Household Tips

How We Compute Wirelessly Now...
We currently use a wireless router that acts as a network hub for our 4 computers.

From there, Jim's desktop, Jim's laptop, and my laptop can all tap into the Internet wirelessly -- thanks to our (secured) wireless network.

The only problem: Interrupted service.

For some reason, all three of those computers will mysteriously go offline on occasion. Sometimes it's only for a few seconds at a time. But sometimes, it's for as much as 30 minutes or so. And when you're running a home-based business online, that's not a pleasant experience.

By the way, my desktop computer is hard-wired for round-the-clock Internet access on its own, and the Internet never goes down on that computer. In case you're wondering, Internet down-time on the other 3 computers can always be restored by rebooting the router manually... or by waiting long enough for the problem to "fix itself".

Most likely, the interruptions can be blamed on our old, outdated wireless router. It's only a couple years old, but perhaps it's just not up to par with the most current technology, speeds, and Internet protocols.

The truth is, we don't really know why we're getting so many periods of interruption these days. But our level of frustration is steadily rising -- each time it happens -- and Jim is eager to try something new.

Plug In & Go Wireless... Say What?
The Actiontec MegaPlug Ethernet Adapter looks like a whole new way to go wireless. You just plug it into a standard wall outlet. And since it is powered by the electric lines built-into your house, it should be fairly reliable.

It's based on the HomePlug "powerline networking" experience. And it looks like there are lots of great products on the market already for this type of technology -- Jim & I had just never heard about them until now.

Here's a visual description showing how the product works through the electricity in your house.

We'll let you know how it goes after we install ours. Not sure if we're waiting to put this into our new log home, or if we'll give in and try it now -- to alleviate our frustrations with down-time on the Internet.

We love the fact that it's like your computer is hard-wired to the Internet, without having to run wires. And hopefully it's faster and has fewer interruptions than our current wireless router does. It has advanced security features as well.

Stay tuned.