WIRELESS PRINT SERVER

Wireless print server allows one or two printers to be conveniently shared across a Wi-Fi network. Wireless print servers for home networks generally are available in both 802.11b and 802.11g varieties.

Wireless print servers offer the following advantages:

* Allows printers to be conveniently located anywhere within wireless network range, not tied to the location of computers
* Does not require a computer be always turned on in order to print
* Does not require a computer to manage all print jobs, that can bog down its performance
* Allows administrators to change computer names and other settings without having to re-configure the network printing settings.

A wireless print server must be connected to printers by a network cable, normally USB 1.1 or USB 2.0. The print server itself can connect to a wireless router over Wi-Fi, or it can be joined using an Ethernet cable.

Most print server products include setup software on a CD-ROM that must be installed on one computer to complete the initial configuration of the device. As with network adapters, wireless print servers must be configured with the correct network name (SSID) and encryption settings. Additionally, a wireless print server requires client software be installed on each computer needing to use a printer.

The Linksys WPS54G (compare prices) 802.11g USB wireless print server is shown. Print servers are very compact devices that include a built-in wireless antenna and LED lights to indicate status.

Wireless networks are quickly growing in popularity these days. It's hardly surprising, considering the kit required is so cheap. With so many people now using wireless setups, both at home and in the office, manufacturers are finally addressing some of the technology's niggling limitations.

One problem has been printing. Many households and small offices have more than one computer, but only one printer. Having to transfer all your print jobs to the central computer with the printer tethered to it can be a real drag - especially when you've been happily working in the garden on a laptop. If this is a familiar problem, Belkin's Wireless Print Server is for you. What it lacks in the originality of its name it more than makes up for in features.

The device is roughly the size of your hand. Lights on the front let you see its status at a glance. At the back there are two USB ports and an Ethernet port.

You set the device up by plugging it into your PC, configuring it and then unplugging it and establishing a direct wireless connection between the print server and your PC. If you connect the print server in this way and share your Internet connection using wireless, you'll only be able to communicate with either the Internet connection or the print server at any one time. This shouldn't be a problem, though. If, like most people, you use a wireless router to share your Internet connection, simply plug the print server into the router and your printer into the print server and run the software. That way, you can share the printer and Internet at once.

That's all most people will need to worry about, but there are a few extra options for advanced users. You can access all the print server's options through a Web browser simply by typing its IP address into Internet Explorer's address bar on one of the networked PCs. From there, you have access to security settings and can assign IP addresses manually. You can also choose to use a direct ad hoc (one-on-one) wireless connection, rather than sharing it with an entire network.

The wireless print server is a great way of connecting your printer to a wireless network - something that has been irritatingly hard to do until now. We were impressed by its performance, too. Printing wasn't noticeably slower than it would have been using a cable, and the device was easy to set up and use.

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PDA PALMTOP

If you're looking for a handheld way to connect to the Internet for email or web surfing, there are two options open to you - using a dedicated all-in-one "smartphone", or using a handheld computer coupled with a mobile phone.

One-box solutions

A one-box solution is a smart way of getting online. Rather than having a handheld computer connecting to a mobile phone via infrared or Bluetooth, the one-box solution gives you everything you need in one package - in other words, a handheld computer with a built-in phone, or a phone with built-in email/web software. Particularly popular in this area are the following:

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o2 XDA - Combined Pocket PC and mobile phone
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SonyEricsson P800 or P900 - A Symbian-OS powered smartphone with built-in web browser and email software

The real advantage of the one-box solution is the simplicity - there's a lot less fiddly setup needed, and the solution just works.

Two-box solutions

Two box solutions (a seperate phone and computer) tend to be cheaper options, and if you're really budget-conscious and not looking for the most up-to-date stuff, end-of-line models, or even second-hand machines can be the way to go. The down-side is that in order to connect the handheld computer to the phone, you need to connect either with a cable, or more commonly, wirelessly using either infrared or Bluetooth - all of which can be a little fiddly to set up.


Ways to connect

If you're using a one-box smartphone, you'll probably have all you need already. For a two-box solution, you'll need to have the following:
o

A handheld computer that has Internet / email software
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A mobile phone with a built-in data modem
o

A way of connecting the two - most commonly you'll need both boxes to have Infrared. You can also connect via Bluetooth, or in some cases via a dedicated cable connection. Infrared is the most common, requires the two boxes to be in line-of-sight with each other, and is the least complcated to set up.

You'll also need an Internet service provider (your existing provider should be fine), and a mobile phone account with a network operator (such as Vodafone, o2, Orange, T-Mobile, etc). Note that your mobile phone service must be "data-enabled". A phone call to your network operator will get this done, and there's normally no charge for setup.

Running costs

The most common way of making a connection to the Internet when on the move, is via a dial-up service... In other words your smartphone or pda/mobile dial a phone number supplied by your Internet Service Provider (Tiscali, BT, Freeserve, etc). You can expect to be billed for every second that you're online. Some things to note:
o

In the mobile phone world, don't expect a low-call 0845 or a local-rate dial-up number to be cheaper... Commonly you'll be paying the standard rate for a call to a landline number (check your network operator's tariff)
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Your mobile operator may offer you free minutes, but internet numbers may not qualify - so check your contract/tariff to confirm this. If you don't get free minutes, consider shopping about for a new tariff.
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Connection over a dialup service from a mobile phone is slow. You're looking at data speeds of 9.6kbps - a PC modem is 56kbps
o

Consider using GPRS instead of a dial-up service. GPRS is faster than standard dialup, but is billed differently (per megabyte, not per second). It's also not available on all handsets, has to be enabled by your network operator, and can be a little quirky to set up.


Case Study 1: Two-box solution

PDA: Dell Axim Pocket X3 Pocket PC
Phone: Nokia 6100

The Dell Axim X3 is one of the cheaper Pocket PCs on the market, but has excellent reviews and contains a fair amount of power for it's size and cost. This comes with all the software that you need to connect to the Internet. For the handset, we're using the Nokia 6100, which is a medium-range handset with a built-in modem and infrared connectivity for use with the Pocket PC.


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