Wi-Fi defense
By Terry Currier
Wireless networking, or Wi-Fi, is
expanding. Notebooks are coming
with wireless connections built-in.
Families are buying more than one
computer and using wireless routers
for networking. According to one
survey, 52% of households with
computers are using wireless to link
them, mostly because it is easier than
trying to run Ethernet wire through
the walls and ceiling. For me, it is
fear of my wife catching me drilling
holes in the wall. Yet surveys have
shown over half of the people do not
bother setting up any security setting
for it. For most it is because it is just
too cumbersome. For others they feel
there is not need. “There is nothing
on it worth stealing.” Finally there
are those who do not even know it is
available. A friend of mine just
brought her son a notebook computer
and they set up a wireless network so
both could use the Internet
connection. When I asked her if it
Con tinued on page 3
In This Is sue
CES PART 1..........1
WiFi Defense .........1
President’s Message......3
CRABBY LADY .......11
Free is not enough ......14
General Meeting ......12
CES 2005 Part 1
By Terry Currier
Will someone tell me how my
wife does it? She has come with me
the last three years (to Las Vegas not
the CES show). Last year she told me
how she just spent $150 dollars at the
mall. Then she tells me that she won
that amount on the slot machine. This
year she’s telling me there were great
sales and she has spent $300 dollars
(so far). Later that day she called my
cell phone “I just hit $300 on the
Wheel of Fortune slot machine.” I’m
going to have to leave her home next
year; my sanity just won’t take the
progression.
The CES (Consumer Electronic
Show) is the premier show for
electronic devices for consumer use.
This can range from automobile
speakers to vacuum cleaners,
and of course computers. You
can see more information
about them and future events
they sponsor at
http://www.cesweb.org/
It is a huge show, hosted in
the Las Vegas Convention
Center which has over one
million square feet of space.
They use it all plus the Hilton
and Alexis Park convention
centers. If that was not
enough, they even had
circus-size tents in the parking
lot with more exhibitors.
Motorola even built a ski
jump in the parking lot and,
wouldn’t you know it, it actually
snowed there one day. The snow
flakes melted when they reached the
ground, but it did snow. If you were
wondering whose exhibit had the
greatest number of visitors, that
honor goes to the Texas Instruments
booth. With 10 minutes to go in the
Rams vs Seahawks football game, it
was packed. They had an 18-foot
screen showing the game.
Besides looking at the exhibitors
on the floor, I also went to nine press
conferences. One of these,
ImageScape, is sponsored by a
number of vendors who have
products specializing in digital
imaging. It is put together by
InfoTrends, a consulting and market
research firm. They always have
informative speakers with interesting
statistics and predicted trends.
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