or a notebook.

and others. Over 40 million 802.11- May September

based devices are deployed world- Verizon Communications an- WPA security becomes mandatory
wide. First multimode 802.11a/g nounces 150 Wi-Fienabled phone as part of the Wi-Fi certification
product (with draft-compliant g booths in Manhattan and promises process.
on-board) ships. 1,000 by years end.
2 0 0 5 Conservative estimates
June suggest that at current rates of
The IEEE ratifies 802.11g. adoption, almost half a billion
802.11-based devices (including
July access points, cell phones, desk-
First 802.11g products receive Wi- tops PCs, DVD players and
Fi certification. recorders, MP3 players, NICs,
865 products from 112 companies notebooks, PDAs, TV sets, and
have received Wi-Fi certification other products) will be sold in this
since the program began in 2000. year alone.

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 65

 UNWIRE YOUR HOME

How to Set Up a Wireless Home Network

There are a few different setup scenarios for wireless home networks, depending on whether you already have a modem and a
wired router. In this step-by-step tutorial well assume that you already have a broadband connection with a cable or DSL
modem but dont yet have a router, and that your computer is currently plugged directly into your modem. We will also
assume you want to keep a desktop PC wired to the network and to set up either a notebook or a second desktop PC for wire-
less access. (Its a good idea to keep one of your PCs wired during configuration, in case security settings are lost in the
process and you cant get back on the network.) Youll need to buy a wireless router, a wireless PCI card for your desktop PC,
and a wireless PCMCIA card (also known as a PC Card) for your notebook.Craig Ellison and Daniel S. Evans

Connect Your Configure

1 Wireless Router
a. Turn off your cable modem and
your wired PC.
b. Unplug the Ethernet cable from
your cable modem and plug it
into one of the four LAN ports on
the back of the wireless router.
The other end of the cable should
remain connected to your PC.
c. Connect a second Ethernet cable
between your
modems Ethernet
port and the
wireless routers
WAN port. (The
Cable modem
WAN port is separate from the
four grouped LAN ports.)
d. Turn on the modem and wait for
the status lights to indicate that
its connected to your service
provider. This may take up to a
minute.
e. Plug in the router. The status
lights will blink as it goes
through its own diagnostics;
this may also take up to a
minute.
f. Boot up your wired PC.
Router
LAN ports
2 Your Router
a. Refer to the routers
printed quick-start
guide, launch your
Web browser, and
type in the address
indicated in the guide.
b. Follow the on-screen
setup wizard, which
should guide you step
by step through the process.
c. Enable your routers security functions. The options will be WEP
and WPA. (See page 88 for more information on enabling WPA.)
Both will ask you to enter a key. Depending on your routers man-
ufacturer, you may need to go to Advanced Settings to handle
this step and the next two.
d. Change the default administrators password, which is often
known to hackers.
e. Change the SSIDthe name you give your wireless network.
Again, hackers know many of the default SSIDs and can use them
to join your network.

Install a Wireless PCI Card

3 in a Desktop PC

a. Refer to the card manufacturers

quick-start guide. If necessary, run
the software installation program.
b. Shut down the PC.
c. Remove the cover.
d. Locate an available PCI slot and
remove the corresponding slot
cover from the back of the PC. Wireless PCI card External antenna
e. Carefully route the antenna
through the open slot in the Wireless PCMCIA card
back of the PC, insert the card
in the slot, and secure it.
Replace the cover.
Install a Wireless PC Card
f. Power up the PC. It should recog- 4 In a Notebook PC
nize and enable the new hardware.
g. Go to the Control Panel, select Many notebooks have built-in wireless
Network, select Wireless Network- cards. If yours doesnt, follow these
ing connection. Click on Properties. instructions.
Click on Wireless Networking tab. a. Follow steps a and b in number 3.
Select the wireless networking
name (see step 2e above). Click on b. Plug your wireless PC Card into
Configure. Adjust your security an available slot on the side of your
settings to match those on your notebook.
Wireless 802.11a/g PCI card
wireless router. c. Follow steps f and g in number 3.

66 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com www.pcmag.com ISSUE DATE, 2002 P C M A G A Z I N E 000
 UNWIRE YOUR HOME
The vast majority of USB adapters on
the market employ USB 1.1 technology and
are limited to approximately 802.11b per-
formance (12 Mbps) because of the
throughput bottleneck of the slower USB
1.1 technology. At press time, only one
manufacturer was shipping an 802.11g/
USB 2.0 product: the Buffalo AirStation
54Mbps USB Adapter-G. (For results of our
performance tests on PCI cards and USB 1.1
wireless adapters, see page 70.)
NOTEBOOK EQUIPMENT
Many new notebookseven the rela-
tively inexpensive modelscome equip-
ped with a built-in mini PCI wireless-
networking card. But before you buy,
you should know a few things. If you
buy a Centrino notebook, youll be pur-
chasing 802.11b technology, not the
newer and faster technology, 802.11g.
Currently, Intel is offering manufacturers
only a b solution, with support for g
coming later this year. Also, Centrino
notebooks arent just about wireless
technology.
Centrino represents a three-part solu-
tion: an Intel Pentium M processor, an
855GM (graphics memory controller
hub) or 855PM (memory controller hub)
chipset, and Intels 802.11b solution, the
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100. Non-Centrino
notebooks, on the other hand, are at lib-
erty to offer any wireless solution the
manufacturer wants, and many offer the
new g solution for the added benefits
at not much additional cost.
Your best bet if youre buying a new
notebook is to purchase one with a
g solution or an a/g combination. It
will save you a PC Card slot and ensure
that youll have wireless capabilities
wherever an 802.11 network exists. That
includes b networks, since b and g
are interoperable.
If you want to upgrade your existing
notebook to include wireless connectivi-
ty, you could use a USB adapter, as indi-
cated above, but those are somewhat
awkward to travel with. A better solution
would be a PC Card that you install in the
PCMCIA slot on the side of your note-
book. Both a/g and g cards are avail-
able in the $80 to $100 range, and though
thats more than what youd pay for a b
card, youre future-proofing your home
network for just a little extra money. (See
our home access point and router re-
views on page 74.)
68 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
LOOK FOR THE WI-FI LABEL Thats where the Wi-Fi label comes in.
Whatever devices you choose, you want Wi-Fi is short for Wireless Fidelity.
to make sure that they can all work Although the term is frequently used to
together, regardless of the brand. If you talk generically about wireless network-
have a Linksys wireless router, for exam- ing, Wi-Fi is actually a registered trade-
ple, you want to make sure it talks to the mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance (www.wi-
Cisco wireless PC Card you use at work. fi.org). This nonprofit international
PERFORMANCE TESTS
802.11b/g vs. Centrino
When Intel introduced Centrino in March, anyone who wasnt
tech-savvy may have thought that Centrino was the birth of the
wireless revolution. And although Intel has done a lot to propel
wireless into the mainstream, it is not the first wireless player
and its products dont include the newest wireless technology,
802.11g, though the company plans to add that later this year.
To test Centrino against its competition, we used two Dell Latitude X300
notebooks, which were identical except that each contained a different wire-
less mini PCI card offered by Dell. In one case it was a Dell TrueMobile 1400
(an 802.11a/b/g solution, which uses a Broadcom chipset); in the other, an
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 802.11b adapter (a Centrino component).
We tested the X300 with the TrueMobile 1400 in both g and b modes.
At 1-foot and 60-foot ranges, the throughput in g mode was more than twice
that of b mode. At 160 feet, the signal degraded to the point where all of our
configurations were operating at similar throughput rates.
Though Centrino retained a usable signal throughout our entire 160-foot
wireless testing range, the TrueMobile 1400even in b modeagain
provided equal or better throughput across the board. The difference was
noticeable at ranges of 1 foot and 60 feet from our access point. The Intel
solution is still in its first generation, however, and like many first versions,
it still needs a little work.
Those thinking of buying a notebook with built-in wireless capability
must consider the units wireless performance, because right now there is no
easy way to upgrade an internal wireless solution. Intel plans to offer 802.11g
support in future versions of Centrino (due by the end of the year), which
well test as soon as they
are released. For now, go
with a g solution, which 802.11b/g vs. Centrino Throughput
(Mbps)
is more powerful (at close 25
Dell TrueMobile 1400
range) than a b-only (802.11a/b/g, g mode)
solution like Centrino, yet Dell TrueMobile 1400
(802.11a/b/g, b mode) 20
still compatible.
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100
We used our radio- (Centrino, b mode)
interferencefree wireless- 15
testing area for all the
BETTER
products in this story.
We ran all the 802.11b tests 10
using a Linksys WRT54G
router in b-only mode.
5
The 802.11g tests were run
with the same router in
g-only mode. 0
1 60 120 160
Analysis written by Distance (feet)
Joel Santo Domingo
 association was formed in 1999 to certify
the interoperability of wireless local area
network (WLAN) products based on the
IEEEs 802.11 specifications. The Wi-Fi Al-
liance has a suite of interoperability tests
that members products must pass in
order to qualify for certification, and
there are tests for products based on each
IEEE wireless standard (and products
combining more than one), as well as Wi-
Fi Protected Access (WPA), which is cov-
ered in our security sidebar on page 88.
We recommend buying only products
that have the Wi-Ficertified label.
MAKING IT ALL WORK
Once youve settled on the equipment
you need, youre ready to install your
wireless network. Whether youve cho-
sen an access point, gateway, or router,
depending on your needs, you want to
find a prime spot for your wireless device

PERFORMANCE TESTS

Wireless Options
For desktop PC users who want to go wireless better throughput for the g and b PCI cards at 1 and
but dont want to punch holes in the walls to 60 feet than for the USB adapter. A PCI cards main draw-
string Category 5 or 6 Ethernet cable around back is that either you or a repair technician must install
the house, there are two primary choices: a PCI it in the desktop case.
card and a USB adapter. For notebooks, the As for notebooks, one of the big questions when youre
choices are an internal WLAN card or external shopping for one is, Do I have to buy a wireless option
PCMCIA (PC) card. now, or can I add it later? You can
The advantage of the USB purchase a wireless option, but
adapter is that it can be installed PCI vs. USB Throughput
(Mbps) make sure you understand the
easily on any desktop or note- 25 trade-offs.
book with a spare USB port. The Upgrading an internal wireless
Linksys WMP54G
placement of the adapter is also (PCI, 802.11g) solution is tricky, thanks to FCC
20
more flexible than with a PCI Linksys WMP11 regulations, so if you know your
(PCI, 802.11b)
card; you can put the antenna on office is using b and will up-
Linksys WUSB11
top of the case or the desk, avoid- (USB, 802.11b) 15 grade to g in the future, you
BETTER

ing the signal-blocking metal in might as well get a g solution.

the desktops casea plus when On the other hand, you can buy
the access point is far away. On 10 a PC Card down the road if your
our tests, the Linksys WUSB11 company switches from b to
adapter outperformed the PCI a/g, or if you dont purchase an
5
card in b mode at distances of internal solution. (Be sure to first
120 and 160 feet. find out which flavor of 802.11
At testing time, no 802.11g USB 0 your company uses.)
1 60 120 160
adapters were available, though Most PC Cards stick out from
Distance (feet)
by press time, the Buffalo Tech- the side of a notebook, and some
nology AirStation 54Mbps USB have external antennas for better
Adapter-G was shipping. This reception. Since a PC Card usually
Internal WLAN Card Throughput
product and others soon to arrive (Mbps) has only a single antenna, it
vs. PC Card
support USB 2.0 (which has a 25 is subject to signal fluctuations
Dell TrueMobile 1400
maximum throughput of 480 (802.11a/b/g, g mode)
when you turn the antenna away
Mbps), unlike the 12-Mbps band- Linksys WPC54G PC Card
from a wireless access point.
20
width of USB 1.1, which limits (802.11g, g mode) As shown in our bottom chart,
devices to 802.11b speeds. If your Dell TrueMobile 1400 the internal wireless solution
(802.11a/b/g, b mode)
USB wireless adapter is plugged 15 (a Dell TrueMobile 1400) outper-
into a USB hub, the performance Linksys WPC54G PC Card formed the PC Card almost across
BETTER

(802.11g , b mode)
will degrade with each additional the board. This is in part because
device attached to the hub, as the 10 manufacturers like Dell have had
devices will all share the same time to develop dual internal
bandwidth. antennas and usually place them
5
If youre comfortable opening somewhere in the upper lid of
up your desktops case, a PCI each notebook, where they re-
card is another choice. Such a 0 ceive potentially stronger signals
1 60 120 160
solution is best if your access than a single antenna low in the
Distance (feet)
point is close. Our tests showed system would pull in.JSD

70 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com


so that the antenna is centrally located
relative to the area you plan to cover.
If you have a two-story home with a
basement and want to cover all three
floors, you should consider putting the
device on the first floor. For practical rea-
sons, most people place the device in the
same room that has their broadband con-
nection. Just make sure that the device
isnt hidden behind other objects; the
antenna needs to be in clear view for
optimum performance.
What if youre not getting the coverage
you need? Depending on the size of your
house, as well as things like construction
materials and number of walls, you may
need to plug a second access point into
your wired Ethernet connection to provide
coverage in hard-to-reach areas, such as the
backyard, or to improve performance in
areas where the first devices signal is weak.
But the vast majority of wireless users find
one device sufficient for a house.
If you plan to use your wireless network
for traditional purposes, such as sharing a
printer and broadband access, a b device
should suffice. In the next few years, how-
ever, demands on the home network will
grow to include things like streaming
audio and video. If you fully expect to do
such things with your network, an a/g
device may be worth the investment.
INSTALLATION, SECURITY
Installing wireless equipment used to be
a complicated experience, but in the past
few years, manufacturers have managed
to simplify it significantly. In fact, many
products will work properly when you
take them out of the box, read the
instructions, plug the right cables into the
right connectors, and reboot your equip-
ment in the correct order. The majority of
wireless-networking hardware manufac-
turers provide easy-to-follow wizards
that walk you through the installation
process, and many offer tech support 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
To make setup as easy as possible, most
manufacturers ship their products with all
security options turned off. So out of the
box, home networks are completely
unprotected. At an absolute minimum,
you should change the default network
name (SSID) and administrators pass-
wordboth of which are well-known
among hackersand enable the highest
level of security that the products support.
Wired Equivalent Protection (WEP) is
UNWIRE YOUR HOME
currently the most widely used security Once your security is set up and your
feature in home devices. But soon, all new network is up and running, youll be
products will support WPA instead. (For ready to join the legion of wireless con-
more on these security standards and verts like Greg Caruso. You may find that
information on how to set them up, see a world without wires is, well, a less tan-
our security sidebar on page 88 and WPA gled one. And roaming your home will
Security Step-by-Step, page 48.) never be the same.
F O R the price of a new multihundred-disc CD changer, you can
stream hundreds or even thousands of CDs wirelessly from your PC to
your home audio system, using a digital media hub, also called a digital
media receiver, digital media adapter, or entertainment hub. Some
such devices can also show digital photos and, in one case, video.
Prices range from $100 to $300.
A media hub sits near your audio amplifier. Its easy to set up: You
plug it into a set of unused input jacks and control it using a supplied
remote, viewing content on your TV set.
ROCK THE HOUSE, WIRELESSLY
The hub looks like a home-networking switch or router and receives
wireless Ethernet signals. Client software installed on your PC receives
requests and sends out the files via
wireless Ethernet, typically still
compressed in MP3 or WMA
format to save on the net-
work overhead. If you have
playlists set up on your PC,
the hub can use them. This beats
pressing the All DiscsShuffle
button on a CD player.
Most media hubs have wired Ether-
net capability as well as wireless. But for the
most part, even with 802.11b, there is enough bandwidth
and memory buffering to keep the music playing uninterruptedly.
Two products stand out. The Swiss Army media player of the bunch
is the Prismiq MediaPlayer ($249.95 direct), which transfers music,
photos, and PC-based MPEG video. With a $50 wireless keyboard, it
also lets you browse the Web and instant-message from your TV set.
The base unit comes with a PC Card slot; just add an 802.11b or
802.11g wireless card for $25 to $100. While the Prismiq unit does
more than the others, its also more daunting to set up than the
Linksys and HP hubs. (888-880-1583, www.prismiq.com. lllll )
The price/performance leader is the Linksys Wireless-B Media
Adapter ($200 street). Besides transferring music, it displays photos
on your TV set. The remote is well labeled. The only knock is minor:
Support for album art is not available with this first version. (949-261-
1288, www.linksys.com. llllm )
The HP Wireless Digital Media Receiver ew5000 ($300 street) is
easy to use but not competitively priced, now that Linksys is on the
scene. Its features are essentially the same as those of the Linksys
model. (800-752-0900, www.hp.com. lllmm )
If you just want to send music from your PC to your stereo and can
limp along without a TV set displaying what the remote does, the RCA
Lyra Wireless RD900W ($100 street) is a bargain. The proprietary
900-MHz signal has a greater range than Wi-Fis 2.4 GHz. You do have
to dedicate a USB jack to a wireless transmitter, though. (317-587-
4450, www.rca.com. lllmm )Bill Howard
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 71
 UNWIRE YOUR HOME

The following is a sampling of notebooks with built-in wire-

less capability. Our testing focuses on wireless performance and
battery lifetwo priorities for mobile computingand for our
rating, we also include the system weight, because anyone who

Wireless
has run through OHare Airport trying to make a connection
knows that every ounce of a laptop counts.
Thats not to say heavier notebooks dont have a pur-
pose: For infrequent travelers, who want a lot of power
and portability for short distances, say couch to patio,
the mobility factor is not as much of a concern.
All products were tested in the wireless testing area
of PC Magazine Labs. (For details on the lab setup,

Notebooks...
visit www.pcmag.com/wirelesstestbed.) For notebook testing,
we used a Linksys WAP55AG 802.11a/g access point and tested
(when appropriate) each notebook in both b and g modes.

