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WIRED HOUSE: Living with Technology

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VoicenData Bureau
New Update

Yateen Chodnekar is network manager, Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corp.,TokyoTalking

phones, wall PCs, and invisible networks. Welcome to the

ultimate digital living room. Great an-era where communication

rules. Forget everything that you know about dial-up modems and

busy signals. We are talking about a multi-megabit, always-on

information fire hose running into every room in your house and

connected to everything AC or DC.

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The 21st century

home will be humming with data. A high-bandwidth pipe will

deliver a full-time Net connection to your house. Even your

phones will get in on the act by letting you check and send

e-mail, organize your calendar, and pull information off the

Web. Whether you are building your dream house or just renting a

cramped apartment, there is no reason your place cannot be the

smartest one on the block.

Let the

Devices Talk

You

have got a PC in your home office, a home theatre in your living

room, and gadgets all over the house, so why cannot they all

talk to each other? Years to come will unfold the answer to this

question. Better consider use of technology and communication

while designing your house. Wiring your new house with a

combination of Enhanced Category 5 cable and coaxial cable will

give you the infrastructure to handle everything from Fast

Ethernet to video. Of course, just as you would not install your

home’s plumbing yourself, you probably would not set up the

wiring either. Check an Internet directory like Home Automation

or Structured Wiring to find a networking consultant in your

area.

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If the idea of getting

wired does not appeal to you, wireless is the word for you.

Connect to your network while sitting out on the deck with your

notebook. From cellphones to cordless drills, tomorrow’s world

is wireless. Why should your home network be any different? Once

priced out of reach for most consumers, wireless-networking

products will come down to Earth. For only a few hundred rupees,

you will have the luxury of kicking back in your balcony,

notebook in your lap, while surfing the Web and printing

tomorrow’s presentation on the inkjet in the backoffice.

Give your house the

fastest network possible. If it is speed you need, an

old-fashioned 10/100 Ethernet set-up is the way to go. You can

buy a 100 Mbps PC network card for less than the price of a

couple of video CDs. You will have to punch some holes in your

walls, run cable and wiring through your house, and install some

network cards in your PC. But the good news is that getting up

and running will be easier than ever. The New

Technologies

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In

the new millennium technologies to watch for are

802.11(Ethernet) HR and Home RF wireless networking. 802.11

stands for wireless Ethernet, and HR stands for high rate or 11

Mbps. The new standard provides the technical guidance for

developing wireless networks that use the 2.4 GHz radio band and

run at 11 megabits per second.

HomePNA2.0–Home Phone

line Networking Alliance standard–allows 10 Mbps signaling

over existing home phone lines. The key to the technology is

that it allows the networking of computers, peripherals, and

appliances without interrupting existing phone services.

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Telephones are

turning in PCs and pocket devices, but they are also a key part

of the 21st century home. Glimpse who you are talking to, not

just hear them. Phone calls and e-mail messages are a fact of

urban life today. But in the 21st century home, these two forms

of communication will be as embarrassingly passé as parachute

pants. Whether it is to catch up with your college buddy on the

other side of the country or to talk to your brother-in-law in

the room upstairs, videoconferencing lets you see–not just

hear–the person you are talking to.

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Sure, once fatter

broadband pipes are commonplace, videoconferencing will become a

higher-quality and more popular activity. But there is no reason

you cannot have a solid and inexpensive videoconferencing system

today. All you really need is a good camera to hook up to your

multimedia-enabled PC and a telephone line. Analog phones marked

as the first generation, digital phones as the second

generation, wireless data phones are poised to become the third

generation phones.

Technologies to watch are

MP3–the new digital audio compression standard that offers

near-CD-quality sound is taking the Web by storm. Wireless

Application Protocol (WAP) allows various types of wireless

communication devices (cellphones, pagers, handheld PCs) to send

and receive information over the Internet, regardless of

manufacturer or network operator.

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Using your home’s

built-in phone wiring as a ready-made network is no good if you

have only one phone jack in the house. But chances are you have

power outlets in every room. 21st century will have technologies

enabling you to use your home’s AC wiring and power outlets to

string together a couple of PCs and a printer in a matter of

minutes.

You don’t even need to

open up your PC. Just plug the network adapters into your system’s

parallel port, and plug those into a power outlet. Technologies

that offer you the convenience are X-10, Intellon, CEBus,

Echelon, PLUG-IN, etc. These are various power line

communication technologies, which allow transfer of data over

the power line.

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The drawbacks? Power line

networks are relatively slow and changes in line condition

affect performance. In a place where stable electricity is a

privilege of handful cities your state-of-the-art communication

home will often come to a standstill. Your Next

Phone Will…

Play MP3 Tunes

When third generation

wireless phone networks go up, your 3G phone will be able to

download data at up to 2 Mbps. This bandwidth will make short

work of MP3 files. Skip the walkman, plug a headset into your

phone instead!

Replace Your Wallet

No more loose coins, and

no more waiting in line at the ATM. An integrated smart card

will store cash as digital bits. When you need more money, slip

the card into your phone, dial up your bank, and download more

digital cash.

Keep an Eye on Your House

With high-resolution

screens and broadband wireless networks your cellphone will be a

mobile video viewer. Connect via the Internet to a camera in

your house to make video phone calls or check the security

system.

But, Wait a Little…

Talking about all

this stuff is way above ground. According to the 1991 census,

after five decades of "planned development" the number

of houseless households has touched 31 million and is likely to

reach 41 million by the end of this millennium. As on 31 March

1997, 56 percent of Indian villages did not have a Village

Public Telephone (VPT). The increase in the network of roadways,

railways, and airways has not kept pace with the increase in

traffic. Lack of development of rural areas and lack of

infrastructure will confine the wired house of the 21st century

to few urban individuals.

Till then I can only say

"I had a dream. When will my dream come true?"

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