The Techzine
Wireless convenience
The digital home may be getting more cluttered with new devices popping up in each room but at the least the amount of wires needed to connect them is on the decline. Yey!
The birth of Wi-Fi
Well, a clever chap called Teslar was first cited as the inventor of the concept of wireless data transmission way back in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until 1991 that wireless devices starting to rear their head in the home. Since then, manufacturers have been looking at ways in which this technology can be used around the home, and have 
successfully created a multitude of devices to do just that.
As with all technology, the wireless standard has also evolved over time. From its humble beginnings of transferring data at 11 Mbps, the soon to be released wireless N standard will be able to transfer data at up to 300 Mbps! This makes streaming content from device to device especially quick and allows for high definition streaming too. All that is required to use wireless technology is a wireless G or N router and some media streaming devices. Although, there are other devices that operate wirelessly, which can be used independently of a router.
Wireless music
Have you got gigabytes of music on your PC that you would like to hear more of? With the introduction of online music stores, the music collection on our PCs seems to grow much faster than that of CDs 
gathering dust in the corner of the room. If you wanted to access the music on your PC then you would have to be in the same room. But, with wireless music players, music can be streamed directly from your PC to a wireless receiver, like Logitech’s Squeezebox, anywhere in your home.
Alternatively and probably a little cheaper, have you considered getting a set of wireless headphones? These can be used in any device that uses a 3.5mm socket and will wirelessly stream your music to your headphones anywhere in the home. All you need is a good set of rechargeable batteries and you’re in for hours of entertainment.
Wireless printing
With all the gadgets and devices that take up valuable realestate on your computer desk, sometimes it's hard to find a place, and a plug socket to accommodate your printer. If this sounds familiar then an investment in a wireless printer may well be the answer.
Wireless printers can be positioned anywhere in your house and shared by anyone that has access to a PC or laptop. Having the printer hidden away can make your main room look a lot tidier, removes the noise of the printer and leaves you with a free plug socket to plug another power adapter into!
If you only print occasional documents or want photo quality pictures then a wireless Inject printer is the one to go for. If you print documents every day like letters and emails and need a speedy printer then a wireless laser printer will fill this requirement.
Wireless surveillance
Wireless surveillance can sound quite sinister, placing wireless cameras 
outside to protect your property or just to see who’s at the door so you know whether to answer it or not. But, have you ever considered using a wireless webcam as a baby monitor?
You could invest in a set of walkie talkies so you can hear when the baby is crying but with a webcam, you’ll be able to see and hear exactly what they’re up to, especially when they’re being a little too quiet! With the webcam you can even record their first words and steps and turn it into a video to show family and friends, and even your baby when it’s old enough to feel embarrassment!
Wireless Communication
Wireless communication is all around us with the use of mobile phones. But there is a way of talking to people free of charge, and without a mobile phone contract by using something called Skype.
Skype was originally an instant messaging program for sending messages to other people, but over time it has evolved and now if you have a Skype to Skype phone then you can call other Skype users without incurring any call costs. The beauty of having a Skype to Skype phone is that your PC does not even need to be turned on, providing you have a wireless router. The phone will allow you to log into your Skype account by using your wireless router, and the router will then establish the connection and deal with all the phone calls.
Final thought…
In theory, transporting data from one place to another without the aid of wires is kind of like teleportation, possibly deemed impossible before Teslar’s invention. Do you think in the next 100 years someone will invent the technology that will allow human beings to be beamed from one place to another?
Western Digital My Book – World Edition
With the increasing popularity of music and video downloads, it’s sometimes difficult to be able to store all those files on your PC without running out of space. Well, with a network storage device such as the Western Digital My Book, you get 1 terabyte (1000GBs) of centralised storage space that will take even the most hardcore downloader some time to fill!
As well as the incomprehensible amount of storage space, the Western Digital My Book is designed to plug straight into your broadband router 
to fully increase its potential. Once plugged into your router, the device is available to anyone using your network, and with “WD Anywhere Access” you can even access your files whilst away from home. This means that your main PC can be turned off as the router will do all the necessary work.
One of the main benefits of centralised storage is that if you work in a small office for example then automatic backups of all the day’s work can be stored and retrieved from one location. Also, if you should use up all your 1TB of space then the Western Digital My Book has a USB port on the back that will allow you to increase the storage capacity by adding an external USB hard drive.
Click here to buy it from PC World.
RSS news feeds on your Squeezebox
Did you know that your Squeezebox can also display RSS news feeds on its screen? No? Simply configure the SlimServer with the address of your RSS news feed from this location, SERVER SETTINGS > PLUGINS > RSS NEWS TICKER, and you’re all set .
To read the news feeds on your Squeezebox, simply navigate to the PLUGINS > RSS NEWS TICKER option and then scroll through the feeds until you find the one that you want.
On the 5th December 2008, Nintendo will release their new offering called Wii Speak. Wii Speak is a new channel that works over a wireless network and allows you to talk and send messages to other console owners via a device that plugs into it.
Wii Speak will pick up conversations from an entire room, so all the family will be able to chat together with another console owner, anywhere in the world. Wii Speak also opens up a whole new dimension for game play, as with the launch of Wii Speak comes the game ‘Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City’, the first game that allows you to talk to other people whilst playing the game!
There are no additional subscriptions to use Wii Speak, just the price you pay for your broadband Internet connection.
HP Photosmart C4585 printer
If you’re after a multifunctional wireless printer then HP’s Photosmart C4380 printer should impress you with its array of features.
