PC Magazine Home Networking Solutions

At PC Magazine, we've been talking about "media convergence" for years. Network-based home entertainment devices like TiVo and Microsoft's Media Center PC . . . make a home LAN more useful than ever. Chapters 2 and 12 show you how they work.

Ready to set up a network that maximizes your digital media?

Here's the hands-on guide you've been looking for

You don't need a doctorate in computer science to set up a home network, but a little friendly advice sure won't hurt. This easy-to-follow guide is the next best thing to moving PC Magazine's Les Freed into your guest room for a week. Les takes you shopping for the right equipment, helps you put it together, offers pointers on security, and most importantly, leads you right to where the fun begins.

Learn cool stuff you can really use

• Discover what a network lets you do (it's a lot more than sharing a printer!)
• Learn to speak the language so you can buy exactly what you need
• Hook up Windows®, Mac OS® X, and laptop computers into a single network
• Share photos, video, recorded TV, and music collections
• Mix and match wired and wireless components for the LAN that's right for you
• Lock out cyber-intruders with the right firewall
• Add your game machine, TiVo®, and big-screen TV to your network
• Know how to find and fix network problems
• Let your LAN manage your home security system
• Explore and experiment with Les Freed's Networking Cookbook

• Les Freed shares his many years of networking experience and insider status to guide readers step by step through the confusing and intimidating world of home networking
• Features special emphasis on using the network for entertainment and digital media, offering invaluable how-to advice on sharing TV, video, photos, music, and more
• Begins with the need-to-know basics of networking, including the various types of networking equipment and choosing the right type of network
• Readers roll up their sleeves and actually construct their network-either wired or wireless-or by even using the existing electrical wiring already in the walls of their home
• Shows readers how to set up all the necessary software on their Windows XP PC or Apple Mac OS X computer so they can quickly, easily, and safely share files, printers, and Internet connections

First, Les covers the need to know basics of networking, including the various types of networking equipment, and how to choose the right type of network for their home.   Next, readers roll up their sleeves and actually construct their network – wired, wireless, or even using the electrical wiring already in the walls of their home.  Each step of the way, PC Magazine expert Les Freed is right there with them, with hands-on guidance, tips, tricks, and work-arounds that only come from years of networking experience.

Next, readers set up all the necessary software on their Windows XP PC, or Apple Mac OS X computer, and quickly and easily are able to share files, printers and internet connections - all safely and securely.

New special empahsis is placed on using the netowrk to share enterainment and digital media.  Readers will find how-tos on sharing TV, video, photos, music and more.

Les and long-time collaborator Frank Derfler shared the 1993 Computer Press Association award for Best How-To Book for their book How Networks Work, still in print in its 6th edition.

Acknowledgments.

Part I: Why You Need a Network.

Chapter 1: What Is a LAN?

Chapter 2: What Can You Do with a Network?

Chapter 3: A Networking Crash Course.

Part II: Designing Your LAN.

Chapter 4: Designing Your Network.

Chapter 5: Getting the Right Stuff.

Part III: Installing Your LAN.

Chapter 6: Installing an Ethernet LAN.

Chapter 7: Installing a Wireless LAN.

Chapter 8: Configuring Your Network.

Part IV: Using Your LAN.

Chapter 9: Sharing Internet Access.

Chapter 10: Sharing Files on Your LAN.

Chapter 11: Sharing Printers.

Chapter 12: Home Media and Convergence.

Chapter 13: Security.

Chapter 14: Advanced Networking Topics.

Appendix A: Home Networking Cookbook.

Appendix B: Troubleshooting Your LAN.

Appendix C: Online Resources.

Glossary.

Index.