[Noisebridge-discuss] Slow internet access at 83c

[jim]

comments within (essentially, i see benefits and little 
harm to having a wired LAN in addition to the wifi): 


On Wed, 2008-11-26 at 11:23 -0800, Jeffrey Malone wrote:
> Wires inevitably add clutter no matter how nicely you do it. Extra
> cables to trip on, cover a table, etc.
   yes, but not necessarily much (for example the under-table 
access idea). 


> 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. 
as to security, who's to say who's outside but within access? 
also, it's possible that some members may not be much up on 
computer use, e.g. a (mythical) member with an interest in 
painting, scupture, and also chemistry and electronics--that'd 
be a lot to hold in one brain, were it i, i might decide to 
rely on friends to solve computer 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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