[Noisebridge-discuss] Slow internet access at 83c

[Jeffrey Malone]

Wires inevitably add clutter no matter how nicely you do it. Extra cables to
trip on, cover a table, etc.

Security should not be an issue. We're all pretty technically informed, and
I as such say anyone sending data they consider sensitive without some sort
of connection encryption is responsible for problems.

The problem however could be the wifi. Are the waps in use cheap ones for
homes with an intended 5 to 10 clients?
Perhaps a wap designed for larger clients is what is needed.

On Nov 26, 2008 10:59 AM, "jim" <jim at well.com> wrote:


at the risk of clogging the nb email stream:

* wifi devices i've used (including those at cafes
and other small businesses) go down regularly and
are not well-documented or managed with respect to
access (wep vs wpa and which variant thereof...).
  larger "corporate" enterprise wifi LANs have
the benefits of a trained IT staff.

* soho wifi installations are subject to cracking
(vs "hacking").

* wifi bandwidth does not allow a large number of
separate nodes--performance degrades as user
activity increases.

* because the medium is radio waves, it's subject
to radio wave disturbances (reflections, noise...).

* although theoretically the same as a wired LAN,
a wifi LAN allows greater risk of node-to-node
cracking--someone "over there" getting into the
machine you're using "over here".
  the increased risk is due to the fact that
it's easier to vet users of a wired LAN and also
that it's easier to monitor activities on a wired
LAN. easier not so much as a matter of features
(one could set up monitoring and vetting for a
wifi LAN) as a matter of neglect and ignorance
(similar to the causes of more risk on windows
machines).
  seems to me possible to effect, just a greater
pain in the ass (because the wifi machines go
down frequently) and with the requisite of fairly
constant attention by some trained personage.

  cables need not add clutter, at least not as
much as is often seen.
  rj45 jacks can be presented in on-the-wall
boxes that are wired through raceways or troughs.
  rj45 jacks can be distributed around the
perimeters of the main room and upstairs room.
  it's possible to rig a structure over the
center table that delivers not only ethernet
cables but electricity and task lighting as well.
in that case, people working at the center table
might connect to the LAN (or AC power or a task
light) through a raceway running down the center
of the table or through boxes just under the
center table that are tied to a raceway on the
undersurface of the table that connects to the
"bus" coming down from the rig.

On Wed, 2008-11-26 at 10:16 -0800, Chris Palmer wrote: > jim writes: > > >
on a separate note, ...
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