FOREWORD
How essential is an Ethernet connection today? Hello readers,
I treated myself to an early Christmas present this year in the shape of an Asus T100, a 10.1 inch hybrid Windows tablet plus keyboard dock with quad-core processor, 12 hours battery life and completely solid state with a 64GB eMM drive – which is like an SSD but is far better on battery life.
As well as being a nice little performer for around £300 – imported from the US and paying the VAT – the unit runs Windows 8.1, allowing the usual roster of network analysis plus performance utilities (Fing and InSSIder for starters), making it stand out from a iPad/Android tablet crowd.
But wait for it – there’s no Ethernet port on the unit.
I asked Asus why this is the case at a recent show and they told me it’s not down to price, it’s just
that wireless connectivity is the main means of connectivity for most users.
This makes the T100 the very first Windows device I have purchased (excluding a Nokia Windows smartphone, of course) for as long as I can remember – even back to a Win95 Toshiba Libretto in the early 1990s.
Being the sad techie that I am, I grabbed a Wifi- to-Ethernet bridge gizmo on eBay for about £20, allowing me access to the usual array of wired network analysis facilities, but – to be honest – I’ve not used the gizmo in the three weeks since I got it, as wireless access (and yes, I do use a VPN) is so ubiquitous.
And even then, I carry around a 4G MiFi unit with
an array of SIM cards to maintain connectivity in most places – even whilst travelling in Europe.
Of course, at the University I have access to FTTx technology that feeds a 300Mbps connection to the hotdesk I use, but with Wireless N over 5GHz I can achieve around 500Mbps in the real world.
Are we at the point where wired connectivity outside of the data centre is starting to become obsolete? That’s some food for thought.
Thanks for reading
Steve Gold Editor - NETCOMMS EUROPE @stevewgold on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
www.netcommseurope.com
NETCOMMS europe Volume IV Issue 1 2013 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44