POLL: Is Setting Up a Home Network Way Too Complicated?
Saturday January 10, 2009
Microsoft officials asserted again this week that setting up a home network is way too complicated for most consumers. While this complaint was widespread and obviously true 10 years ago when home networks first started becoming popular, is it really still valid now? Use the "Vote" button in the embedded poll to register your opinion, and click the "Current Results" link to check result totals anytime.
→ See also - POLL: What Do You Use Your Home Network For?
Setting up a home network is not difficult at all with the wizards being what they are. The trouble is that after the setup has been done and you’ve run the wizards, it is “hit or miss” if the network is even going to work properly. This is especially a problem if you are trying to connect an XP machine to a Vista machine. I have even had problems with networking between two or more XP machines.
To further complicate the issue, I have encountered a few instances where the help center (XP)will describe one thing but when you follow the instructions what help describes, does not match what you find.
Despite these few quirks I think XP is the best Microsoft OS that I have ever used. I have had a Dell Inspiron laptop with XP Home (SP2) for about 3 years now and have had zero problems with it.
Also, do yourself a favor. DO NOT install SP3 to XP. It will screw up your machine. I had to uninstall SP3 because it so badly screwed up my machine.
I would say that setting up a LAN shouldn’t be too difficult if Windows’ wizards were designed better. I never know which option is the right one and end up getting the wrong configuration and having to set everything up manually.
On the other hand, setting up a LAN with OS-X is a breeze.
I haven’t got any issues yet about XP SP3. On the contrary, I’ve found my system more stable.
Gandalf. I have tried 6,000 times to network a mac(Tiger) and a PC XP SP2, with no success. Somewhere out there is the help I must have missed. Any assistance would be most appreciated.
Setting up a (wireless) home network is relatively straightforward and simple if you ensure you read the instructions that come with your router and any update release notes for your specific O/S. A big problem is that people rush out and get a router or such without fully assesssing their needs and special circumstances. For example I have some 2.4 MHz wireless phones so after I set up the router, I then had to follow the procedures to tweak the frequencies to optimize throughput and limit interferance. Also, if a person sets up certain security features (e.g encryption, MAC filtering) and then attempts to add a computer or change the settings, they must be careful to “open up” the network to allow the new computer to conncet before securing the network again. I never even used Microsoft’s built-in networking help, which can sometimes be confusing because they are generalized to assist with all general networking. I just used the programs provided by the router manufacturer.