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

Apple PowerBook Dell Latitude

G4 (17-inch) X300
Wireless solution: 802.11g; 6.8 lbs. 802.11g; 3 lbs. system
system weight; DVD playback: 2:22; weight; BatteryMark:
$3,299 list. 800-692-7753, 2:20; $1,985 direct. 800-
www.apple.com. lllmm 388-8542, www.dell.com.
llllm
This was one of the first
notebooks to move The Dell Latitude X300 is a very
to the 802.11g good choice for those who want
wireless stan- prime performance with premium
dard. Though incom- portability. On our tests, its wireless
patible with our standard performance held strong out to 160 feet, and
PC-based wireless tests, in its battery performance was decent.
informal testing its signal reached
up to 140 feet, and its DVD playback Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)
lasted 2:22, which is enough for most movies. 1 foot: 6.1 20.8
This system isnt really meant to be carted around 60 feet: 6.0 14.4
daily. As a desktop replacement, its a rock-solid system. 120 feet: 4.6 3.5
160 feet: 1.7 1.6

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

eMachines Fujitsu LifeBook S2000

M5310 802.11g; 4.3 lbs. system weight;
BatteryMark: 3:17; $1,990 street. 877-
802.11g; 6.6 lbs. system 372-3743, www.fujitsupc.com.
weight; BatteryMark: 2:19; llllm
$1,199 list. 714-481-2828,
www.emachines.com. llmmm This 4-pounder has a
built-in optical drivea
Just a bit smaller than the Apple
rare find in an ultraportable
PowerBook G4 (17-inch), the eMachines
category. Wireless performance
M5310, with its 15-inch-wide screen, is still a
was impressive, particularly its
hefty notebook that wont travel often far from the
throughput at 120 feet. Add to that a 3-
office or home. The M5310s wireless performance was
hour-plus battery life and this is a top
a bit weaker than that of our other g notebooks but still satisfactory. The
choice for any executive who travels frequently.
power drain from its wide-screen display led to less than 3 hours of battery life.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOM OCONNOR

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)
1 foot: 6.4 20.8 1 foot: 6.3 21.1
60 feet: 5.9 14.5 60 feet: 6.2 16.2
120 feet: 2.8 2.8 120 feet: 5.1 6.9
160 feet: 0.4 0.3 160 feet: 1.3 1.6

72 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

Gateway 450X HP Pavilion zd7000

802.11g; 6.1 lbs. system weight; 802.11g; 9.2 lbs. system weight;
BatteryMark: 4:18; $1,620 list. 800-221- BatteryMark: 2:17; $2,399 direct.
9616, www.gateway.com. llllm 800-752-0900, www.hp.com.
lllmm
The thin and light Gateway 450Xs
wireless throughput scores Like the Apple and eMachines notebooks,
were solid, holding an the HP Pavilion zd7000 will probably never
especially strong signal at commute farther than from the bedroom to
120 feet in g mode. Our recent the den. Its wireless performance was very solid
Editors Choice winner (Back to at the 120-foot and 160-foot range, which makes it
School, August 19, page 90) is an outstand- better if theres only one access point shared in a small-
ing choice for the business executive or college office or home environment. Note that this is a preproduction unit; look
student on a campus with good wireless coverage. for an updated review of this model in our issue of November 25, 2003.

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)
1 foot: 6.3 21.1 1 foot: 5.4 21.0
60 feet: 6.2 16.4 60 feet: 5.4 16.5
120 feet: 4.4 5.1 120 feet: 4.7 6.1
160 feet: 1.5 1.4 160 feet: 2.3 1.7

8 0 2 . 1 1 B 8 0 2 . 1 1 B

HP Compaq Presario X1000 HP Pavilion ze5300

802.11b (Centrino); 6.5 lbs. system weight; 802.11b; 8.1 lbs. system weight;
BatteryMark: 3:39; $1,599 direct. 800-752- Battery Mark: 1: 50; $1,749 direct. 800-752-
0900, www.hp.com. lllmm 0900, www.hp.com. llmmm
The HP Compaq Presario X1000 is an The HP Pavilion ze5300 is an 8.1-pound
admirable system, yet you may want to heavyweight that is meant to
wait for the upgrade. Since its b stay plugged in and
only, its wireless performance on your desk. Its
was sub par. And though its battery performance
battery life was decent was less than 2 hours,
at 3:39, its 6.5-pound probably due to its desktop
system weight doesnt processor, and its wireless
scream portability. signal was unimpressive.

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 4.5 1 foot: 5.0
60 feet: 3.7 60 feet: 4.9
120 feet: 1.1 120 feet: 1.8
160 feet: 0.1 160 feet: 0.3

8 0 2 . 1 1 B 8 0 2 . 1 1 A / B

Toshiba Satellite Pro M15-S405 IBM ThinkPad R40

802.11b (Centrino); 6.7 lbs. system weight; 802.11a/b; 6.4lbs. system weight;
BatteryMark: 5:29; $1,849 list. 800-867-4422, BatteryMark: 5:28; $2,249 direct. 888-740-
www.csd.toshiba.com. lllmm 7426, www.ibm.com. llllm
The Toshiba Satellite Pro M15-S405 offers a good The R40 delivers high quality and sturdy
blend of power and performance. It posted an design, and its 5:48 battery life is
impressive 5:29 for battery life, so you dont one of the best weve
need to tote an adapter around, which seen. It is also one of
is good since the notebook the few notebooks to
weighs in at 6.7 pounds. Its incorporate an a/b
throughput held up quite wireless solution, so no
strongly up to 160 feet, despite matter what network youre
its b-only wireless solution. near, youve got wireless covered.

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 4.9 1 foot: 6.5
60 feet: 4.6 60 feet: 6.4
120 feet: 2.6 120 feet: 1.9
160 feet: 1.3 160 feet: 0.4

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 73

 UNWIRE YOUR HOME 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

D-Link AirPlus
The following is a sampling of 802.11g, 802.11a/g, and Xtreme G
802.11b routers and access points. Some of the g products were
on the market prior to the IEEEs ratification of the 802.11g stan-
DI-624
dard in June and were categorized as draft-compliant devices in $149 list. 800-326-1688,
www.dlink.com. lllmm
our June 30 roundup The Wireless LANscape. We have retest-
This wireless router is easy to install and
ed these products, all of which are now standard-compliant, and
has an array of features for home and
we tested some new standard-compliant g and a/g devices. small-office applications. Its remote
management and packet traffic statistics go
beyond the usual home-focused software. And D-

...Wireless
Link has added a g-only mode to the unit, making
it better suited for densely populated environments.

Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 16.0
60 feet: 10.2
120 feet: 0
Access Points and Routers 160 feet: 0

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

Belkin F5D7230-4 Linksys Wireless-G WRT54G

$130 list. 877-736-5771, www.belkin.com. llllm $120 list. 800-546-5797, www.linksys.com.
llllm
Since our June roundup, Belkin has improved the
throughput on its F5D7230-4 router and The Linksys Wireless-G WRT54G provides very
dropped the price by $60. The unit is respectable throughput at 1 foot and 60 feet in g-
still chock full of only mode. Its interface remains much the same as
features like in previous models, and the included setup utility
parental-control Web makes the unit
filtering and provides very easy to
convenient multiple fields for configure and use.
entering WEP hex keys (rather
than one field, which can easily
lead to errors).

Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 20.2 1 foot: 21.0
60 feet: 12.8 60 feet: 15.5
120 feet: 2.3 120 feet: 1.3
160 feet: 0 160 feet: 0

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 G

Buffalo AirStation WBR-G54 Netgear WG602

$69 list. 800-456-9799, www.buffalotech.com. lllmm $130 list. 408-907-8000, www.netgear.com.
llllm
Since our June roundup, performance of the Buffalo
AirStation WBR-G54 wireless router has If you are in the market for your first
improved dramatically, taking the top spot wireless LAN product and need
in g-only mode at the 1-foot and 60-foot only an access point, try this
markers. Consider this product if you want one. The attractively priced
excellent throughput and a low price Netgear WG602 offers
but dont mind a minimal feature set and impressive security
a client software interface that is not as features but only average
polished as those of its competitors. performance. We especially like
the comprehensive yet easy-to-
understand client configuration software.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOM OCONNOR

Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 21.1 1 foot: 15.3
60 feet: 15.8 60 feet: 13.7
120 feet: 1.2 120 feet: 0
160 feet: 0 160 feet: 0

74 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

8 0 2 . 1 1 G 8 0 2 . 1 1 A / G

SMC Barricade g Netgear FWAG114

SMC2804WBR $459 list. 408-907-8000,
www.netgear.com. llllm
$130 list. 800-762-4968,
www.smc.com. llllm While the Netgear FWAG114 might seem to come
at a premium, Netgears first dual-band wireless
This wireless router packs
firewall VPN combines a lot in a single
a lot of features appro-
product. The devices g
priate for a small to midsize
performance was impressive
business into a home-friendly
at both 1 foot and 160 feet.
device. The routers AP can be secured by
The firewall provides airtight
802.1x authentication with an external RADIUS
security with denial-of-service
server. To widen your coverage area, you can
protection and intrusion detection
boost the signal strength with a high-gain
using SPI.
antenna sold separately.

Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 20.0 1 foot: 19.8
60 feet: 13.6 60 feet: 15.7
120 feet: 2.8 120 feet: 4.7
160 feet: 0.5 160 feet: 1.6

8 0 2 . 1 1 B 8 0 2 . 1 1 B

Linksys WAP11 D-Link AirPlus Enhanced DI-614+

$99 list. 800-546-5797, www.linksys.com.
lllmm
The term venerable can now be applied to
the Linksys WAP11, since this is the
third iteration of this popular
802.11b access point. It should
appeal to wireless LAN
novices who need only an
access point to connect to a
router. Installation is easy, and its
straightforward, browser-based manage-
ment interface is simple to navigate.
$80 list. 800-326-1688, www.dlink.com. llllm
The D-Link AirPlus Enhanced DI-614+ wireless broadband
router comes with a novice-friendly management
interface and plenty of extra controls beyond the basic
configuration settings. It also offers the most specific
access control of any home or small-office router,
including MAC address
filtering, IP address
filtering, and URL
blocking based on keywords
and domains.

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 4.9 1 foot: 5.8
60 feet: 4.7 60 feet: 6.4
120 feet: 2.1 120 feet: 3.7
160 feet: 0 160 feet: 1.5

8 0 2 . 1 1 B 8 0 2 . 1 1 B

Netgear ME102 ZyXEL ZyAIR B-2000

$89 list. 888-638-4327, www.netgear.com. lllmm
The Netgear ME102 is another no-frills
home or small-office AP, but it can also
act as a wireless bridge to connect a
LAN to a wireless LAN. The unit
doesnt have a browser-based
interface, but Netgears USB
Manager software lets you
configure the device via a USB
connection to your PC.
$109 list. 714-632-0882,
www.zyxel.com. llllm
The ZyXEL ZyAIR B-2000 wireless router
was named the Editors Choice among
802.11b products in our last roundup. It
offers the most comprehensive
security package of any b device
weve reviewed. A 32-user 802.1x
authentication server, turnkey
installation, decent throughput,
and a reasonable price make this
a tough product to beat.

Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps) Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps)

1 foot: 4.5 1 foot: 4.6
60 feet: 4.2 60 feet: 4.5
120 feet: 1.8 120 feet: 2.0
160 feet: 0.4 160 feet: 0 E

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 75

Unwire Your Office
By Craig Ellison
Lifespan, a Providence-based
health network, has found great value in
instant, untethered access to information
that can be used anywhere, anytime to
support group decisionswhether its a
matter of life and death or not.
The company manages patient-care
and administrative services at four Rhode
Island hospitals. And wireless technolo-
gy has brought greater mobility to both
its medical front line and its back office,
says David Hemendinger, Lifespans chief
technology officer.
Taking advantage of their wireless LAN,
staffers can use laptops, PDAs, and even
custom-built mobile workstations to view
patient records and issue care instructions
from any of the hospitals 1,167 bedsides, a
capability that will soon extend to the hos-
pitals operating rooms as well.
While wireless LAN technology cer-
tainly reduces paperwork and saves time,
the biggest advantage for Lifespan may be
enabling what Hemendinger calls pro-
ductivity cells, ad hoc decision-making
conferences that can be convened any-
where to take advantage of up-to-the-
minute data, whether on the clinical or
the business side.
The companys wireless LAN success
depends heavily on technical measures
that provide data security, flexible network
management, and seamless integration
with the wired network, Hemendinger ex-
plains. Perhaps equally important is the
care taken to be sure mobile applications
actually make users more effective.
Were not just interested in putting ac-
cess points in the ceiling, he says. Were
interested in changing business processes
to take advantage of new capabilities that
mobility provides.
THE BIZ WORLD GOES WIRELESS
Corporations everywhere are finding
compelling reasons for deploying wire-
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
less networks as part of their IT infra-
structures. The largest benefit, as Life-
span and others have found, is improved
employee productivity. With access to
corporate data, e-mail, IM, and the Inter-
net, workers can stay productive and
available even while mired in meetings
and away from their office desktops. This
improved accessibility also promotes
more collaboration.
Theres the cost-savings factor too.
Most new corporate-class notebooks have
built-in wireless adapters, and wireless
cards for older notebooks cost as little as
$30 each. And in a new office space, it can
be thousands of dollars cheaper to net-
work clients with wireless than to install
wiring in every office and cubicle.
Employees who have experienced the
benefits of wireless networking at home
are also demanding it at work. If the com-
pany doesnt respond, some will even
plug their own sub-$100 access points
into the corporate network and create an
81

ad hoc departmental wireless network.
This might be convenient, but such rogue
APs can create a huge security breach.
IT managers who have to deploy cor-
porate wireless networks face signifi-
cant challenges that are different from
those associated with wired networks
or even home wireless networks. Of
course, security is probably the first
concern. But managers also have to
worry about which technology to
choose, where they need to provide cov-
erage, and how to monitor performance.
Finally, the networks have to be reliable,
scalable, and manageable.
A, B, OR G?
One of the major challenges of deploying
a corporate wireless network is choosing
TABLETS: WIRELESS, FINALLY
F O R more than three decades, the vision of the digital tabletcapable of
recognizing and recording your handwriting and, more recently, even your voice
has always seemed to be five or ten years away from realization. But this time
around, we may be almost there. Manufacturers have learned that to ensure wide-
spread acceptance, wireless networkingboth local and wide-areais crucial for
most tablet users, as is a more powerful and energy-efficient CPU.
Two tablet genres hold center court now. One is the lightweight (2- to 3-pound)
slate, which has no integrated keyboard and is used mostly in vertical markets or as
an adjunct to your primary PC. The other is the convertible notebook PC, which has
a stylus-enabled screen that rotates and folds to hide the keyboard. When youre in
a meeting with either model, integrated wireless technology makes it possible to
access the Web. Three leading examples are listed below; read on to see which
tablet-computing model suits you.
Motion Computing, formed by ex-Dell execs, has one of the best slate devices in
the Motion 1300 Tablet PC ($2,099 direct). The 3-pound unit gets a performance
boost from the newest Centrino (Pentium M) 1-GHz ultra-low-voltage CPU. It inte-

Enterprise Managed y YES o NO

All prices are list. Product and price Supported access points

WLAN Products
SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS
AirWave Wireless Inc. AMP Lite (up to 25 APs), $5,000; AMP Professional Avaya, Cisco, Colubris, Dell,
650-286-6100 (50500 APs), $15,000; AMP Enterprise (2,000+ APs), Enterasys, HP/Compaq,
As wireless LAN devices proliferate throughout larger companies and www.airwave.com $50,000 Proxim, Symbol, 3eTI
Cirond Technologies Inc. WiNc Manager, with 25 client licenses, $995; Cisco, D-Link, Hawking, Intel,
organizations, the demands on a wireless networks reliability, avail- 866-824-7662 additional licenses, $20 each; 100 licenses, $1,295 Linksys, Netgear, Proxim, SMC,
ability, and mobility increase exponentially. Between fear of security vul- www.cirond.com 3Com, U.S. Robotics
nerabilities and an unwieldy distributed architecture, the early genera- Cisco Systems Inc. CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solutions Engine (WLSE) Cisco Aironet
tions of wireless LAN hardware and software have been incapable of 800-553-6387 2.0, $8,495
www.cisco.com
handling the current rigors of management. In response, an array of
Perfigo Inc.* SecureSmart Server, $4,990; SmartManager, For management: Cisco,
products have come to market with the promise of bringing full control 415-431-8900 $7,490; SecureSmart Server Pro, $7,490; Enterasys, Proxim; for
of the large wireless network. Note that the distinctions between cat- www.perfigo.com SmartManager Pro, $12,490 security, any 802.11a/b/g
egories are already blurring, as manufacturers realize that management Wavelink Corp. Mobile Manager, $500; AP licenses, $110 each Cisco, Dell, D-Link, Ericsson,
888-699-9283 (volume discounts available) Nortel, Proxim, Symbol, 3Com
and security issues are actually intertwined. www.wavelink.com
Software management products give you control over your
existing access points from a central console, while providing addi- SWITCH-BASED PRODUCTS
tional monitoring and lockdown capabilities. The products offer cen- AireSpace Inc. AireSpace 4000 Wireless Switch, $10,800; VPN AireSpace, Cisco, Proxim,
tralized key management and security policy distribution, as well as 408-635-2000 concentrator, $1,800; AireSpace 4100 Wireless anything supporting LWAPP
www.airespace.com Appliance, $14,995; ACS software, $1,000 and up; (Lightweight Access Point
a mechanism for detecting unauthorized radio activity. Centralized AireSpace 1200 Access Point a/b, $400 Protocol)
channel management and reporting metrics increase radio perfor- Aruba Wireless Networks Aruba 5000 Switching System (24 ports), $12,000; Aruba
mance and reliability. Unfortunately, each of these products has lim- 408-227-4500 Aruba 50 a/b/g Access Point, $500
www.arubanetworks.com
ited AP support, so your buying decision will depend on your existing
Extreme Networks Extreme Summit 300-48, $6,995; Altitude 300 Altitude 300
hardware. 888-257-3000 wireless port, $695
Switch-based systems are end-to-end solutions, each combining www.extremenetworks.com
a centralized aggregation switch with a new generation of thin ac- Symbol Technologies Inc.Symbol WS5000 Wireless Switch (6 ports), $2,895; Symbol
cess points, plus embedded software to manage everything. The switch 800-722-6234 WS5000 Wireless Switch (30 ports), $6,191; AP100
www.symbol.com Access Port (802.11a), $249; AP100 Access Port
performs roughly the same security functions found in security gate- (802.11b), $249; PoE Hub, $1,099
way products, though with tighter integration into the wired network. Trapeze Networks Trapeze Mobility Exchange, $7,495; Mobility Point Trapeze
It also serves as a point of control over the thin APs, letting you auto- 877-359-8779 a/b, $679; Mobility System Starter Kit (with 1
www.trapezenetworks.com exchange, 2 MPs, 5 Ringmaster licenses), $9,500
matically deploy and adjust configuration data, radio settings, and
SECURITY GATEWAY PRODUCTS
security parametersincluding coordinated rogue detectionwhile
Blue Socket Inc. Blue Socket WG-1100-SOE (13 APs), $3,495; Any 802.11a/b/g
simultaneously providing Power over Ethernet to the APs. 866-633-3358 WG-1100 (120 APs), $5,995; WG-2100 (1050 APs),
Security gateways intercept wireless traffic as it passes from the www.bluesocket.com $12,995
AP to the wired network, forcing authentication to a back-end RADIUS Nortel Networks Ltd. Nortel WLAN Security Switch 2250, $7,995; WLAN For management, Nortel 2220;
or LDAP server. Integrated Stateful Packet Inspection engines then allow 800-466-7835 Access Point 2220 a/b, $899 for security, any 802.11a/b/g
www.nortel.com
you to create user- and time-based access policies for reaching net-
ReefEdge Inc. ReefEdge Connect Server 100, $7,500; Edge Any 802.11a/b/g
work services. Using IPsec encryption for privacy, these devices process 201-242-9700 Controller 100, $5,000; AirMonitor, $4,490
and hand off sessions between APs seamlessly to increase user mobil- www.reefedge.com
ity and improve reliability as a user walks from one APs range to an- Vernier Networks Inc. Vernier CS-6500 Control Server, $6,650; AM-6500 Any 802.11a/b/g
650-526-2600 Access Manager, $3,790; with PoE, $5,440; IS-6500
other. The products work equally well with your existing 802.11a/b/g www.verniernetworks.com Integrated System, $8,245; with PoE, $9,895
APs, but they are only beginning to offer management control of and re-
* Spans categories: software management and security gateway.
porting on the wireless network itself.Andrew Garcia

82 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

 UNWIRE YOUR OFFICE
grates an Intel 802.11b chipset and includes a standalone keyboard for desktop use.
One drawback is the 12.1-inch color display, which may be tough to view at certain
angles, a possible scenario when youre holding any tablet device. Gateway sells an
essentially unmodified version called the Gateway Tablet the right technology. With the ratification
PC. (866-682-2538, www.motioncomputing.com. llllm ) in June of the IEEE 802.11g standard, a
The NEC Versa LitePad ($2,400 list) fits a full-featured third choice of technology became viable
Windows Tablet PC into a superthin package weighing Toshiba for business use.
just 2.2 pounds thats easy to slip into your bag and take Portg 3500 As weve discussed previously, g
anywhere. It includes a 20GB hard drive, 802.11a/b products operate in the same 2.4-GHz
wireless (most competitors have only b), a 900-MHz band as the earlier 802.11b products but at
PIII-M, and a 10.4-inch XGA display, which may be a significantly higher data rateup to 54
difficult to read at some angles. (888-632-8701, Mbps, as compared with 11 Mbps for b
www.necsolutions-am.com/mobilesolutions. products. The g standard also provides
llllm ) that b and g products must inter-
The Toshiba Portg 3500 ($2,149 list) does operate using their different modulation
the best job of adding Tablet PC features to an techniques, yet not interfere with each
ultraportable notebook. The 4.1-pound unit has a 60GB hard drive and a 12.1-inch other. Simply stated, 802.11g products are
XGA display thats adequate for day-to-day notebook computing. It includes inte- backward-compatible and interoperable
grated 802.11b. Expect a Centrino version later this year. (800-867-4422, with 802.11b products.
www.toshiba.com. llllm )Bill Howard Thats good news for organizations al-
ready heavily invested in b technology,
because they can gradually add g

Stateful
Central AP Central Packet
configuration/ WEP key IPsec Inspection
Rogue detection firmware control distribution termination firewall Notable features

Via AP (wire-side data from routers yy y o o Products detect rogues by culling radio-channel usage data from specially
and switches) deployed sentries.

Via clients yo y o o Self-healing RF capabilities with unique four-channel allocation pattern in 802.11b.
Significantly cheaper than its rivals, but it doesnt offer firmware version control.

Via AP, client cards, or sentries
Via SecureSmart-enabled clients or
via RogueCrawler and router/switch
ARP caches
Via clients
yy y o o Cisco provides a turnkey solution for managing the entire Cisco Aironet wireless LAN
infrastructure. It provides for active detection of rogues and a graphical depiction of
their locations.
yy o y y The only gateway to provide native support for third-party access points.
Concentrating on educational markets for now.
yy y o o Wavelink has the longest experience with wireless management among
companies listed. Has added rogue detection capabilities through unique
partnerships with AirMagnet and D-Link. Administrators can upgrade legacy Cisco
products to new IOS software versions.

Via AP yy y y o AireSpace has in-depth understanding of the RF side of WLAN, with unrivaled RF
performance and self-healing coverage capabilities. The 4100 controls and talks
to all APs connected to your network via existing switches, thus eliminating
the need to replace switches.
Via AP yy y y y Aruba can provide distributed packet-sniffing capabilities from all its APs.
Provides both PoE and Serial over Ethernet directly connected APs for out-of-
band management.
Via AP yy y o o Standardizing on AES for privacy encryption.

Via AP yy y o y First to market with a switch-based product, Symbol has the largest market
share. Thin APs do no processing but encapsulate RF signals in 802.3 packets
to forward to the switch. The Wireless System is not yet compatible with legacy
Symbol APs but soon will be.
Via AP yy y o o RingMaster software provides an off-line site survey using an AutoCAD diagram
and an internal database of RF attenuation factors.

None oo o y y Transparent authentication to WLAN for Windows users.

Via AP yy y y y Trim APs may be deployed alone or with security switches for two-tier protection.

Via specially deployed sentries yy y y y The softwares open architecture allows third-party plug-ins. ReefEdge partners
with Wavelink to provide AP management capabilities.

None oo o y y The new IS-6500 offers a full suite of features for small offices in a single chassis;
larger networks require a Control Server (for policy management) and multiple
Access Managers. Optional encryption acceleration card for IS and AM models.

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 83

 products to the mix. Companies that do
mix these technologies should note that
when the two types share a network, the
performance of g products can be re-
duced to that of b products.
New technologies now available in
current g products based on chipsets
from Broadcom and Intersil should alle-
viate this problem (see the definitions of
Prism Nitro and Xpress in our glossary,
page 62). Firmware upgrades are also
available from manufacturers of g
products sold prior to these features
availability. While we did note perfor-
mance improvement in testing products
with the technologies on-boardtwice
the throughput in mixed modewe did
not see the amount of improvement sug-
gested by the chipset manufacturers.
The third technology, 802.11a, has data
rates up to 54 Mbps, just like 802.11g.
While 802.11b/g products generally have
better range than 802.11a products, only 3
nonoverlapping channels are available to
them in the 2.4-GHz spectrum. 802.11a,
which is in the 5-GHz spectrum, has
about 12 nonoverlapping channels to
choose from; the precise number de-
pends on how the manufacturer divides
up the spectrum and how its modulation
technique varies. A pending FCC ruling
could raise the number of channels for
a products to 24.
What this means for a densely crowd-
ed office setting is that you can pack more
802.11a APs into a smaller area where a
high concentration of clients are in need
of good performance, without worrying
about signals overlapping and canceling
each other out. But remember that 802.11a
products tend to have a shorter range, and
their radio signals are weakened more by
walls and ceilings than products in the 2.4-
GHz spectrum.
The good news is that multiband APs
that support 802.11a/b/g are becoming
available. And on the client side, the trend
is also toward 802.11a/b/g PC and PCI
cards. Chipset manufacturers and ana-
lysts say that by this time next year, most
wireless networking shipped in corporate
notebooks will be a/b/g.
The bottom line: If youre on a tight
budget and dont expect that youll need
to accommodate a lot of clients in a small
space, 802.11g may do the job for you. If
you want to future-proof your network,
consider a/g access points, which will
work with any wireless client.
84 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
THE SITE SURVEY also be considered. Most models are small
Early in your planning process, you enough that anyone could unplug one and
should arm yourself with a floor plan and walk away with it if its not bolted to the
perform a site survey of the area you in- wall. You might even consider installing
tend to cover, keeping in mind that each the AP in a dropped ceiling so it is ob-
AP will need a connection to the wired scured from sight; just make sure the de-
network and power. Many manufacturers vice and the cabling is plenum-rated,
of business-class APs now provide Power meaning it is not a fire hazard.
over Ethernet (PoE), which uses an extra Your site survey should also include an
pair of wire within Category 5 (or better) analysis of the airwaves. Using your note-
Ethernet cable to send power to an AP. book and a shareware program like Net-
This can save you the cost of installing work Stumbler (www.netstumbler.com) or
electric circuits or outlets. a commercial product such as Wild-
The physical security of the AP must Packets AiroPeek (www.wildpackets.com)
PERFORMANCE TESTS
Access Point Performance
In the PC Magazine Wireless Testing Lab we measured the through-
put of all the wireless products we reviewed on pages 74 and 86.
During testing we placed a laptop PC on a turntable 30 inches in di-
ameter, spinning at a rate of approximately 20 rpm, while measuring
the throughput of each AP/PC Card (or AP/embedded wireless note-
book) combination using NetIQs Chariot (www.netiq.com), a soft-
ware tool that evaluates the performance of networked applications and devices. We
put the turntable on a cart, which we placed first at 1 foot, then at 60 feet, 120 feet, and
finally 160 feet from the AP we were testing. Each product was tested at least twice to
ensure the reliability of our results.
THE TESTS
We attached each wireless client card to a Dell Inspiron 600M, a notebook running
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition and using the cards latest available native
driver. Our stationary endpoint was a Dell Dimension 4100 running Windows 2000. For
each AP we left all fine-tunable settings at the manufacturers defaults, and we config-
ured an open network with automatic fallback for the wireless connection rate. We ran
our tests in two modes. First was g-only mode, which offered maximum throughput
for g clients by excluding any nearby b clients from the network. We then ran the
tests in mixed mode, in which b and g clients coexisted on the network and traffic
was sent to both types of clients. For the mixed-mode tests, we added a stationary Gate-
way 450X laptop with an 802.11b Cisco Aironet 350 Series PCMCIA card.
THE RESULTS
We had high hopes for two new g technologies: Intersils Prism Nitro and Broad-
coms Xpress. The former claims a 3X improvement in throughput when operating in
mixed mode, the latter a 6X improvement. Developed and trademarked by the chipset
manufacturers, these technologies utilize frame bursting or packet bursting and were
included in several of the products we tested, including the Buffalo, D-Link, and SMC
devices. We observed at best only a doubling of g client throughput (as compared
with previous testing published in our June 30 issue) during mixed-mode testing. Stay
tuned to PCMag.com for further testing of these technologies.
As we expected, all the 802.11g contenders achieved the best results while in g-
only mode. The Buffalo AirStation WBR-G54 showed a dramatic throughput
improvement since we covered it in our June story. It outperformed all the other prod-
ucts at the 1-foot and 60-foot mark. The 3Com OfficeConnect Wireless 11g outper-
formed the Proxim Orinoco AP-600 at most distances in g mode and at short ranges
 UNWIRE YOUR OFFICE

