802.11n

Now that you can actually buy the first wireless networking products that use 802.11ac, Buffalo's router and media bridge, it's time you learned about the this new wireless standard. While the "ac" designation definitely does not mean "air conditioning," I can say for sure that 802.11ac is cool.

And by cool, I mean fast. That's the biggest difference about 802.11ac compared with previous wireless standards. But first let's see how similar it is.

802.11ac supplements 802.11n

802.11ac (aka 5G Wi-Fi) is the next step after 802.… Read more

If you think 802.11n Wi-Fi is the bee's knees, check out this new ultra-powerful wireless setup jointly developed by Sony and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The two chips in this advancement push a staggering data rate of 6.3Gbps, which is 14 times the transfer speed in commercially available routers (450Mbps).

According to the press release, "implementation of this technology will enable users to transmit and receive data at much higher speeds between mobile devices without the need for cable connections. This technology will also enable users to enjoy uncompressed high-quality video streaming from a mobile device to a display." … Read more

Streaming high-definition video wirelessly throughout your home will be a major benefit of Wi-Fi 802.11ac in the next few years, says NPD In-Stat.

Expected to receive final approval by the IEEE toward the end of this year, 802.11ac will boast several improvements over 802.11n. The new wireless flavor will offer speeds surpassing 1 gigabit per second, almost three times that of 802.11n. It also promises to provide better coverage throughout an entire home with fewer dead spots.

From a technical standpoint, the new standard will use such technologies as beamforming and higher amplitude modulation to send … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- D-Link said today at CES 2012 that it fully supports and is ready for the new era of Wi-Fi that's based on the new 802.11ac standard.

This resonates with the announcements of TrendNet, Cisco, Broadcom and other networking vendors. D-Link doesn't have any 802.11ac products to demo or showcase at the show, however.

The 802.11ac standard the upgrade to the existing 802.11n specification (known as wireless N) and is considered to be the wireless standard for the "post-PC era" of data connectivity. This is because over time, the number … Read more

As I've mentioned in the past, the single best way to improve Internet performance in your home is to plug your PC directly into your router. After that, the best bang for the buck comes from ditching your old 802.11g router in favor of an 802.11n model.

And you don't need a lot of bucks to do that. Newegg has the D-Link DIR-601 802.11n wireless router for $19.99 shipped. That's after adding it to your cart and applying coupon code EMCKBGK58 at checkout.

The benefits of 802.11n are numerous and well-documented: faster throughput, better range, and stronger security options. Your mileage can and will vary depending on things like the size of your house, placement of the router, and so on. But speaking from personal experience, 802.11n blows 802.11g out of the water.… Read more

The number of devices that will support 802.11n Wi-Fi is expected to explode in the coming years, according to a study from research firm In-Stat.

The study says 53 million consumer-electronics devices allowed for connectivity to wireless-N networks last year. That figure is expected to jump to 82 million next year and nearly 300 million in 2015, representing 465 percent growth over five years.

Early versions of wireless networking standards, including 802.11b and 802.11g, employed the 2.4GHz frequency band. However, 802.11n uses the 5GHz band as well. The technology, which offers more range than its … Read more

Well, I was hoping to round out this week of freebies with one last $0 deal, but nothing really jumped out. I mean, hey, there's always OpenOffice.org, the awesome free alternative to Microsoft Office, right?

Today's official deal isn't free, but it's downright dirt-cheap. Newegg has the Asus RT-N10+ 802.11b/g/n wireless router for $14.99 shipped. That's the price after redeeming a $10 mail-in rebate (PDF).

Update: Sorry folks, it's already sold out. But OpenOffice isn't! And neither is LibreOffice, which several commenters have noted is even better.

I … Read more

Wi-Fi has joined a short list of technologies such as USB, x86, HDMI, and PCI to spread successfully across the computing industry and beyond. So what do you do for an encore?

Duh. You get faster. This is the computer industry we're talking about here, after all.

Wi-Fi, the marketing-friendly term for the 802.11 family of wireless networking standards, got its mainstream start with 802.11b with a data-transfer speed of 11 megabits per second. Next came 802.11g at 54Mbps, then the present fastest standard, 802.11n with a top speed of 450Mbps.

But under development now … Read more

If you want to hook up your game console, such as an Xbox 360, to the Internet without running network cable all over the place, you can either get a Wi-Fi adapter from the vendor, which tends to be overpriced, or get yourself a gaming bridge that can bring a wireless signal to any Ethernet-ready device. Those opting for the latter now have another option.

D-Link announced today that it's shipping the Wireless N Dual Band MediaBridge (model DAP-1513), which can bridge a wireless network to up to four network devices that don't have built-in Wi-Fi. The device combines a selectable dual-band wireless-N chip and a four-port switch and will work with any N router.

The device basically connects itself to an existing Wi-Fi network, then shares that connection with any device plugged into its network ports, hence the terms "bridge."… Read more