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Rangefinder Magazine
Columns/February 2002
WebSight by Marshal M. Rosenthal
Home Is Where the Network Is
There was a time when the only kind of communication tool you needed
was a strong voice or perhaps a phone or at the most maybe an intercom.
“Digital” seems to be invading every aspect of our lives, and
so it’s not unusual that communication is changing in this respect
also. What’s becoming prevalent is the “home network”—whether
it’s called this or not—as we try and find ways to expand the
lines of communication from our home or office; brought on by the need
to transmit data files or play a video or send graphic image from one
computer/room to another. And with broadband capabilities such as DSL,
cable modems and other high-speed systems becoming readily available,
what’s missing from the experience is the ability to conveniently
capture and manage all of this information from the various sources and
then distribute it to wherever they are so that they can watch what they
want, when they want, where they want.
Now while the voice-controlled automated home is still in the future
for most people’s plans and budgets, inexpensive home networks are
here right now. The opportunity to connect all the televisions, computers
and entertainment systems in the home together on a common network is
an affordable reality. Options include using wireless connections as well
as existing phone or power lines (excellent practical advice for home
networking can be found on the web site www.HomeToys.com).
The two real barriers still in effect today are both hardware related.
One is how to set this all up—few want the hassle and bother of trying
to integrate computers and other devices with wiring that must be laid
out from one room to the other. The second barrier is the devices themselves,
as they need to be able to work in tandem with whatever home network system
is being put in place.
Let’s take these problems one at a time. For the home network, wireless
is probably the best choice today. For some time now Apple Computers has
ben touting their “Airport” system, which uses a transmitter/receiver
card added to their desktop and laptops and which sends/receives to a
“base station” that is then integrated with a broadband (or
even dial-up) connection. Airport uses the 802.11b standard—which
is compatible with other devices on the PC side of things—and in
fact there are PC devices using this standard as well (since it is based
on radio frequency and not infrared or other such line-of-sight, the signal
can go through walls and function up to about 150 feet or so). For example,
Asanté makes a wireless Cable/DSL router device called the “FriendlyNet
3002” (www.asante.com) that enables multiple devices to “share”
a single broadband connection (DSL or Cable modem). This hooks up to the
broadband and then receives high speed communication from those devices
using 802.11b (a special wireless card is added to the router to gain
this function). Besides having a built-in firewall for safety, data encryption
is also standard as is a print server (parallel port) for sharing a printer.
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| The friendlynet router by Asanté with attached
wireless card |
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Certainly there are other solutions for creating a home network, but
the advantage of wireless is that if your systems change, you don’t
have to go through leaps and bounds to make the network adapt to what
you’ve done—i.e., the “air” adapts automatically.
The hardware side is probably the most complicated. There are computers
and laptops and now even digital devices that can be shared on a network.
Initially, the idea of sending MP3 music files, for example, from one
computer to play on a set of powered speakers receiving the signal in
another area might sound of limited appeal (why not just play a CD player
in that room?), but as we become more digital, our needs will require
devices to be able to accept home networking as a matter of course (the
new Bluetooth technology enables devices using it to automatically “join”
a network when it comes into range, for instance). The Powerfile C200
Studio is a good example (Escient www.escient.com). It holds 200 CDs/DVDs
and can be accessed through the computer it is attached to—and so
all other digital devices sharing the home network. And through a subsidiary,
Escient is also releasing a new product called the Openglobe iCenter (www.openglobe.net),
which consists of a complete Internet-connected digital A/V receiver,
switcher, DVD player and AM/FM/Internet radio tuner. It provides simplified
access to broadcast VHF/UHF, cable and satellite TV programming via a
TV-based Electronic Program Guide. It transforms a stereo system into
a digital media center with no need for a PC, but with full networking
and PC interoperability. And a bit further down the road comes Stream
Machine’s Home Media Center (www.streammachine.com), which is designed
to enable computers and home entertainment systems to integrate with a
home network and provide for multiple digital video to be sent from one
location to many others. According to Brian Heuckroth, VP Marketing, it
is the digital equivalent of the VCR, capturing media brought into the
home from any source and re-distributing it, on-demand, to any outlet
in the home. “An important component in this network is an inexpensive
network media player, a Spigot, that provides remote access to the Home
Media Center’s collection of stored material and converts the digital
video signals received over the network for viewing on any of today’s
analog television or stereo products,” he says. “In the not
too distant future, all of these viewing appliances will be digital.”
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| The iCenter entertainment system from Openglobe (division
of Escient) |
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Of course, the options and choices will change and adapt to the needs
of the users—that’s how you attract and sell to consumers, and
the whole point of all this is that these devices are becoming less tech-oriented
and more consumer “known”(i.e., a DVD player that can go on
the Internet is extending a consumer device, not creating a new kind of
box for consumers to learn about). Home networking will soon become ubiquitous
in the home and office, with many devices supporting and being supported
by it. The road to getting there might seem a bit treacherous, but the
fact is that we’re already walking on it and the sooner we start
enjoying the trip, the sooner we can reap the benefits that are being
offered.
Marshal M. Rosenthal is a photojournalist based in Los Angeles,
and a frequent contributor to many imaging and computer publications.
He can be reached at marshalr@pipeline.com/.
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