or AirMagnet (www.airmagnet.com), de- the same channel; make sure to change you are planning for capacity, you will
termine whether existing wireless net- the defaults to use all the channels avail- need more APs than the bare minimum
works might interfere with your plans. able. If theyre all on the same channel, required for connectivity.
As you discover other networks, make their signals may overlap and create dead Each AP will cover a circular area un-
note of their locations, as well as the chan- zones, canceling out connections. less you are adding directional antennas
nels on which they operate. This will help to concentrate the focus in one direction.
you design whats called a channel plan, HIGH-CAPACITY ISSUES Walls, furniture, cubicles, and other ob-
basically a map overlaid with the channels As you plan the locations for your APs, stacles absorb radio energy and will dis-
you intend to use on your APs. This is less ask yourself the following: Are you de- tort that circular pattern somewhat.
of a concern with multichanneled 802.11a signing your wireless network to cover an Also, its important to understand that
networks than with 802.11b/g-only net- area for a few users at any given time, or signal strength varies with the inverse
works, which provide only three nonover- are you planning for capacity usage, square of the distance. For example, in an
lapping channels. meaning that APs will be carrying a sub- open field, the signal strength at 80 feet
By default, most APs ship configured to stantial amount of traffic all the time? If would be 1/4 the signal strength at 40 feet.
As the signal gets weaker, the data rate
drops, so while 802.11g clients located
near an AP might connect with a data rate
of 15 to 20 Mbps, clients at the edge of
Wireless Access Point Performance coverage might drop to 1 to 2 Mbps. A
High scores are best. connection alone isnt enough; the signal
Bold type denotes rst place. Distance to access point (feet)
Average throughput (Mbps) 1 60 120 160
must be strong enough to transfer data
HOME AND SMALL-OFFICE WIRELESS LANs adequately for all the connected users.
802.11g ACCESS POINTS The signal each AP radiates will pro-
g-only mode with native g client vide limited coverage to the floors above
Belkin F5D7230-4 20.2 12.8 2.3 0 and below you, though ceilings and floors
Buffalo AirStation WBR-G54 21.1 15.8 1.2 0 will weaken the signalsespecially if
D-Link Air Plus Xtreme G DI-624 16.0 10.2 0 0 theyre made of dense materials like con-
Linksys Wireless-G WRT54G 21.0 15.5 1.3 0
crete. Still, the signal may be strong
Netgear FWAG114 19.8 15.7 4.7 1.6
enough to provide adequate coverage.
Netgear WG602 15.3 13.7 0 0
Wireless networks, unlike modern
SMC Barricade g SMC2804WBR 20.0 13.6 2.8 0.5
Mixed mode with active b client on the network: g client results
switched wired networks, are shared
Belkin F5D7230-4 4.3 2.8 1.2 0 media. As a rule of thumb, you generally
Buffalo AirStation WBR-G54 5.7 2.9 0.7 0 dont want more than about 25 clients to
D-Link Air Plus Xtreme G DI-624 4.6 3.1 0 0 associate with each AP. So in a densely
Linksys Wireless-G WRT54G 6.9 7.4 1.4 0 populated cube farm, youd probably
Netgear FWAG114 4.5 3.7 1.8 0.8 want to deploy several APs on nonover-
Netgear WG602 4.8 2.8 1.2 0 lapping channels. If you have to use the
SMC Barricade g SMC2804WBR 4.5 3.3 1.8 0
same channel on more than one AP in a
802.11b ACCESS POINTS
given area, make sure the APs are far
D-Link Air Plus Enhanced DI-614+ 5.8 6.4 3.7 1.5
enough apart that their signals dont
Linksys WAP11 4.9 4.7 2.1 0
Netgear ME102 4.5 4.2 1.8 0.4
cross, or you can reduce their transmit-
ZyXEL ZyAIR B-2000 4.6 4.5 2.0 0 ting power. Though this lowers their per-
CORPORATE WIRELESS LANs formance, it also reduces their coverage
802.11g ACCESS POINTS area and the risk of interference.
g-only mode with native g client
Proxim Orinoco AP-600 16.3 14.3 1.8 0 A CORPORATE SECURITY PLAN
3Com OfceConnect Wireless 11g 19.9 14.5 1.8 0.4 Many wireless administrators deploy
Mixed mode with active b client on the network: g client results
their APs toward the center of their of-
Proxim Orinoco AP-600 4.0 3.4 2.3 0.2
fices to avoid signal leakage outside their
3Com OfceConnect Wireless 11g 9.0 6.1 0.9 0
buildings. While this strategy may be a
802.11b ACCESS POINT
SonicWall SOHO TZW 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0
component of a security plan, its far
A zero indicates that no data was transmitted at this range. more important to have a security policy
that includes authentication and strong
in mixed mode. The SonicWall SOHO TZW proved a strong performer for a b-only encryption and the specific mechanisms
device, especially one with the added processing burden of an SPI firewall. We should to be used. The policy could be as simple
note that the SonicWall client card can run at 200 milliwatts and could quickly drain as not allowing on the network any de-
a typical laptop battery (other business-class client cards run at 100 milliwatts or vices other than those approved and sup-
less).Analysis written by Oliver Kaven plied by corporate IT. But you need to be
able to enforce your policies either with

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 85

 UNWIRE YOUR OFFICE

Corporate Access Points port access control of your switches or by

using one of the commercially available
wireless security suites.
Here are three business-class access points, all of which we tested at the
PC Magazine Wireless Testing Lab. For details on our testing procedure, see page 84. CHOOSING THE EQUIPMENT
The Proxim Orinoco AP-600 and 3Com OfficeConnect Wireless 11g are the first two Once youve mapped out your site survey
business-class access points with 802.11g standardcompliant cards on-board. Son- and written your security plan, its time to
icWalls new 802.11b access point is designed for small to midsize offices. make some purchasing decisionsfor ex-
ample, whether you want to buy corpo-
8 0 2 . 1 1 G rate-class APs or APs more targeted to the
home or small-office market. The latter
Proxim Orinoco AP-600 (802.11g) are initially attractive because of their low
prices. Typically, an 802.11g home or
$495 list. 800-229-1630, www.proxim.com. lllmm
small-office access point has a street price
Though its stylish new case is attractive, the Proxim Orinoco AP-600 is not between $130 and $200, and a dual-band
very easy to open (even after reviewing the documentation), and this is
necessary to connect the device. We were also unhappy to see that the 802.11a/g product is about $300. While
card is no longer removable, as in past Orinoco models. Still, the Orinoco these options may be a cost-effective
AP-600 provides extensive monitoring capabilities and enterprise features, solution for deploying a limited number
such as RADIUS access control, protocol filtering, and VLAN capabilities. of APs, they lack features a network ad-
These attributes make the unit a compelling business choice.
ministrator might want or need.
Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) Corporate-class APs, such as the Cisco
1 foot: 19.9 AP 1200 series, Proxim Orinoco AP-2000,
60 feet: 14.5 and 3Com 8700 Access Point, offer cen-
120 feet: 1.8
160 feet: 0.4
tralized management, single- and dual-
band options, PoE, and MAC authentica-
tion. In addition, such APs often offer
8 0 2 . 1 1 G multiple security modes. For example, the
Orinoco AP-2000 supports both WEP and
WPA simultaneously. This makes it easier
3Com OfficeConnect Wireless 11g on your users if in the future you are up-
$135 list. 800-638-3266, www.3com.com. llllm grading their client cards from WEP to
This 3Com product is a no-frills dual-antenna AP. Packaged in WPA or to 802.11i, because you can up-
a metal box, the g access point is WPA-enabled and can save its grade them individually over time rather
configuration profile, which can later be used to configure client
adapters. The unit includes an application that discovers 3Com APs
than disrupting everyone at once.
on the network and gives access to basic configuration options. Keep in mind that some relatively old
wireless products will not support up-
Performance: 802.11g mode (Mbps) grades to WPA compatibility. Using a mix
1 foot: 16.3
of technologiesfor instance, running
60 feet: 14.3
120 feet: 1.8 your older 802.11b APs in the same envi-
160 feet: 0 ronment with newer, backward-compati-
ble 802.11g productscan at least give you
the flexibility to provide WEP for legacy
8 0 2 . 1 1 B products pending a hardware upgrade.

SonicWall SOHO TZW (802.11b) PLANNING IS THE KEY

Building a wireless network is a multi-
$900 direct. 888-557-6642, www.sonicwall.com. llllm
faceted undertaking, requiring a full
The SonicWall SOHO TZW, with a built-in SPI firewall, is a complete security appliance for understanding of your office layout, your
networks, wired or wireless. Though this router is 802.11b, not 802.11g, its still a robust
employees needs, and your companys
system for the small- to midsize-office administrator.
The TZW offers more security and manageability than many other b products. plans for the future. Take a thorough ac-
It protects your corporate network by putting your wireless clients in a separate VLAN. count of these three factors before buying
Wireless clients can access the LAN by using a VPN client and, at the administrators any equipment. Make sure the network
discretion, may be granted access to the Internet. makes sense for your current environ-
ment but is also scalable, so that if your
Performance: 802.11b mode (Mbps)
1 foot: 3.1
business expands, the wireless network is
60 feet: 3.1 ready. Finally, be sure to make manage-
120 feet: 3.1 ment and security issues top priority. For
160 feet: 3.0 more on enterprise products, see page 82.
For more on security, turn the page.

86 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

MAKING SENSE OF WIRELESS LAN SECURITY UNWIRE YOUR OFFICE

B E C A U S E wireless networks use radio sig-
nals, all thats needed to snoop on an unprotected system
is a wirelessly enabled notebook or PDA and some free,
downloadable software. Thats why any wireless network
whether for Mom and Dad at home or for an enterprise
with thousands of employeesneeds to take wireless
security seriously. Surprisingly, many do not. Of 500 firms
recently polled by Jupiter Research, less than half have
implemented security solutions for their wireless networks.
In 1997 the IEEE adopted WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy),
which is based on encryption, as a means for ensuring
wireless security. We still recommend that home or small-
office users enable WEP, especially if its the only security
available to them (some older hardware cannot support the
newest technology). WEP protects your network the way a
locked front door protects your home: It keeps most people
honest, and most hackers will look for easier prey.
Even so, in early 2001 several groups of researchers
revealed WEPs weaknesses, and subsequently a number of
readily available utilities were developed to crack WEP.
Fortunately, the IEEE has the 802.11i task group working on a
standard dedicated to providing rock-solid security, though
ratification of this standard is not expected until the first or
second quarter of 2004. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi Alliance
adopted an interim standard for wireless security called
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) in the fall of 2002 and began
interoperability testing on it in April 2003. Currently, the
chipsets that all major manufacturers use include WPA
capabilities, and now all products submitted for Wi-Fi certifi-
cation must also pass WPA interoperability tests.
WPA is a subset of the forthcoming 802.11i standard
and should be compatible with the final version. It was
designed so that existing hardware can be upgraded with
firmware and drivers if the manufacturers release them.
Only the newest of the products weve seen at PC Maga-
zine Labs have WPA capabilities, but that will change
rapidly as WPA becomes mandatory for certification.
WPA is designed to address all the weaknesses of WEP.
WPA uses TKIP for encryption and another IEEE security
standard, 802.1x, for authentication and key distribution,
and Message Integrity Check (MIC) protects against for-
geries and replay attacks.
WPA supports two modes of operation. Preshared key
mode is appropriate for small offices and homes that dont
have existing authentication infrastructures. A shared
secret is configured in the access point as well as the
client (see the Solutions tutorial on page 48 for details).
To deploy WPA in enterprise mode, you must select and
deploy RADIUS-based authentication servers, then select
an EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) type as well
as 802.1x supplicants (clients) for the wireless stations.
Although this sounds like a lot of work, the effort is not
wasted, as the authentication and key distribution infra-
structure should then mesh seamlessly with the forth-
coming 802.11i standard. For more information on WPA,
visit the Wi-Fi Alliances Web site: www.wi-fi.org. And for
more on how to turn on WEP, see page 66. For more on
wireless security, see www.extremetech\wireless.CE

TIPS TO ACHIEVING IRONCLAD WIRELESS LAN SECURITY

Change the default SSID (network
name) on your router/AP. The default
SSIDs of commonly available hardware
are well known to hackers. Your SSID
should not contain information that would
give away your company name or location.
If your router/AP supports it, con-
sider disabling the SSID broadcast.
This will prevent the casual war driver
from detecting your network.
Change the administrators pass-
word on your router/AP. Hackers
know the default pass-
words for all of the
major brands of hard-
ware and with your
password could recon-
figure your router/AP.
Turn on the highest
level of security your
hardware supports. Even
if you have older equipment
that supports only WEP, be sure
to enable it. Despite its bad
rap as an ineffective solution,
simply having it running will
turn most hackers away.
Check your hardware manu-
facturers Web site for
firmware upgrades. Most are providing
updates that include WPA support.
Consider implementing media-access
control (MAC). This lets you specify
which wireless PC cards can access the
network; all others are excluded.
If your router/AP supports SNMP,
change the community names to
nonobvious choices. This will prevent
hackers from managing your device
using standard community names and
SNMP management software.
Carefully consider the placement of
each router/AP. If you dont need
wireless access outside your building,
place your APs toward the center of your
home or office to minimize how much
signal radiates outside.
Perform your own security audit.
Using Windows 2000 or XP, or
software such as Network Stumbler
(www.netstumbler.com) on your note-
book or PDA, walk around the perimeter
of your building and find out what a
would-be hacker might see.
If you have a limited number of
wireless clients, consider providing
them with static IP addresses, and then
disable DHCP on your router. This will
make it more difficult for a hacker to
learn about your network.
In an enterprise, consider placing
your wireless LAN in a separate VLAN,
and have your wireless clients tunnel into
your network using VPN software. This is
an especially good idea if your hardware
doesnt support WPA and cannot be
upgraded to it. VPNs provide secure,
industry-standard Layer 3 encryption.
Small to midsize office products such as
the Netgear FVM318 or SonicWall SOHO
TZW, for example, let you isolate your
wireless LAN from your wired LAN and
use VPN technology for secure connec-
tions between the two network seg-
ments. (These two products currently
support only 802.11b.)
When using public hot spots, be
aware that they are insecure. All of
the network traffic between your note-
book or PDA and a hot spots AP will be
unencrypted, as virtually no hot spot
provider enables security.
If you have VPN software, consider
using it. That way, all of your net-
work traffic at the hot spot will be en-
crypted from your notebook to your VPN
endpoint.
Turn off file and print sharing on your
computer. Most hot-spot access
points do not prevent client-to-client
traffic, so the person sitting across from
you in the coffeehouse could be looking
at your shared directories on his note-
book.CE E

