A Networked Home

Archive for March, 2008

Having recently run some new ethernet cables in my home I got to thinking about what exactly the differences are between the Cat 5E I was running and the older Cat 5 standard and the latest Cat 6 standard.

To start:

• Cat 5 is rated to 100m (100MHz)
• Cat 5E is rated to 350m (100MHz)
• Cat 6 is rated to 550m or 1000m (Depending on you source) (200MHz)

Both Cat 5E and Cat 6 are backwards compatible.

For general home use any of the 3 would be fine, but if you want to “future-proof” your home, or if you are wiring an office then Cat 6 is the way to go.

If you would like to read some more in-depth analysis of these cables then here are a few good links:

• http://www.connectworld.net/syscon/support.htm
• http://www.broadbandutopia.com/caandcaco.html
• http://discountcablesusa.com/ethernet-cables100.html 

A while back I posted news of the pending release of the Ziova CS615.  To date, there has been no other news about the product.

News on the Ziova website was last updated December 26, 2007 announcing the CS615 with a release date of March 2008 for the US.  Since then there has been no update.  I am trying to contact a company rep and I will keep everyone posted.

You may or may not know, but Microsoft, in an effort to boost it’s Office Live Workspace beta, has started a massive sweepstakes with daily drawings of prizes for users.

I am a beta tester of the service (a review will follow).  Therefore, I was automatically eligible for the drawings. Cash, Zunes, etc.

Today I received an email that I had won!  What did I win?  A coupon is being mailed to me for a FREE 12 PACK OF PEPSI!

Oh well, I suppose it’s better than nothing!  Even if I am a Coke drinker…

But, if you sign up and begin using the service there is still time for you to be entered into the sweepstakes.

Recently Google released it’s sync option for Microsoft Outlook.  This has been long overdue in my estimation, but, better late than never.

It’s a quick and simple solution.  Just download the sync tool and run it.  Two-way syncing is easy to set up.

You can check out Google’s complete instructions HERE.

The standard wireless router comes with 4 wired ports on the back (plus the line-in).  For most people this is plenty.  But if you need more, or need more than one wired connection in a different part of the home, then you are a candidate for a Wired Network Switch.

This is a simple “dumb” box with multiple ethernet ports on the back.  Any, and all, of the ports can function as in or out.  You can run an ethernet cable out of your wireless router to the wired switch.  You can plug into any of the ports and all of the other ports will then become outs to wherever you need connectivity.

I recently installed one in my basement and ran a connection off of my wireless router  in the office down to it.  I then used the switch to run two new connections to my living room - one to a media center PC and one to the DirecTV DVR.

Personally, I used a D-Link DES-1105.  There was absolutely no setup of any kind needed.  I simply plugged in the ethernet cables and it all worked.  The best part was that it was $9.99 via TigerDirect!

Video-On-Demand

Yes, now DirecTV is entering the VOD fray. I don’t know if it’s available on the new non-HD boxes, but we have the option on the HD DVR HR20-100S.

It says it’s in Beta (what isn’t these days). But it looks fairly smooth and there’s a LOT of content available.

So, first you need an internet connection for your DirecTV box. As far as I know you have to use ethernet, but since there’s 2 USB ports it may be worth a try to insert a wireless adapter. Be warned that the manual says the USB is “for future use”, but it also says that about the 2 ethernet ports (why 2?).

I ran a Cat5 cable up through the floor to the box from a wired network switch mounted in the basement. You can probably also use ethernet over power line though.

The “VOD” shows up prominently in the main menu and you can sort programs in a variety of ways - categories such as Family and Children, Sports, Movies, etc are then broken down into smaller categories.

You simply click on a show and then choose Add To Queue. When the download is complete you can watch the program and then save or delete it. I downloaded a couple of short kids programs and it was fairly quick. There is also HD content which I suspect is not so quick!