As well as the obvious function of printing, the C4380 is also capable of scanning and copying documents to any computer accessing it over your wireless network. The printed documents can have a resolution of up to 1200 x 2400dpi and the highest resolution of the scanned 
documents/images are a respectable 4,800dpi.
For those of you worried about any degradation in printing speed then there’s no need to be concerned. Wireless printing is just as fast as having the printer plugged directly into your computer. For example, this printer can give you up to 30 pages with black text a minute and a colour photo in around 25 seconds.
An alternative way of printing your documents is by storing them on a memory card and by using the printer’s 5 in 1 card reader; you can then print the file from the card by means of the 3.8cm preview screen on the printer.
Another way to get the most out of the memory card reader is to place an SD card in there and use it to backup important documents like sentimental photos, your college work and anything else you would hate to lose in case of data loss on your main PC.
Click here to buy it from PC World.
If you have a WiFi enabled mobile phone like an iPhone or a Nokia N95 then you can use your phone to access the internet. Simply open your mobile Internet browser and when asked to connect, use your wireless router as the access point. You can now say goodbye to any data download charges that may be incurred from your mobile phone operator and browse Facebook and YouTube at your heart’s content.
The first smartphone to feature Google’s Android operating system has now been released in the form of T-Mobile’s G1, giving Microsoft’s Windows mobile and Apple’s iPhone some stiff competition. The G1 has everything you would expect from a smartphone, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, GPS, built in camera and a nice big touch screen to navigate. But one addition you get with this smartphone is the integration of many of Google's applications like Google Talk, Gmail, Google maps and Google street view.
Now you have one more decision to make when buying your next mobile!
Squeezebox™ Classic
You never need to miss a beat of your favourite music thanks to Logitech’s Squeezebox™ classic.
This digital music streamer can wirelessly stream music and Internet radio stations from any PC on your home network, and then play them through a set of powered speakers or a Hi-Fi. If you feel the need, you can have several Squeezeboxes playing the same music, so whichever room you’re in, you can listen to your favourite tracks. Alternatively, you can set them up to play different music, giving other people a chance to select their choice of sounds.
Once Squeezebox’s SlimServer™ software is installed on your PC, the remote control is all you need to start selecting tracks and to 
change the volume, or turn it off and on. The Squeezebox can stream a large variety of music files including MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV. Another great feature is that it has a 7-day alarm built-in. This means you can set it to wake you up every day to whichever song you like.
So, if you want to beam music from your computer to any room in the house then Logitech's Squeezebox is solid choice.
Click here to buy it from PC World.
The Wii console is not able to act as a dedicated media 
streamer, but what you can do is use a piece of software called ORB to stream media from your PC, to your Wii console by using your wireless broadband Internet connection. To do this you will need to do the following:
(1) Install the Internet channel on your Wii console.
(2) Install ORB on your PC and create an account.
(3) On your Wii console, go to www.mycast.orb.com, and enter your account login details. You can now start streaming the content that you have shared on your PC.
If you own an iPhone or iPod touch then free streaming radio, based on the music you love, is only a download away. A website called last.fm is offering their application to download for free.
Once installed onto your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can then create custom play lists based on its extensive music library of
over 5 million songs. If you wish, you can also opt to hear random music from similar artists, and rate the song to ensure that all future recommendations match your musical tastes, or lack of them!
The music can be streamed to your device in one of two ways. The first being your mobile phone operator’s network, but this is only advisable if you have an unlimited data contract.
The other way is to use the devices WiFi connection, which will allow you to listen all day long completely free of any data charges. All you will need is a wireless access point. If when listening to the streaming radio service you find a track that you like, then you have the option to buy it directly from iTunes.
Also, if you want to stay up to date with new and popular music then if you visit last.fm's website, you can see the most listened to music and instantly see which bands are playing in your area and when.
A company called NDrive has taken in car satellite navigation to a whole new level. What makes the NDrive stand out from the crown is its ability to use real 3D images of your location, rather than just a basic 2D graphical view.
The traditional Sat Navs do a great job, but being able to actually see on your GPS device what should be outside your car window, gives you real confidence that you are in fact, heading in the right direction!
Linksys Kiss 1600-UK media player
A great way of accessing your network files to view on your TV, is by using the Linksys Kiss 1600 HD Media Player.
The media player is a wireless multimedia hub and takes up about as much space as your average DVD player, so it will fit quite nicely in your lounge. As well as a being a media player, the Kiss 1600 will also play DVDs and upscale standard definition DVDs to 720p or 1080i if you use the HDMI port.
The real versatility of this unit is revealed when you use it to play media from any other source. You can connect it to your home network (wired or wirelessly) and play or watch almost any media files including MPEG, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, WMA, MP3, JPG and many more. If you happen 
to have a pen drive, external hard drive, MP3 player or digital camera then you can hook them up via the USB port and access the media that way too.
So, without having a Windows Media Centre computer in your lounge, this is the best way to play and watch whatever you have, whenever you want, from DVD or your home network. And, a bonus feature of this product gives you the ability to access Linksys’ online services, which include Internet radio stations and games.
Click here to buy it from PC World.
November 2008
- RSS news feeds on your Squeezebox
- Free web browsing on your mobile phone
- Stream media to your Wii console
- Wii Speak
- The Google Phone
- Free streaming radio for your iPhone
- NDrive 3D Real Photo GPS
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