88 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

Unwiring at School
FOR STUDENTS
By Jim Akin
Before enrolling at MIT last fall,
Chris Walsh of Saratoga Springs, New
York, considered the wireless-networking
card installed in his HP laptop a matter
of conveniencea means of checking
e-mail from the living room sofa or surf-
ing the Web from a neighborhood caf.
But after Walsh finished a year at MIT
where wireless networks are available
across campus and in many area busi-
nesseshis concept of unwired connec-
tivity changed from novelty to necessity.
The neuroscience major recalls one
pioneering professor who used a wireless
laptop connection to present and share
streaming-video film clips with a class.
But he adds that even faculty members
who are far from the cutting edge rou-
tinely distribute course materialsfrom
lecture notes to homework assign-
mentsexclusively in digital form.
Its not just for class, either. Wireless
networking has woven its way into all
corners of MITs campus existence, so
much so that wireless Internet access has
become the main tool for that most
essential campus activity: ordering late-
night food for an all-night study session.
Walsh can scarcely remember the last
time he tapped into a wired network. I
dont even know where the dongle is that
would let me plug my laptop into an
Ethernet port, he says.
Students all over the U.S. are waking
up to the realization that wireless on
campus is the way to go. If you have an
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
old-fashioned notebook without a wire-
less connection, youll quickly envy your
fellow classmates wireless notebooks as
they surf the Internet from the quad, IM
friends from the common area, and even
e-mail mom from class to tell her about
the high test grade they just earned.
According to Gartner DataQuests
campus computer survey, last year 70
percent of U.S. college campuses had
some local area wireless network cover-
age, while 10 percent had full campus
coverage. Therefore, theres a good
chance that at least part of your school is
unwired, even if its only the library or the
science center. Just one building is reason
enough to go wireless. And chances are,
more are on the way.
If youve already jumped on the porta-
bility wagon and traded in the boring
beige desktop PC you had in high school
for a notebook, youre ahead of the game
91
whether or not your notebook has built-in
wireless capability. Even if it doesnt, as
long as your system has a PC Card slot, you
can buy a wireless card for as low as $50
and slide it right in.
WHAT NOTEBOOK TO BUY
If you dont have a notebook and are con-
sidering buying one, the options are plen-
tiful. But if wireless connectivity is at the
top of your list, system weight and bat-
tery life should be as well; the key is to be
mobile, after all.
Though most college campuses use
802.11b technology for their wireless net-
works, we recommend that you buy a note-
book with built-in 802.11g connectivity.
These may be a little more expensive than
b notebooks, but they are backward-
compatible with b networks, and they
wont become outdated if your campus
ever decides to upgrade to a g network.
Remember that youll be carrying your
notebook from dorm room to library to
class auditorium, so make sure you dont
IN 2001, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
DAKOTA REQUIRED PALM HAND-
HELDS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS.
pick a 10-pounder that will make your
campus walks seem like cross-country
treks. Thin is in, and for a good reason.
Maintaining power is as important as
maintaining a wireless signal, so make
sure the notebook you choose has
enough battery life to get you through a
solid morning of classes. Three hours is
good; 5 hours is better. (For more tips on
buying notebooks for school, see Back to
School, August 19, page 90.)
CAMPUS REQUIREMENTS
Before you buy anything, check your
schools Web site. There you should find
guidelines for everything you need to ac-
cess the schools wireless network: not
just which wireless solution (802.11a, b,
or g) your school is using but also any
hardware requirements and a list of op-
erating systems that are supported.
Even in rare Mac-only networks, new
Windows notebooks (and PDAs) are like-
ly to be compatible with the WLAN. But
older deviceseven those successfully
running wireless cardsmay require OS
92 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
upgrades to meet network authentication
or encryption standards. Security is a big
concern for campuses, as it is for any
wireless network.
Also, while perusing the campus Web
site, you ought to hunt down the wireless
troubleshooting FAQ and print it, because
according to Murphys Law, when you
really need the FAQ, you probably wont
be able to access it. Take note of any
phone numbers and e-mail addresses you
can use to request help with wireless
access. Dont expect round-the-clock
availability or house calls, but the campus
IT team should provide basic support.
DONT BE A BANDWIDTH HOG
Okay, now that you have the right hard-
ware and the recommended software,
theres still one more thing you need to
do: Read the rules. In general, excessive
use of wireless bandwidth reduces per-
formance for all users, so schools may
have rules against band-
width-hogging behavior.
Many policies specify the applications
and activities permitted on the wireless
network, such as which behaviors consti-
tute abuse and what sanctions apply to
those who violate the rules. Before you
download that video or shoot your
PowerPoint presentation to your profes-
sor, you might want to check the rules
and choose to plug in instead. Wired
Ethernet is fast, found in most dorm
rooms, and wont get you into trouble.
Similarly, if your course load involves
digital video or 3-D modeling or visual-
ization, you should opt to plug into the
campus network in your classroom or
lab. And though wireless access in a dorm
is appealing, given a choice, you may
want to select a room with a wired con-
nection. Of course, thats only if you cant
get a room with both.
PHOTOGRAPH BY THOM OCONNOR
WHATS THE FREQUENCY?
Since the radio-frequency ranges used for
wireless networking are unlicensed, they
are available for use by other devices
some of which may interfere with network

transmission. This is particularly true of
802.11b and 802.11g equipment, which
operates in the 2.4-GHz frequency range
along with Bluetooth-enabled hardware
such as printers, keyboards, cell phones,
and headsetsas well as standard cordless
phones and microwave ovens. If you have
such devices, check whether their use is
allowed on campus. If you dont have
them, check anyway, in case your neigh-
bors do. If such devices cause interference,
DEPLOYING WIRELESS ON CAMPUS
Colleges and universities are em-
bracing wireless-networking technology
with an enthusiasm that gives new mean-
ing to the term academic freedom. In
fact, says Charles Bartel, director of net-
work services at Carnegie Mellon Uni-
versity, wireless connectivity offers so
many benefits for students and faculty
alike that its adoption on every campus is
only a matter of time.
Bartel has overseen the Carnegie Mel-
lon Wireless Andrew network from its
1994 launch (using pre-802.11 technology)
through its current incarnation, which
covers 4 million square feet of floor and
ground space and serves 1,700 users from
nearly 700 802.11b access points.
As one of the most seasoned wireless-
campus veterans, Bartel often speaks
about wireless networking to fellow edu-
cational-IT managers. When colleagues
admit that installing a wireless network
seems daunting, he tells them: Its going
to be deployed on your campus one way
or another. Its up to you whether you de-
ploy it yourself or someone else comes in
and does it for you, then tells you how
you should support it.
Bartel recommends that campus IT
teams take control of their wireless des-
tiny. He suggests they start by enrolling
anyone wholl be maintaining the network
in a wireless-network design classeither
in their own school or in a wireless-design
certification program offered by a vendor
or professional organization.
The obvious advantage is strength in
numbers: Multiple designers can mean
faster planning and deployment. Per-
haps more important, design training
speeds the mental shift required to
move between the tangible, linear world
of wired LANs and the ethereal, 3-D
realm of the unwired. When youre
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
U N W I R I N G AT S C H O O L
youll want to be sure that the school is
prepared to regulate their use.
Campus wireless networks have
changed the way students study, receive
assignments, take notes in class, and
message friends. Chris Walsh can tell
you that once youve experienced the
liberation of free, unfettered roaming,
its tough to plug back in. If your campus
allows you to, get your wireless on and
make the most of it.
troubleshooting a wireless network, its
invaluable to understand design issues
such as optimal access point placement
and the interaction of signals with one
another, with physical objects, and with
potential sources of interference.
A working knowledge of wireless-
network design is all that most campus IT
teams need to get started on deployment,
Bartel says. But he offers the following
gems of practical wisdom, gleaned over a
decade of experience.
CHOOSE THE BEST TECHNOLOGY
If youre starting a wireless deployment
from scratch today, consider combining
802.11a and 802.11g access points (APs).
Support for 12 nonoverlapping channels
lets you group 802.11a APs in locations
with heavy user concentrations, such as
large lecture halls, where their short signal
range isnt a hindrance. And with the next
generation of 802.11a/g notebooks and PC
Cards, this is what we recommend.
Like gear based on the extremely pop-
ular 802.11b standard, new 802.11g hard-
ware complements 802.11a equipment,
providing lower capacity (just three non-
overlapping channels) but far greater
range. On campuses where no wireless
network yet exists and an 802.11g-only
policy can be adopted, higher throughput
speed makes 802.11g the right choice for
broad-coverage areas such as outdoor
spaces and study lounges.
Where 802.11b networks are already in
place, rushing to upgrade could mean
paying extra for a speed benefit that
wont be felt for yearsor courting cam-
pus unrest by forcing hardware upgrades
on current users. The backward compat-
ibility of 802.11g with 802.11b hardware
comes at a cost: When a g access point
associates with a b device, it slows to
93
 U N W I R I N G AT S C H O O L

b speed for all connected users. On
campuses with large 802.11b user popu-
lations, therefore, adding on 802.11g
equipment would offer no immediate
speed advantage.
Campuses with existing 802.11b net-
works should start evaluating 802.11g or
dual-mode 802.11a/g products for use in
future expansions but, if possible, hold off
making big purchases until the products
are more widely available and affordable.
When its time to take the g plunge,
make sure that all the equipment com-
plies with the final 802.11g specification
and that you have the option of disabling
its default backward compatibility with
802.11b hardware, allowing you to switch
to 802.11g-only. Appropriate business-
class access points from Cisco, Proxim,
Symbol, and 3Com, for example, may be
better suited for certain campus environ-
ments because they offer higher-level
management functions, as well as sup-
port for such features as automated AP
handoffs for roaming users. The cost of
this class of APs ranges from $800 to
$1,400 each. Also keep in mind that some
enterprise-class APs have two on-board
PCMCIA or PCI cards and allow you to re-
place them. For instance, if you bought a
More than 90%
OF ALL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
RUN SOME SORT OF
WIRELESS NETWORK, AND
Drexel University in Philadelphia was the first university to require
students to use microcomputers in 1983, and in 2000,
the first major university to
it was
complete a fully wireless campus
network indoors and out. Drexel installed
some 300 antennas across its three primary campuses.
costs include running AC power to each radio spectra required for wireless net-
AP and vary depending on factors like working. Make it clear that the IT depart-
existing electrical capacity and wiring, ment controls those spectra on campus
building design, and campus topography. and can ban any devices that disrupt
Recent campus installations have es- them. Effective policies may forbid some
timated total installation costs ranging devices altogether, such as personal dorm
from $4,500 to $9,000 per access point. room APs, and allow for case-by-case bar-
This excludes special-purpose equip- ring of other devices such as microwave
ment, such as intelligent wireless switch- ovens and 2.4-GHz cordless phones.
ing gear and access points capable of ad- Make a social contract. Develop a usage
justing broadcast range and direction to policy for the campus network that em-
enable secure narrowcasting to high- phasizes the need for everyone to share its
priority users. Though theyre not used limited bandwidth. As appropriate for
much yet on campuses, these options your institution and user base, the policy
may be appropriate for research in situa- can spell out monthly limits on wireless
tions where security is paramount. bandwidth usage and identify activities or
applications that shouldnt be run over
TAKE FULL MEASURE wireless connections (games, FTP, peer-
Because campus buildings typically date to-peer file sharing, and the like). Also, set
from different eras, vary widely in con- up automatic e-mail warnings and lock-
struction techniques and materials, and outs for offenders, but encourage users to
often feature additions or retrofits added
decades after the original construction,
police themselves and each other to pre-
vent bogging down the network.
predicting wireless signal propagation Complement the wired network. Its
within their walls is very tricky. The only easy to justify wireless installations by
way to be absolutely sure of the coverage comparing their deployment costs to that
youll get from a given AP placement is to of running Ethernet cable, but beware of

more than 10% measure signal strength in the space itself.

This time-intensive but necessary chore
OF THOSE PROVIDE CAMPUS- shouldnt be left for the summer lull, ei-
ther: Human occupants also affect a build-
WIDE PUBLIC ACCESS,
ings signal transmission, so take measure-
NOT JUST IN A LIBRARY OR ments when the buildings are in use.
STUDENT CENTER. As you design and maintain a wireless
SOURCE: CAMPUS COMPUTING PROJECT LAN, a visual representation of access
points and the spaces they cover is invalu-
dual-mode product with a and b able. Specialized visualization tools are
cards on-board, you could eventually re- available for this purpose, but layered CAD
place the b card with a g. drawings will do the job as well. If you fill
in each APs coverage area with its own
BUDGET WISELY color and use hatching patterns to desig-
letting campus decision-makers think of
wireless as a replacement for wired. To
ensure flexibility and room to grow, new
buildings should have Ethernet in their
walls, even if theyre also equipped with
wireless access points.
Use application-level security. Its
never wrong to use network-level secur-
ity methods such as Kerberos authentica-
tion, WPA, WEP, or VPNs. But because all
networks, wired or wireless, are to some
extent vulnerable to attack, these meth-
ods shouldnt be the only safeguard on
sensitive or confidential data. Educate
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID H. WELLS/CORBIS

As with all IT infrastructures, focus on re-
liability and potential growth when plan-
ning the campus wireless network. That
may mean pulling the plug on class- or de-
partment-level networks that use basic,
consumer-oriented 802.11b access points,
bridges, and routers. Total installation
nate channel assignments, you can easily
spot dead zones and interference pockets.
OWN (AND DEFEND) THE SPECTRA
To avoid potential disruption of your
wireless network, establish a campuswide
policy governing use of the unlicensed
staff and faculty about necessities like ap-
plication-level encryption of e-mail and
file attachments and SSL for Web-based
forms and database access. And when
necessary, keep especially sensitive data
and applications inaccessible from the
wireless network altogether. E

94 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

Unwire Everywhere
By Carol Ellison
When wireless connectivity debuted
at Minneapolis-based Dunn Bros Coffee
in early 2002, it was more by chance than
by plan. The chain originally planned to
install wired, ad-subsidized Web termi-
nals. But the digital-media company hired
to do the job, SurfThing, wanted to avoid
laying cables in the quirkily laid out caf,
so it installed an 802.11b access point.
Dunn Bros wasnt eager to add wireless
access to its offerings, alongside its bever-
ages and pastries, at least until it had fig-
ured out a way of making the service pay,
says Greg Wallgren, CEO of SurfThing.
Regardless of what Dunn Bros thought,
this didnt stop savvy surfers from discov-
ering and using the access point, and an
underground hot spot was born.
SurfThing smartly began using 802.11b
technology for all of its Dunn Bros installa-
tions, and each new location in turn
became a stealth hot spot. By August 2002,
ten cafs were unofficial hot spots, and
Dunn Bros and SurfThing finally went
public with the secret, even though it
hadnt found a way to charge for its service.
Today, 20 Dunn Bros outlets offer wire-
less connectivity, and the company
expects most future franchises to be
hot spots. SurfThing has devised a
method of displaying ads in wireless
users browser windows, and Dunn Bros
has conceded that wireless can pay even
when not metered.
Its kind of snowballed to the point
where people seek us out, says Scott Kee,
director of purchasing at Dunn Bros.
Folks come in with their laptops and get
their e-mail, surf the Web, have their meet-
ings, and whatever. Usually they have a
cup of coffee, too. We appreciate that.
The wireless phenomenon isnt found
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
only at Dunn Bross coffee shops in the
Twin Cities. Today, people are down-
loading data during layovers in airports
and wirelessly connecting to the Internet
from the floors of convention centers.
Theyre instant-messaging friends from
shaded benches in city parks and access-
ing e-mail as they chomp on Big Macs at
McDonalds. These denizens of wireless
hot spots are mobile computer users who
are demanding and getting wireless
broadband Internet access in all the
places they frequentand even in many
they dont.
Hot spots are not ubiquitous, but theyre
chasing a trend that is becoming so. Pro-
jected sales data for 802.11 devices show
a burgeoning demand for wireless access.
Gartner/Dataquests digital-communica-
tions-research analysts estimate that
shipments of 802.11-based devices will
grow to 26.5 million by the end of 2003,
97
 CHOOSING A WI-FI PROVIDER

