Complete Wireless Home Networking [Paperback]

Paul Heltzel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 22, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0131461532 | ISBN-13: 978-0131461536 | Edition: 1

Complete Wireless Home Networking: Windows XP Edition, by wireless networking authority Paul Heltzel, helps those with little or no networking experience set up a network tailored to their performance needs. The book covers everything from purchasing the right equipment to installation, setup, configuration, security, and troubleshooting, complete with step-by-step, illustrated instructions. Covers Windows 98 through XP.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

• Set up your home wireless network-the quick and painless way
• Learn time-saving tricks and troubleshooting tips from an expert
• Enjoy the freedom of wireless computing at home-no experience required!
• Get simple instructions and tips for Windows 98 through XP

Fast, reliable, secure home wireless networks-the easy way!

Today's home wireless networks offer tremendous advantages over hard-wired networks-among them, unprecedented portability and, of course, the freedom from wires strung all over your house! Unless you have a firm grasp on all the latest networking technologies, though, wireless networks won't free you from digging your way through a collection of confusing, jargon-riddled manuals; dealing with obscure configuration modes; and finally, hoping somehow it will all work once you flip the switch.

If you want a home wireless network without the headaches, then Complete Wireless Home Networking: Windows XP Edition, by wireless networking authority Paul Heltzel, is for you. Written in an engaging, conversational style, this book offers reliable advice on determining your equipment needs, then guides you through each step of building a wireless network-installation, setup, configuration, and troubleshooting. And with minimal fuss, you'll have a home wireless network that's fast, secure, and optimized for your physical environment and computing requirements. Whether you're accessing the Internet from your back yard, sending jobs to a printer downstairs, or transferring files effortlessly, you'll wonder how you got by without a wireless network. Coverage includes:

• Adding and sharing peripherals and Internet connections, step by step
• Maximizing and troubleshooting wireless connections
• Using vital security tools such as firewalls and data encryption, and much more!

This book is intended for anyone who wants to get a home wireless network up and running in no time, with no previous experience in networking required. You'll find simple instructions and tips for computers running Windows 98 through XP, including how to make them peacefully co-exist.

About the Author

PAUL HELTZEL has written extensively on wireless technology, the Internet, and network computing for magazines and Web sites including PC World, Business 2.0 and CNN Interactive. During the late 1990s, he created Web sites for the Discovery Channel, MCI, and Discover Card. He then served as a reporter and editor for PC World in San Francisco. He has contributed articles on technology to the Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, and the New York Times on the Web. He lives in New Orleans, where he serves as an adjunct instructor in the Media Arts department of Tulane's University College This is his seventh book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (June 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131461532
• ISBN-13: 978-0131461536
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,860,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I felt like the woman on the cover when I was done, July 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Wireless Home Networking (Paperback)

Illustrations are the key! This book is just what I was looking for. The illustrations are the key to the effectiveness of this book - esp. b/c 98 is so hard to set up. Paul Heltzel does an amazing job of making this difficult task easy and - believe it or not - fun to do. If you have 98 and XP and are trying to set up a wireless network at home - THIS IS THE BEST BOOK ON THE MARKET!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete Wireless Home Networking, January 5, 2005

By 

Carl Kaminsky "Golfer2" (Woodstock, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Wireless Home Networking (Paperback)

I gave this book a 1 star rating because there was no choice for less. I think it deserves no more the 1/2 star.

Lets start with the printing of the book itself. It looks like it was done in the author's basement on a broken down copier about to run out of toner. The printing on some of the pages was so faint that you had to strain your eyes to read it. Also the dozens of screenshots are so faint they are completely unreadable. In some of the shots there was barely any contrast between the shot and the white background of the page. Prentice Hall should be ashamed to put it's name on the covers of this book.

Now for the contents of the book. Yes, the author does state in the preface that it is not intended to be a wireless networking bible but he went too far in the opposite direction and made it too basic. He covers the hardware and it's installation fairly well but he ignores some of the software issues that can keep a network from working. For example, I could not find the word PING anywhere in the text. This is a very basic command that lets you know that you can communicate with another computer on the network, one of the first things you should try in setting up a network. Also the command IPCONFIG. He does mention this command briefly in it's simplest form but gives no hint of the useful parameters of this command such as IPCONFIG /ALL, /RELEASE, /RENEW and others. These are essential things you must try when things go wrong.

In my opinion, if you get a network working using this book alone it will be either by dumb luck or you have two brand new computers less than two days old. For me, I filed the copy I bought in the trash where it belongs.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I felt like the woman on the cover when I was done, July 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Wireless Home Networking (Paperback)

Illustrations are the key! This book is just what I was looking for. The illustrations are the key to the effectiveness of this book - esp. b/c 98 is so hard to set up. Paul Heltzel does an amazing job of making this difficult task easy and - believe it or not - fun to do. If you have 98 and XP and are trying to set up a wireless network at home - THIS IS THE BEST BOOK ON THE MARKET!