Conducting Your Research

Since technology changes quickly, your first stop should be a Web site that specializes in networking. You'll be able to find out what the experts think will best suit you, find the latest news, and often find reviews of wireless networking hardware.

The following sites will give you a good, up-to-date view of the current wireless networking offerings from vendors . Start your search here and you'll find more about wireless network setup and troubleshooting that you probably will ever need. Especially if you're just starting out, you should get to know these sites.

HomeNetHelp (www.homenethelp.com)

HomeNetHelp offers excellent tutorials and troubleshooting (Figure 6.1). The site does a particularly nice job of mixing its own advice with feedback from users, who offer insight on the unexpected hangups you might find when installing hardware. HomeNetHelp is a great place to find what might be called the secret handshakethat one small hardware tip or software setting that, when you know about it, can bring your network to life. Without the secret handshake, you're often left in the dark.

Figure 6.1. Stuck? Check out HomeNetHelp.

About.com (www.compnetworking.about.com)

About.com can point you to a number of helpful, and often-updated, web sites for all kinds of networking, both wireless and wired. This networking resource weeds out the lackluster sites and helps you find ones that will help you get startedor get you out of a jam (Figure 6.2).

Figure 6.2. About.com has become an invaluable source of good adviceand good linkson the Web.

homePCnetwork.com (www.homepcnetwork.com)

Focused primarily on wired home networking, homePCnetwork.com can still help you find out smart ways to get your computers talking, including connecting PCs and Macs.

Practically Networked (www.practicallynetworked.com)

Practically Networked is a must-see site when you're getting your network off the ground. Simple explanations and diagrams make this site one of the best around for planning, troubleshooting, and maintaining your first wireless network.