Wireless Popularity 3: Problems Solved; Future Use - Future Possibilities: Network Attached Wireless Hardware
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Some of the effects of wireless Internet access and the consequences of this new technology are beginning to be felt. Already, there are wireless enabled networked hardware devices flooding the market. Wireless video cameras, MP3 players to attach to a stereo, video game bridges, and wireless print servers are in almost every technology store in the US. However, this could only be the beginning of a trend toward even more networked computer hardware that connects to these wireless networks.
What this trend suggests may be possible, and even likely, is the re-emergence of the so-called Smart House. When the Smart House idea first gained prominence, the only inexpensive way to connect devices to a network involved using cables. Wiring up an entire home with various bits of networked equipment required lots of cable, extra cost, and network infrastructure that could run a small corporate office. This does not even take into account the computers and servers necessary to run all the software associated with these devices.
However, this new generation of network attached hardware suggests that the Smart House might be within reach once again. This also suggests the possibility of easily converting old houses to give them more networked capacity. Because of the lack of cables, it would be much easier to simply attach new wireless networking enabled devices to switches and plugs. In addition, it allows for other consumer devices to connect to the network wirelessly, and for integrating these into a larger system for administration.
The hardware necessary to encode and deal with networking tasks has shrunk over the past years. It is now possible for something as small as a handheld MP3 player to connect to a network over DHCP and publish the files like Network Attached Storage. Using hardware similar to this, imagine connecting this kind of device to light switches and outlets in your home. These devices can connect through a wireless network to a central server or desktop system designated to act as household server. This device could the act as an Internet server, to which someone could connect with a PC and, using a Web interface, interact with those devices. As mobile phones enabled with Web browsing capabilities become more commonplace, it would even be conceivable to connect to your home network with a cell phone.
This has been a promise of Smart House type designs for years; however, what could truly make this feasible is the use of wireless networking. Instead of requiring a house to be wired by professionals at considerable cost to connect the various devices to the network, or requiring the house to be built from the ground up with this networked design in mind, it would be a simple matter to connect wireless enabled devices and make use of a wireless network. This would overcome the major barrier that has kept Smart Houses from becoming widespread.
Future Possibilities: Securing Low Level Protocols
As I’ve mentioned several times in this article series, the low level protocols that networks rely on to transport data are insecure by their very nature. Hopefully, the advent of wireless networking will inspire a redesign of some or all of these protocols to allow for more inherent security, both in encryption and in the prevention of malicious hackers from impersonating another system. By redesigning these protocols from inherently trusting to inherently not trusting, we can hopefully reduce much of the damage hackers continue to do to networks.
Conclusion
Overall, wireless networking is a great boon to all of us who use computer technology. It allows us freedom the likes of which we have only dreamed about until now. We can access the network from any position, in any place within range of a wireless base station. This frees us from the requirement of being near some sort of cabled connection. As long as people maintain a security conscious attitude towards this technology, it will continue to be a boon. Better education aimed at helping users to understand what information is being transmitted over a wireless network connection, and better implementation of encryption schemes, will help to keep personal information secure, while giving all users the ability to take advantage of this technology.
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