W I T H a wireless Internet service
provider (WISP), you can browse the Inter-
net from hundredsor, depending on the
provider, thousandsof locations, including
airports, hotels, coffeehouses, and restau-
rants. But choosing the right WISP can be
as much black art as science.
Providers and plans from familiar names like AT&T, as well as
from energetic upstarts like Boingo, have jumped into the WISP
game and are feeling their way through pricing and location
issues. Unlike cellular telephone service, wireless public access
service may not be available in all the locations you need, so
finding the right WISP often means finding the right mix of ser-
vice providers. One size does not always fit allyet.
WHERE TO BEGIN
If youre happy with your wired broadband service, thats a good
place to start looking into wireless. Many providers enhance their
wired plans with special wireless options that are usually cheaper
than contracting a third party; and sometimes the options are
even free. Verizon customers, for instance, enjoy free access at
any of the companys hundreds of wireless-enabled phone booths
in New York City. The access point is embedded in the phone
booth, so if youre near one, youre welcome to go wireless.
Another advantage is that the billing and usage model is al-
ready familiar to you. Your user name and password stay the
same, and your wireless charges typically show up on the same
statement as your wired broadband service. Most providers offer
online databases of affiliated hot spots, so you
can quickly see where service is available before you leave home.
SHOP AROUND
If youre not quite ready to commit to a wireless broadband
provider and want to shop around, the chart below can help you
identify which provider and plan is best for you. Your first priority
should be location: You need to make sure the provider offers
wireless access in places youll be most often.
Even so, regardless of which WISP you pick, expect some
hitches if you travel frequently. Providers are not in every market,
and their hot-spot databases dont include competitors locations.
A number of providers, however, have begun to offer roaming
agreements with other providers to expand their service into new
markets, so you can get the most coverage and receive just one
bill. Such roaming agreements let you move from one vendors
hot spot to anothers without having to reconfigure your note-
book or access code. If your provider does not offer roaming, you
can choose an independent aggregator such as Boingo, which
works with many providers to put together a single offering.
Even as the number of locations grows, chances are that at
some point, youll find yourself in a hot spot that your provider
doesnt cover. Most providers have anticipated this and will let
you buy an hour or a days worth of time on the spot. Its easy to
do: Open your notebook, punch in your credit card, and youre
ready to surf.CE

Wi-Fi Providers
Approximate num- Software
Provider name Available plans Major venues ber of locations Global Roaming requirement Security
AT&T GoPort 1 connect (24 hours), $9.99; Major airports, hotels 475 (continental U.S.) None y (T-Mobile or Web browser SSL
www.attws.com/ 5 connects (24 hours each), Wayport)
business/data/ $29.99; 10 connects, $49.99;
individual/goport/ unlimited usage, $69.99 a month

Boingo Wireless 2 days, $7.95; each additional day, Major airports, hotels, conven- 2,600 (international) 11 y (more Proprietary Built-in VPN
www.boingo.com $7.95; unlimited usage, $21.95 a tion centers; select cafes and countries than 40 software
month; after 1 year, $39.95 a month coffee shops agreements)
GRIC North America: 50 hours, $49.95; Major airports, hotels, conven- 1,700 (international) 14 y (300 GRIC SSL, managed
www.gric.com 100 hours, $59.95. Global coverage: tion centers countries agreements) MobileOffice firewall, en-
20 hours, $35 client crypted personal
credential privacy,
VPN enablement
service
iPass Cost per minute depends Major airports, hotels; select 1,900 (international) 14 y Proprietary VPN
www.ipass.com on location coffee shops countries (Stayonline, software
STSN,
Wayport)

STSN iBAHN 15 minutes, $2.95; each additional Select hotels (Hilton, Mariott) 381 (North America) 9 y (GRIC, Web browser Peer-to-peer
www.stsn.com minute, $0.25; monthly subscription countries iPass) sharing disabled;
available common-area
users segmented
from conference
area; firewalls;
VPN
T-Mobile HotSpot $0.10 a minute (1-hour minimum); AA Admirals Clubs; Delta 2,700 (continental 5 y (AT&T) Web browser SSL
www.t-mobile.com 24 continuous hours, $9.99; 5-hour Airlines Clubs; United Red U.S.) countries
/hotspot prepaid card, $50; unlimited usage, Carpet Clubs; Borders,
$39.99; annual subscription, Starbucks
$29.99 a month

Wayport 1 day (hotel connection), $9.95; Major airports, hotels; 75 650 (international) 9 y (AT&T, Web browser SSL
www.wayport.com airport connection; $6.95; 3 days, McDonalds in the San countries Boingo, GRIC,
$25; 8 days, $50; 20 days, $100; Francisco Bay Area iPass, MCI,
unlimited usage, $49.95 a month; SBC, Sprint,
annual subscription, $29.95 a month Verizon)
Please contact the above Wi-Fi providers for specific access, roaming partners, and cost information. As of our deadline, MCI, SBC, and Sprint had not yet disclosed their rollout plans.

up from 15.5 million in 2002, and that
shipments of client devices will top 50
million by 2006.
Hot spots are cropping up at a remark-
able rate to meet the connectivity
demands of users as they venture out
from their homes and offices. Forward
Concepts, a market research firm in
Tempe, Arizona, projects that the number
of hot spots will grow to 530,000 in the
U.S., nearly 800,000 in Europe, and more
than 1 million in Asia by 2007. By then,
hot spots in the U.S. alone will represent
an $8 billion industry.
GET EM WHILE THEYRE HOT
Airports and hotels that cater to business
travelers were among the first to unwire
Internet access. Recently businesses of all
sorts have joined the trend in hopes of
attracting new clientele, generating
incremental revenue, and drawing cus-
tomers away from the competition.
Seattle-based Starbucks was one of the
first retail chains to provide wireless con-
nectivity when it partnered with the now-
defunct MobileStar network in 2001 to put
hot spots in more than 2,000 Starbucks
locations and share the revenue with the
provider. The hot spots are still thriving,
even if MobileStar is not (T-Mobile ser-
vices these locations now).
Taking its cue from the success of Star-
bucks, this year McDonalds rolled out hot
spots in New York and California. McDon-
alds made the first 30 minutes online free
with the purchase of a Value Meal.
Even Verizon, the dominant telecom in
the Northeast, is getting into the act by
offering free wireless high-speed Internet
access to its DSL customers via some 1,000
New York City telephone booths it plans
to convert into hot spots. Each phone
booth will be enabled for DSL service and
embedded with an AP to broadcast a sig-
nal within a 300-foot radius. Verizon On-
line customers will be able to access the
Internet free using their IDs.
Many establishments are hoping to
make a buck from becoming a hot spot,
but not all of them. The ambition behind
<<
every hot spot is not always profit. There
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRYAN F. PETERSON/CORBIS
is a growing movement among commu-
It is precisely in places where no infrastructure exists that Wi-Fi can be particularly
effective, helping countries to leapfrog generations of telecommunications technol-
ogy and empower their people.KOFI A. ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL
UNWIRE EVERYWHERE
P R O V I D I N G wireless public access to coffee shops,
parks, and hotels is not the challenge it once was, as these hot spots pop
up worldwide. But what about other venues to compute fromlike trains,
planes, or ships? These specific venues pose special challenges, because at
some point, even the most unwired network needs to connect to the cable
providing the broadband service. But is that possible aboard a train hurtling
NEXT STOP: 30,000 FEET
down the rails, a ship crossing the high seas, or (gasp!) a jetliner at 30,000
feet, whizzing through the skies at 500 mph?
It is. On March 17, 2004, wireless public access will conquer its latest
geographical frontier: the skies. On that day, British Airways, Japan Airlines,
Lufthansa, and SAS will deploy hot spots in the air.
HOW IT WORKS
Inside the cabin, Boeing Connexion (developers of the technology) service is
similar to that of any other wireless LAN, with access points connected to a
server that is connected to a high-speed modem. But thats where the simi-
larities end. The modem on an airplane connects to a phased-array antenna
that is mounted externally atop a planes fuselage, setting up a two-way
connection with satellites positioned around the world. In turn, the satellites
pass along this traffic and receive signals from wired ground stations.
Boeing tested flights with 802.11b access, but the company plans to
offer 802.11a as well as 802.11g by the time of rollout, according to Stan
Deal, vice president of global network sales for Boeing Connexion. Boeing
has offered wired Internet access via jacks inside cabins for some time. But
wireless Ethernet access is much easier to deploy in planes because wire
does not have to be pulled through the planes, Deal says.
LAND AND SEA
Satellites arent servicing only planes; theyre also delivering wireless
service to trains and cruise ships. This summer, VIA Rail Canada launched
a pilot project with Bell Canada, Intel, and PointShot Wireless to provide
public wireless access via satellite aboard trains traveling between
Montreal and Toronto.
At sea, cruise ships have begun offering hot spots using the existing
satellite technology of the Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN),
which traditionally provides ship-to-shore voice and data communications.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) launched Internet service
with Internet cafs aboard its ships in 1999. In 2002,
NCL began offering 24-hour Wi-Fi access. Access costs
$10 per day or varying rates per minute.
The idea quickly caught on. MTN unwired NCLs entire
fleet, as well as that of Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland
America. Wireless access is becoming omnipotent as it
covers the globe. Now, how about outer space?CE
nity organizations to make wireless are affiliates of
access free in their areas. Such organiza- the global organization FreeNet-
>>
tions, which include NYCWireless in New works.Org. Members help out other hot-
York and Bay Area Wireless in California, spot operators and maintain lists and
maps identifying free hot-spot locations.
WARMING UP TO HOT SPOTS
At the most basic level, hot spots are not
that different from other established
(Continued on page 102)
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 99
QUICKEST WAY TO A HOT SPOT
H O T S P O T S are rapidly sprouting up all
over the United States. But how do you find one near you?
Many hot spot lists are on the Internet, but they dont all
rate the same. Some Web sites have extensive lists but
arent easily searchable; others focus solely on free hot
spots, and still others cover only major cities. Many sites
depend on user contributions for their information, so
theyre not always up to date or accurate. Your best bet
when searching for a hot spotespecially in a remote
areais to check one list against another. And remember,
if youre already signed up with a wireless provider, go to
its site first, where you can find a proprietary list of all the
hot spots supported. Below are seven popular hot spot
lists. Happy hunting.
CISCO HOTSPOT LOCATOR
The Cisco Hotspot Locator, found on the companys Web
site, is vendor-agnostic and one of our favorites. Designed
for business travelers, it includes wired as well as wireless
locations. But we found no parks, town halls, or other
community sites in this list. Useful tools are the hallmark
here. The locator lets you search within a 5-, 10-, 25-, or
100-mile radius of your location to pinpoint the hot spot
closest to you. It also generates an itinerary of the spots
you want to visit and e-mails the itinerary to you or to
others. (Cisco Systems Inc., www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/
cimo/Home. llllm )
GAWD
Global Access Wireless Database (GAWD) is a collection
of hot spots that includes GPS satellite coordinates. The
international list, compiled by users, contains 564 sites
and has one of the best search options among the sites
reviewed here. You can search by GPS position, ZIP code,
address, or provider and specify whether you want to see
only sites that are publicly available.
GAWD encourages community net-
work listings, but some may be war
driver discoveries of private net-
works left open unintentionally.
Because the site has not made it
easy to tell such sites apart from
public listings, we lowered its rating.
The site includes this disclaimer: If
you use GAWD to do anything illegal
it is a) not our fault and b) entirely
your problem. Use with caution. (The
Shmoo Group, www.shmoo.com/
gawd. llmmm )
GEEKTOOLS
Started as an internal list of hotel
sites for CenterGate Research Com-
pany in Arizona, Geektools went
public after receiving so many
requests. Along with a link to a hotels
home page and real-world address, it
features mini-reviews of the wireless coverage (and some
comments on the hotel itself), done from an IT persons
perspective. Its database has some international coverage
but overall is very limited. Unless youre specifically looking
for the coverage quality in a given hotel, check out one of
the other lists here. (Centergate Research Group LLC,
www.geektools.com/
geektels. lmmmm )
HOTSPOTLIST.COM
Jupitermedias HotSpotList.com was developed from user
contributions. HotSpotList.com may be the most compre-
hensive list youll find online, though its still short on infor-
mation. For example, it doesnt tell you which hot spots are
free. Also, you can search only by city or state, which is fine
if youre headed to a major metropolitan area that happens
to be listed. But this is not so fine if your destination is a
small town; then youre stuck perusing a list for the entire
statealphabetical by establishment, not by town name.
So if Armonk, New York, has a hot spot (and as the home of
IBM, youd expect it to), its almost impossible to find in the
list of more than 200 for the whole state of New York. Great
information, but not great organization. (Jupitermedia Corp.,
www.hotspotlist.com. lllmm )
INTEL HOTSPOT FINDER
Intel Hotspot Finder is an international list of sites that have
been verified to work with the Intel Centrino mobile tech-
nology, though if your wireless system is not Centrino-
based, it should still work in those sites. Because of its
Centrino-centric focus, the list is fairly limited. And youll
find few free public hot spots on it. (Intel Corp., www
.intel.com/products/mobiletechnology/hot spots/
finder.htm. llmmm )
WIFINDER
A private company in California, WiFinder claims to be the
largest independent resource of networks, locations, and
vendor solutions for public access Internet. Its search
engine insists you follow its syntax. A search on New York
City, for instance, turned up only three finds, but more than
140 popped up when we dropped the word City. Its list is
not as comprehensive as some of the others, but this is one
of the rare finders that searches by ZIP code to pinpoint the
hot spots nearest you; and it includes free sites. (WiFinder
Inc., www.wifinder.com. llllm )
WI-FI ZONE FINDER
Wi-Fi Zone Finder is an international database of hot spots
that have been certified under the Wi-Fi Alliances stan-
dards for Wi-Fi service. Its database is not as extensive as
PHOTOGRAPH BY R.W. JONES/CORBIS
some others listed here, but it is growing daily and, thanks
to WFAs certification standards, is highly functional. The
directorys search feature lets you identify the type of hot
spot youre looking for, including free community net-
works. (Wi-Fi Alliance, www.wi-fizone.org/zonelocator
.asp. lllmm )CE
 UNWIRE EVERYWHERE

Seattle Minneapolis
Newark
Chicago
Detroit
Cleveland Boston

New York City

Philadelphia

San Denver
Francisco
Baltimore

Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles Atlanta

Dallas Raleigh-Durham

San Diego Jacksonville

Austin

Houston
Miami

Airport Hot Spots

City Airport Services available Community sites of interest
Atlanta Hartsfield Atlanta International Airpath, GBIA, T-Mobile; Boingo pending www.atlantafreenet.org
Austin Austin-Bergstrom International AT&T, Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport www.austinwireless.net
Baltimore Baltimore-Washington International Airpath, GBIA, T-Mobile, WiSE Technologies
Boston Logan International Airpath, GBIA, T-Mobile; Boingo pending www.newburyopen.net
Cleveland Cleveland Hopkins International T-Mobile
Chicago Chicago Midway International, Midway: Airpath, GBIA; Boingo pending http://wireless.cu.groogroo.com
OHare International OHare: T-Mobile
Dallas Dallas-Ft. Worth, Dallas-Ft. Worth: Airpath, AT&T, Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport
Dallas Love Field Love Field: T-Mobile
Denver Denver International AT&T, T-Mobile www.wireless-revolution.net
Detroit Detroit Metro T-Mobile www.groups.yahoo.com/group/aawlan
Houston George Bush Intercontinental, George Bush: T-Mobile www.houstonwireless.net
Houston Hobby Hobby: Airpath, GBIA
Jacksonville Jacksonville International Airpath www.jaxwiz.org
Los Angeles Los Angeles International T-Mobile www.socalwug.org
Miami Miami International Airpath, AT&T, GBIA, T-Mobile www.doralwireless.net
Minneapolis Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airpath, T-Mobile, Wayport www.tcwug.org/index.html
New York John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, T-Mobile, Wayport www.nycwireless.net
Newark International
Philadelphia Philadelphia International Airpath; Boingo pending www.phillywireless.org
Raleigh-Durham Raleigh-Durham International T-Mobile
San Diego San Diego International T-Mobile www.sdwug.org
San Francisco San Francisco International T-Mobile www.sfwireless.net
Seattle Seattle-Tacoma International AT&T, Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport www.seattlewireless.net
Washington, D.C. Washington Dulles International T-Mobile; Boingo pending www.dcwireless.org
Please contact your airport or airline to verify its areas of wireless access.

