a. Thing #14 Our wiring closet (just
for the fun of it!)
Let's start the "wireless" discussion by talking about wires! Have you ever taken an exciting tour of our wiring closet? Well now’s your
chance! Take a minute to go into the back part of the Book Nook and open up the
black box that is our wiring closet. This contains all sorts of equipment for
running our Internet, Polaris, and wireless services. The main things you need
to know to make sense of this mess are:
·
The top row with the green cables coming
out of it is our patch panel. Wires go from this panel into one of the others
below.
·
The second row with the green cables is
the OCPL switch (sometimes called Metronet). Cables going from the top row into
this row are hooked up to the OCPL’s
Internet and Polaris.
·
The giant black box at the bottom left
is the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). This is the battery that keeps the
network running if the power goes out. This is also the machine that either I or technical services might ask you to reboot if there is a problem with our networks. You would simply hold down the button marked "Reset" until everything powers down and then back up again.
·
The silver box on the bottom right is
our public Internet switch, and the blue box above it is our wireless router.
Thing
#15 Data plan vs. wireless
Did
you know that “The world's first wireless telephone conversation occurred in
1880, when Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter invented and
patented the photophone, a telephone that conducted audio conversations
wirelessly over modulated light beams (which are narrow projections of
electromagnetic waves)”? (This is from a Wikipedia page on wireless service, which
mercifully I won’t make you read!) The term
“wireless” really encompasses all sorts of devices and services in addition to Internet
and cell phones.
Wireless
service is broadcast from a router, which uses radio waves to send out and receive signals. Each signal that gets
broadcast by an Internet or wireless connection has an IP Address, which is
sort of like your home address. It's difficult to pin down exact location using this address, but you can get pretty close. The IP Address of Central’s computers that use Polaris always
begins with 10.220.124, but the last numbers are within a range, so the
complete number would look something like: 10.220.124.11 or 10.220.124.216 –
not exactly the same for each computer, but the first three sets of numbers
never changes. Most things on our Marcellus network starts with 192.167, and the last two or three numbers vary.
3G
and 4G stand for “Third Generation” and “Fourth Generation.” It’s the shortened
term for the standards put forth by the Internet Telecommunication Union that
Internet and cell service providers must adhere to. Any company that advertises 3G or 4G
service is really just telling you that they are contractually obligated to
provide the most up-to-date and fastest service that is available. LTE stands
for “Long Term Evolution,” and is part of another set of standards that can
only be used across a 4G network, and basically has a goal of increasing
service speed through digital processing. So if you’re thinking that this is
just a bunch of technical jargon and that companies name their networks things
like 3G just to trick you into thinking they are fancier, you’re correct! Signals
are broadcast from cell towers owned by companies like AT&T and Verizon,
but you have to pay for this service. When you buy a smartphone, you are
required to buy a data plan to go with it, but service providers have levels of
data service and some are cheaper than others or can be shared.
Thing #16 Wi-fi and Bluetooth
peripherals
Okay,
now we’re done with the technical mumbo-jumbo, so it’s on to the fun stuff you
can do with all these signals in the air! Some other things that wireless
technology is good for:
Wireless
mouse and keyboard – Not only can you use a wireless keyboard or mouse with
your laptop computer, you can also use it with a tablet through what they call
“Bluetooth Pairing" (this is what we use for our catalog iPad). Bluetooth is similar to wireless, but it works over much
shorter distances, so it’s best for things like keyboards and cell phone
headsets that only need to be paired with one device. There are some cool types of Bluetooth keyboards available, like
rubber (http://www.sizlopedia.com/2007/07/04/5-flexible-rubber-keyboards-for-your-computer/)
and even holographic! (http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e722/)
Printing
and scanning – These devices are also available as either wireless or
Bluetooth. You can use these printers to send documents from any
wireless-enabled device – computers, laptops, phones, tablets, etc. Bluetooth
printers were originally sold with digital cameras so you could make photo
prints right from the camera, but now they are also used with smartphones.
Gaming
devices – Game systems like Wii, PlayStation, and Xbox have what they call
“wireless peripherals” for many of their games. You can get a guitar or
microphone, the controllers are usually wireless, and even in a way you are a wireless peripheral for your
gaming system! A camera detects your body movements and scores you accordingly,
all without the need for pesky wires.