Hotel Hot Spots Telephone Number of U.S.

Hotel chain number locations Type of service Where available Standard rate
Choice Hotels (including Clarion, Comfort Inn, Comfort 877-424-6423 26 hotels 802.11b Lobbies; 50% of rooms in each Free
Suites, Econo Lodge, Mainstay Suites, Quality by Choice, Comfort Suites hotel
Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn)
Fairmont Hotels 800-257-7544 14 hotels 802.11b Lobbies, meeting areas; rooms in $12.95 a day
some locations
Four Seasons Hotels 800-819-5053 18 hotels 802.11b Lobbies; poolside in some locations $10 a day
Hilton Hotels 800-445-8667 60 hotels 802.11b Lobbies, lounges, restaurants Up to $9.95 a day
Hyatt Hotels 888-591-1234 25 hotels 802.11b Lobbies, meeting areas $10.40 a day
Marriott (including Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, 888-236-2427 92 hotels 802.11b Lobbies, meeting areas; rooms in 15 minutes, $2.95; each
SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites) some locations additional minute, $0.25
Starwood Hotels (Four Points, St. Regis, Sheraton, 888-625-5144 More than 125 802.11b Lobbies, meeting areas $9.95 a day
W, and Westin)
Please contact the specific hotel location to verify wireless access and cost.

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 101

 D I F F E R E N T wireless technologies come in
different devices and do different things. But no other device
displays more wireless variety then a PDA.
In order of effective range (least to greatest), the four wire-
less technologies used in PDAs are infrared, Bluetooth, 802.11b,
and 2.5G (seen in PDA/phone combination devices). Each type
has its best uses, and the technologies are not exclusive.
INFRARED
The first and possibly most basic wireless technology built
into PDAs is IR, or infrared technology. When you think IR, think
of a remote control. IR has a short range, about 10 feetthink
couch to TVand it must have a line-of-sight connection. Ever
since PDAs came equipped with IR, the most common use of
the technology has been to synchronize data (at 4 Mbps) with
your PC or notebook. You could also beam business cards and
small amounts of data between PDAs, but this never really
caught on.
Some PDAs, such as the
high-end HP iPAQ h5550,
incorporate the stronger
consumer IR, which can
send signals from 25 to 30 feet and is typically used in
remote controls.
BLUETOOTH
Bluetooth is similar to IR in that it has a short wireless range, up
to about 30 feet; however, connecting with another Bluetooth
device doesnt require a direct line-of-sight connection, as does
IR. You can find Bluetooth in some PDAs, cell phones, printers,
and notebooks, to name a fewand you can share data among
all of them. Bluetooth has a one-way data rate of 720 Kbps.
Bluetooth-enabled cell phones are still few and far between,
but using one to connect a Bluetooth-enabled PDA to the Internet
is a great way to tie the two form factors together. (PDAs and cell
phones have already taken one step further in convergence with
all-in-one devices, though they are still too bulky to be a comfort-
able cell phone and too small to display a useful PDA screen.)
Bluetooth products splashed on the scene in 2000, promis-
ing to get rid of the cable tangle taking over offices. It didnt
take off as people had hoped, and the rapid arrival of 802.11
technology somewhat muted Bluetooths moment of wireless
glory. But thats not to say Bluetooth is dead: It has finally found
a niche, thanks to PDAs, and is enjoying an uptick in growth.

WIRELESS WAYS FOR YOUR PDA

(Continued from page 99)
wireless networks, like the ones found in
office buildings. Hot spots in the U.S., and
many worldwide, currently use 802.11b
equipment. If you find yourself in a hot
spot, all you need to connect is a wireless-
enabled computing device, like a note-
book or a PDA, and a browser. Windows
2000 and XP have a built-in ability to
sniff, or detect an 802.11 wireless signal.
If your PC doesnt have Windows 2000 or
XP, chances are your system will not be
able to sniff out a hot spot. But if you have
an older operating system, youre not out
of luck. Most wireless NICs come with
drivers that include this ability.
In most hot spots, you simply need to
launch your browser and youre instantly
connected to the establishments custom
portal page. This page pops up to greet
you with sign-on instructions and, often,
a list of this weeks specials. You sign up
with the provideror use your own if
you canand youre on the Internet.
OPEN BY DESIGN
Security is always a concern with wire-
less technologies, but especially with hot
spots. Unlike wireless LANs in your
home or office, which should be protect-

Handhelds Handspring Treo 270/300 Hitachi G1000

Ultimate Treo 270, $350 street. lllmm Treo 300, $650 street. www.sprintpcs.com. llllm

wireless wonders $400. lllmm www.sprintpcs.com; 800-

318-9270, www.t-mobile.com.
The Microsoft Windows Pocket PC 2002based
Hitachi G1000 is a combination
The first PDA/phone combination for PDA/digital phone provisioned by
PDAs are wireless by nongeeks is the Handspring Treo Sprint PCS. The G1000 is loaded
design, and although nearly Communicator series. The Treo 270 with features, including a
all of them have integrated IR and Treo 300 combine a phone 640-by-480-resolution
(old hat in these devices), only a device with an integrated QWERTY digital camera and a QWERTY
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOM O'CONNOR

keyboard. The 270 offers keyboard. The Sprint PCS

select few have true built-in GSM/GPRS wireless data and is data network averages
wireless (802.11b) or digital available from AT&T, T-Mobile, 72 Kbps for Web
phone capability. But not for long. Over and other carriers; the 300 browsing or e-mail
the coming months, many more PDAs uses the CDMA/1xRTT retrieval using Sprints
network and is provisioned Business Connection
will join the ranks. For now, here are
by Sprint PCS. software.
some of the best wireless-enabled
PDAs.Bruce Brown

102 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com

 UNWIRE EVERYWHERE

802.11B this is comparable to or better than a conventional 56K dial-up

Thanks to the current 802.11 technology rage, wireless networks
are popping up everywherein offices, homes, and in many
public hot spots (check out your corner caf). Therefore, the
usefulness of equipping a PDA with 802.11 capability has in-
creased. You can browse PDA-friendly Web sites while youre out
and about to check movie times, for example, or to find a street
address. Although only a few PDAs have integrated 802.11, most
can easily be equipped with add-ons (usually via CompactFlash
adapters, with SD adapters coming soon).
Today the adapters integrated into PDAs use 11-Mbps 802.11b
technology. Its likely that PDAs or PDA wireless adapters will
soon have combinations of 54-Mbps 802.11a, 54-Mbps 802.11g,
and 802.11b standards.
DIGITAL CELL-PHONE TECHNOLOGY
The use of a digital cell-phone network for high-speed transfers
of video, audio, and Web downloads, as well as e-mail and text,
is now in its second year. But the promised potential of full 3G
capability is still several years away. 3G, which stands for third-
generation cellular technology, will allow cell phones to provide
a wireless connection of at least 2 Mbps from a fixed location
(meaning that youre standing nearly still or moving at less
than 10 kilometers per hour). The current 2.5G connections
(GSM/GPRS and CDMA/1xRTT) average from 40 to 72 Kbps. Still,
modem, sans wires. Although only fractionally as fast as
802.11b, 2.5G works fine for communications, e-mail, instant
messaging, and limited Web browsing.
Since the amount of data being moved to and from PDAs is
generally small relative to the data downloaded and uploaded
from conventional PCs, the actual speed can be impressive. Add
to that the fact that digital phone connections cover a much
wider range than any other wireless technology todayout to
the suburbs and backand 2.5G becomes very appealing. The
downside, however, is its premium pricing: Although unlimited
access plans are dropping in price, they still appeal mostly to
business users.
WHATS BEST FOR YOU
Unfortunately, although theres a great argument for a PDA with
built-in infrared, Bluetooth, 802.11, and 2.5G, you cant buy one
today. In the meantime, just remember that infrared and Blue-
tooth are best for short-range data transfer. 802.11b is best if
you want to do basic Web browsing with your PDA and often
find yourself near hot spots (in metropolitan areas, airports, and
hotels). 802.11b has a faster data rate and costs less than 2.5G.
But if you want more flexibility in the way you use your PDAif
you travel in the countryside or even in cities without ubiqui-
tous hot spotsthen youll want 2.5G and, eventually, 3G.BB

ed by Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), most
hot spots are left open by design to facil-
itate easy access. (For more on WEP and
WPA and other wireless security issues,
see Making Sense of Wireless LAN
Security, page 88).
Most providers use SSL (Secure Sock-
ets Layer) technology to protect the
exchange of credit card and password
information when users sign in. But
data communications after that usually
transmit in the clear and are susceptible
to interception.
Data stored on your hard drive isnt im-
mune. Remember, youre sharing the net-
work with other customers. If youve en-
abled file sharing, your files and folders
could be at risk. Your best bet is to turn
off file sharing before hitting the road.
(For more information on how to do this,
log on to www.pcmag.com/security.)
Providers take pains to advise users of
these vulnerabilities. To spare venue em-
ployees such as waiters and check-out
clerks the difficulty of handling tech sup-
port, many recommend that users man-
age their own security. T-Mobile, for in-
stance, publishes a strongly worded
security statement on its Web site. It

HP iPAQ Pocket PC h5550 Palm Tungsten T2, Sony Cli PEG-UX50

$650 street. 800-345-1518. www.hp.com. Tungsten C, Tungsten W $700 street. 888-222-7669,
llllm www.sony.com/clie. llllm
T2, $400 street. llllm C, $500. llllm
The flagship of HPs Pocket PC line is the HP iPAQ W, $420 plus monthly service fees. lllmm Sony has designed some of the classiest-looking
Pocket PC h5550. Like all new HP products with 888-956-7256. www.palm.com. and most full-featured PDAs. The new Sony Cli
Windows Mobile 2003, the PEG-UX50 is a Palm
The Palm Tungsten line targets
h5550 has integrated OSbased clamshell
professional users and is available in
Bluetooth. This model also with an integrated
three versions. The Tungsten T2
has 802.11b wireless digital camera,
uses a collapsible case design
capability. Clearly QWERTY keyboard,
and has integrated Bluetooth.
intended for enterprise and both Bluetooth and
The Tungsten C is Palms
applications, the 802.11b radios. The Sony
802.11b device. Want
h5550 keeps its data Cli PEG-UX40 ($600)
WAN? The Tungsten W
secure via an has the same features
has integrated GSM/GPRS
integrated finger- but no 802.11b.
2.5G digital phone capability.
print reader.

www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 103

 UNWIRE EVERYWHERE
Bluetooth
Wireless, up close and personal
For years Bluetooth has been promoted as the technology that would ban-
ish all cables. And it is finally catching on in the U.S. Unlike 802.11, Bluetooth moves data
short distancesin the 30-foot rangeenabling devices such as printers, notebooks,
and headsets to talk to one another. The following productssome new, some notare
excellent real-world representatives of where Bluetooth can fit in your daily life.BB
HP Deskjet 995c
$300 street. 800-474-6836, www.hp.com.
llllm
The HP Deskjet 995c color ink jet printer with
built-in Bluetooth has long been the standard for
companies designing and testing other Blue-
tooth products. Although the 995c has a USB
port so you can connect it to non-Bluetooth
Windows or Apple PCs, the unit is equally
efficient at printing via Bluetooth directly from
PCs, phones, and PDAs.
Microsoft Wireless Optical
Desktop for Bluetooth
$159 list. 425-635-7040. www.microsoft
.com. llllm
Around for awhile now, the Microsoft Wireless
Optical Desktop for Bluetooth is a three-piece
mouse, keyboard, and Bluetooth adapter system
that greatly reduces your cable clutter. Both the
keyboard and mouse have Bluetooth radios, and
each connects to a desktop or notebook PC via a
small adapter that plugs into a USB port.
104 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com
themselves. For example, Boingo sup-
plies each subscriber with proprietary
Logitech Mobile
Bluetooth Headset
$100 street. 800-231-7717, www.logitech
.com. llllm
As more U.S. cities and states ban the use of
handheld cell phones in moving vehicles, headsets
and earsets for hands-free calling are growing
in popularity. And thanks to Blue-
tooth, you dont have to have
those pesky wires hanging
from your ear to the
phone. The Logitech
Mobile Bluetooth Head-
set is one of the
newest models and
has arguably the most
comfortable system for
wearing on one ear.
Socket Bluetooth
GPS Nav Kit
$530 street. 510-744-2720. www.socketcom
.com. llllm
Combining a GPS unit with a PDA for personal
route navigation is a popular application for
business and vacation travelers. But once again,
the extra cables hanging on or draped around a
vehicles dashboard are an unsightly mess. The
Socket Bluetooth GPS Nav Kit solves the cable
problem. The unit works with Pocket PC 2002
PDAs and can run for up to 6 hours on recharge-
able batteries. For longer trips, a 12-volt DC
power adapter is included.
warns users that their data may be inter-
cepted and recommends the use of per-
sonal firewalls and encryption technolo-
gies, such as virtual private networks
(VPNs). Also, if you have a VPN client in-
stalled on your notebook for work, your
safest bet is to launch it once youre on-
line at a hot spot.
Other providers take on the task
software that creates a VPN tunnel to
protect data passed over the air. GRIC
provides VPN software along with a full
suite of encryption technologies and
managed services that promise end-to-
end security for enterprise customers.
AT&T and MCI have added wireless ac-
cess to their enterprise VPN offering.
AT&Ts service provides VPN software
to enterprise clients using its 2,000 hot
spots in 20 cities.
ONE SERVICE, ONE BILL
It may seem that hot spots are ubiqui-
tous, but dont count on finding one
everywhere you go. Retail establish-
ments and wireless providers are still
testing business models for wireless
public access. Keeping in mind the huge
investments and subsequent demise of
providers like MobileStar and Joltage,
analysts at Gartner in Stamford, Con-
necticut, urge telecoms to enter the
arena with caution.
For consumers, the most troublesome
problem is roaming. You cannot sub-
scribe to one service, receive one bill, and
enjoy universal access as you do with
cell-phone plans. The good news is that
providers are partnering in a honeycomb
of relationships to expand the services
you receive under a single billing plan.
AT&T Wireless, Boingo, GRIC, iPass, and
Wayport, for instance, maintain roaming
relationships with one another. And last
year, Wayport joined with four other in-
ternational service providers to found a
trade organization called Pass-One,
which aims to set standards for interna-
tional roaming arrangements.
The ability to connect to the Internet
from anywhere is still a concept in its
PHOTOGRAPH BY THOM O'CONNOR
youth. There are major obstacles to
overcome, roaming and billing among
them. But great strides are being made,
and in the not-so-distant future we may
finally be surrounded by a network un-
fettered by wires. E
 w w w. p c m a g . c o m /a f te r h o u r s

T E C H N O L O G Y O N YO U R T I M E

Gaming at the Cellular Level

BY PETER SUCIU
ven if you dont ideal platform for hard-core

E think of yourself
as a gamer, you
probably have a
gaming system in
your possession. The most
widespread gaming platform
isnt the Sony PlayStation 2 or
gamers, they are just fine for
nearly everyone else. The rea-
sons are simple: The games
are inexpensive, they can be
downloaded directly to your
phone, theyre easy to play,
and your cell phone can go
even the ultrapopular Nin- anywhere with you.
tendo Game Boy: The latest Most important, developers
generation of cellular phones, are starting to explore the pos-
with BREW- and Java-enabled sibilities for richer content
technology including J2ME with more complex game play
(Java 2 Platform Micro Edi- and even to provide multi-
tion), can deliver rich and vibrant games. In the U.S. alone, player options (for those using the same service provider). With
there are more than 150 million mobile phones, and most of hundreds of games available for download, you shouldnt have
those are Java-enabled, says Ross Sealfon, research analyst at a hard time finding something youd enjoy playing. On the
IDC. He forecasts that well see a lot more phones capable of downside, you might not know whether youll enjoy a game
playing games in the not-too-distant future, as manufacturers until after youve downloaded and paid for it.
continue to add color screens and advanced features. To help make the choices easier, we offer a look at ten di-
The games available on mobile phones arent as immersive verse games. Prices depend on the provider offering the
as those youd play on a Microsoft Xbox or a PC, but hand- games but generally range from 99 cents to $3.99 for a 30-
held titles have come along way from simplistic Snake or day trial and are slightly higher (usually $3.99 to $6.49) for a
Tetris clones. And although cell phones might not be the one-time purchase.

Astrosmash Bejeweled
A retro Java/J2ME game for your high-tech This fast-paced, two-player Java game is
cell phone, Astrosmash is a near-perfect simple yet so addictive that you might not
rendition of the Intellivision classic from want to answer your phone if it rings while
the early 1980s. The sky is falling, and its youre playing. You have to match three or
up to you, the defense base commander, to more colored gems in a row to score
stop meteors, bombs, missiles, and flying points and reduce your opponents power.
saucers from crashing to the ground while This sounds easy, but keep an eye on your
ILLUSTRATION BY GEOFFREY GRAHN

at the same time making sure you dont own power meter.
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
get shot. Keep your eyes peeled for hover- Four game types offer
l l l l l EXCELLENT
ing spacecraft through multiple levels of a virtual gold mine of l l l l m VERY GOOD
difficulty. options. So make l l l m m GOOD
Services: Nextel, Sprint PCS. THQ Inc., your best move, but l l m m m FAIR

www.thq.com. llllm BEJEWELED be sure that your l m m m m POOR

114 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com


adversary isnt making a better one.
Service: Sprint PCS. Jamdat Mobile Inc.,
www.jamdat.com. lllll
CHARLIES ANGELS: ROAD CYCLONE
Charlies Angels: Road Cyclone
Good morning, Angels. Are you ready to
put the pedal to the metal and save the
day? You race against the bad guys in this
side-scrolling Java action game, where
each of the three Angels has unique ad-
vantages yet must rely on wits rather than
firepower. Dont expect the villains to play
as nicely; you have to dodge bullets and
grenades, as well as outmaneuver heli-
copters and even a vicious 18-wheeler.
Sustain too much damage and its game
over. Watch your back or youll be
singing with a different kind of angel.
Service: Cingular Wireless. Sony Pictures Digital
Inc., www.sonypictures.com/digent/index.html.
llllm
The Elder Scrolls Travels:
Stormhold
In this first-person Java/BREW fantasy
adventure, you choose a character and then
customize your virtual persona with a
variety of weapons, items, and skills. This
dungeon quest is about more than glory
and treasure: Youve landed in the vile
Stormhold prison and must join with
others to escape the tyranny of the lunatic
warden. Sinister guards and powerful mon-
sters stand in the way of freedom, but this
is your adventure, so you can choose to
play out either a good or an evil path.
Services: AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless,
Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless. Bethesda
Softworks LLC, www.bethsoft.com. llllm
FOX Sports Racing
Get the sensation of driving a stock car in
the palm of your hands with FOX Sports
Racing. This BREW game offers five 3-D
tracks, adaptive artificial intelligence, in-
car views, and three modes of play, includ-
ing online multiplayer action against real-
life mobile opponents. Head-to-head
racing features a leaderboard that tracks
the best players, and you can set up your
own mobile persona, which you will be
able to use in future FOX Sports titles.
Services: Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless. Sorrent
Inc., www.sorrent.com. llllm
Jeopardy!
Think you know everything? Now you can
prove it with the Java-based Jeopardy!,
based on the venerable game show.
Choose from a variety of categories, wager
on Daily Doubles, and take part in Final
Jeopardy!, just as on TV. Best of all, unlike
with PC versions of Jeopardy!, you wont
encounter the same questions over and
over. New game packs are available every
month at no extra cost, so you can keep
the brain-teasing questions coming. The
inferior graphics hurt the game, though,
and Jeopardy! just isnt the same without
other players.
Services: AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon
Wireless. Sony Pictures Digital Inc.,
www.sonypictures.com/digent/index.html.
lllmm
JEOPARDY!
The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers
This game is like a long-distance call to
Middle Earth. In this 2-D, turn-based
BREW combat simulation, you fight
through six battle maps based on The Lord
of the Rings: The Two Towers, controlling
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Theo-
den. Youll engage orcs and other baddies
and collect items to regain health and
enhance your characters abilities. The
game is almost too faithful to Dungeons
and Dragonsstyle gaming, though, so
casual gamers may find it too intense.
Service: Verizon Wireless. Jamdat Mobile Inc.,
www.jamdat.com. lllmm
Sega Sports Mobile Baseball
The big leagues have hit the small screen.
In this Java game, you can play a full nine
innings of baseball against an opponent
who will challenge your inner manager.
On the mound, you determine the type of
pitch to throw and even the location in the
strike zone; as a batter, you can decide to
go for contact or power swings, where
timing is everything.
There are six 25-man team rosters, and
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
AFTER HOURS
each player has distinct attributes. You
can create your lineups and start to play,
but dont worry about running into extra
innings; you can save your game and
continue later. Since the game doesnt use
real-world players or teams, its appeal to
true baseball fans is limited.
Services: AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS. Sega Corp.,
www.segamobile.com. lllmm
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 Street
In the Java-based Tony Hawks Pro Skater
4 Street, the extreme-sports PC game goes
mobile, complete with 14 skaters to choose
from, 5 skills to upgrade, and 6 unique
levels, with tons of opportunities for high-
flying moves. Grind on railings in an old
shipyard, catch some crazy air at Alcatraz,
and head to the streets of London to show
your stuff. At each location, you can
achieve numerous objectives to unlock
new skills, skating gear, and secret areas.
Who says phone games cant be intense?
Service: AT&T Wireless. Jamdat Mobile Inc.,
www.jamdat.com. lllll
WWE MOBILE MADNESS
WWE Mobile Madness
Are you ready to rumble? If you have a
Java-enabled Motorola mobile phone, you
can bring the pain, as WWE professional
wrestlers Kane and the Undertaker battle
it out. Play as either of these hulking
superstars and use special attacks to take
down your opponent and win the match.
The action stays on your screen, but that
doesnt mean its confined to the ring; use
those handy folding chairs to do extra
damage. Unfortu-
nately, graphics are a
bit underwhelming,
ONLINE
and the nature of the MORE ON
game may have a T HE WE B
limited appeal. Log on to
Service: Nextel (avail- www.pcmag.com/
able for the Motorola afterhours for
i85, i55sr, and i50sx reviews of console
phones). THQ Inc., games, online
www.thq.com. lllmm games, and more.
115
 AFTER HOURS

Messenger-Bag It
The Timbuk2 Commute messenger-style laptop bag is a cool
way to carry work or school essentials. It is made of sturdy ballistic
nylon and has a waterproof vinyl interior liner. Youll find pockets
for your laptop and all your other digital accessories, as well as
exterior water-bottle pockets, a wide adjustable-length shoulder
strap, and a padded handle.Carol A. Mangis
$100 direct. Timbuk2 Designs, www.timbuk2.com. llllm

Comforting Beads
The IMAK ergoBeads stress-relieving products, designed by an orthopedic and hand surgeon,
are some of the most comfortable weve tried. The IMAK ergoBeads Keyboard Support
cushions you, conforming to your changing wrist positions. The IMAK ergoBeads Smart
Glove (available in four sizes) has a removable splint to prevent your wrist from bending too
much and has ergoBeads in the palm area to protect the underside of your hand.CAM
Keyboard Support, $16.95 direct; Smart Glove, $19.95. IMAK Products Corp.,
www.imakproducts.com. llllm

Media Hubbub
For playing digital music on your stereo and showing digital
photos on your TV set, the Linksys Wireless-B Media
Adapter is the new front-runner among digital media
hubs. Although the Wireless-B has a few rough edges,
the features-to-price ratio cant be beat. Setup is
relatively easy; it automatically configures itself to
coexist on a small home network. For audio, the on-
screen display shows the album, artist, title, and
track. With photos, you get the obvious
New NetMD controls: slide show with
The entry-level Sony NetMD Walkman Model variable timing, random
MZ-N510CK comes with such goodies as a car kit, CD and repeating shows,
and MP3 transfer software, a desktop and headphone remote, and a and image zoom. At
jogging band. Upgraded with zippy USB 2.0 support, the NetMD times, the remote took
transfers 2 hours 40 minutes of music in about 15 minutes. When set a second or two to
to its highest compression rate (called LP4), the NetMD can cram respond to requests,
four CDs worth of music in almost any audio format on a $2 Mini- and once or twice
Disc, a bargain compared with the cost of memory for a portable audio stopped for a
MP3 player. A couple of detracting factors: Sonys penchant for couple of seconds
awkward button placement and the players low audio levels. Also, when we were running
the Sonic Stage MP3 transfer software is cumbersome to use and multiple applications
doesnt readily import standard playlists.Sahil Gambhir on the PC.Bill Howard
$149.95 direct. Sony Electronics Inc., www.sonystyle.com. lllmm $200 street. Linksys
Group Inc., www
.linksys.com. llllm

116 P C M A G A Z I N E SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 www.pcmag.com


Game Cheat Sites
By Tricia Harris
Sometimes the most talented players need a little help to get through a game. Thats
where cheat codes come in. Plenty of Web sites are replete with cheat codes; the trick is
finding a site with up-to-date information, easy navigation, and a minimal amount of
annoying pop-up advertising. Some sites provide detailed walkthroughs and strategy
guides, and others show you how to unlock extra characters, weapons, or fortunes.
Activegamer
Youll probably be able to solve your
own problems in the time it takes to
locate any helpful information at
Activegamer. The site is a wasteland
compared with the competition. Think
were too harsh? Consider that most
recently released titles arent even listed.
Its worse if you need PlayStation 2
codes; some areas have only one game
listed. Save yourself the hassle and avoid
Activegamer.
Free. activegamer.com. lmmmm
CHEAT CODE CENTRAL
Cheat Code Central
One of the coolest features of Cheat
Code Central is also one of its weakest.
The site has a saved games archive,
which provides a file that places you
beyond tough spots in a game. The prob-
lem is that it lists very few recent games.
The rest of the site is what youd expect:
cheat codes and some reviews. For some
games youll find a full strategy guide,
but only if youre lucky.
Free. Cheat Code Central, www.cheatcc.com.
llmmm
CheatingPlanet
With strong competition in the cheating
arena, CheatingPlanet was late out of the
gate. Its a pretty site, but its woefully
behind in the cheats and guides areas,
leaving you hunting for help somewhere
else. Thankfully, you can go to some
better sites.
Free. GameSpy Industries, www.
cheatingplanet.com. llmmm
AFTER HOURS
QUICK CLIPS
PlanetSide
Three factions composed of hundreds of
online players fly, drive, and shoot across
a gigantic
landscape
to claim
territory.
Character
advance-
ment,
achieved
through
combat, allows access to better vehicles,
weapons, and other equipment. Since its
essentially a first-person shooter,
PlanetSides connection speeds need to
improve to meet the demand for stutter-
free real-time combat.Rich Brown
$49.99 direct, plus $12.95 per month. Sony
Online Entertainment Inc., http://planetside
GAMEFAQS .station.sony.com. l l l m m
GameFAQs Learn to Play Chess with Fritz
Any site with cheat codes for arcade hits and Chesster
such as Galaga and Super Puzzle Fighter II This title cleverly disguises the basics
Turbo is serious about what it does, and of chess in a series of mini-games
GameFAQs is a truly helpful site. This one designed to teach kids age 8 and older.
has more than 37,000 cheat codes, more When King and Queen White go on
vacation, their
than 22,000 game guides, and assorted
son Fritz is
factoids. The site is a snap to navigate, and
challenged to
it even provides game information based
a duel. To suc-
on geographic zones. You walk away ceed, Fritz
feeling less like a cheating loser and more needs to learn
like a game researcher. about chess.
Free. GameFAQs, www.gamefaqs.com. llllm The storybook
characters and
GameWinners.com setting will appeal to kids. Young or
GameWinners.com is one of the oldest impatient children might need parental
archives of cheat codes, tips, FAQs, and help.Sonya Moore
game walkthroughs on the Internet. Its a $29.99 direct. Viva Media LLC,
massive collection that crosses all plat- www.viva-media.com. l l l l m
forms and reaches back to the early days of
gaming. Additionally, you can find out what Tropico 2: Pirate Cove
Though the differences between the
hidden treasures (called Easter eggs) may
Caribbean-dictator-themed original and
be on your DVDs. The site serves all man-
the pirate-themed sequel are few, the
ner of gaming without preference. News
core island-building game remains
and reviews are provided by professional entertaining. Exploration and sea com-
sites, such as Gamers.com. bat play fitting roles: You send vessels
Free. Al Amaloo, www.gamewinners.com. out to find riches and slave workers
lllll and manipu-
late rela-
tions
between
England,
France, and
Spain. Data
screens are
poorly orga-
nized, but the games charm takes the
edge off.RB
$39.99 direct. Take 2 Interactive,
GAMEWINNERS.COM www.take2games.com. l l l m m
www.pcmag.com SPECIAL WIRELESS ISSUE 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E 117
 THE AGONY AND THE USB
Edited by Don Willmott

J
Ouch! That seems like a
rather harsh punishment!
(CNN.com)

J Looks as if we wont be flying too high.

J
(Neopets site)
J

Thanks for the details, but will it fit in our

shirt pocket or not? (Cingular Wireless site)
J

J And the award for Best Spam Subject

Line of the Month goes to....

J
J Synergy or screwup?
You make the call.
(Walgreens.com)

J Now thats what we call really bad

J

breath. (Walmart.com)

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