I've been using Open-Mesh (openmesh.com) products for almost a decade in a downtown area in a small town. Prior to that I was using Meraki, before they were bought out by Cisco and the price went through the roof. They work great, are easy to manage, fairly inexpensive, and have a nice dashboard. I have mostly OM2P v2 units installed with a slightly bigger antenna to transmit across streets, but a handful of these would work.
Based on my past experience with remodeling my house, I recommend the following:
Install the following in every room, on at least 2 walls - RG6 cable for TV. Use compression fittings - Cat6 for both phone and network - Use the Leviton (or off-brand) covers and keystone jacks to make everything look nice. This way you have cable, network, and phone in the same location. - 4 gang outlets near every spot you put network/phone/cable
Purchase a pro-grade cable amp to deal with signal loss. Invest in a Leviton (or off brand) cabinet to hide and organize the wires. Invest in a patch panel for the network and phone as well as a switch for the network. If anyone tells you the future is wireless, their full of crap. You still need wires for cable and decent networking. If you're running cable, you might as well run two more wires for network and phone. If you don't need phone, then you're set with at least two network jacks.
Other handy things people have mentioned - large conduit in the walls for running audio or future cabling needs.
Remember that everything else with"smart" this or "smart" that will need to be replaced within 5 to 10 years of installing it.
I help run a small community history and information web site and checking google analytics I'm showing 31% of visitor use 800X600, 1% use 640x480 and the rest (~68%) use 1024x768 or higher. This data is based on 2000 unique visitors since December 1, 2005 to today. The site was originally designed for 800x600 back in 1998. When we do a redesign in 2006 it will probably be set up for 1024x768.
Let me work on it for 10 minutes. It'll be screwed up then. (As I chuck my router and DSL modem in the middle of the road and grab my car keys.) Yeah, I've been working on getting my home network working for the past two hours! I need a beer.
You didn't say if you are living in a more rural area, but if you are then look at the level of technology that people are using. My sister and I have been working in rural pa doing residential and business computer support for quite some time.
I found a good price point at $30 an hour for residential, $40 for non-profits and $50 for business. Most of the work you'll find will be replacing blown hardware from power surges, virus and spyware removal, people not doing the system updates and small home or business networking.
For the most common stuff like virus and spyware removal and system updates I'll charge $60. If you do a good job and don't have to do a reinstall you can be pretty sure they'll come back in 6 months when little jimmy has the computer screwed up again.
Also, you should offer your services for helping people pick out their next computer. That also makes it more likely that they'll bring their computer back to you for maintenance.
For the past 8 years, since I was 15, I've been doing tech support on Christmas morning. I'll get up around 5 A.M. and wait for my first call. It has actually become one of my busiest days for doing installations and software troubleshooting.
It all started one blistery christmas morning when I got a call from one of my friends. He had his computer setup for a whole 10 minutes before he "Broke it". Now, with me having nothing to do on Christmas except listen to my family babble on I was more than happy to run over to his house and fix his computer. When I got there I flipped the switch, it said it couldn't find the hard drive so I checked the CMOS settings, sure enough he had gotten in there and changed the hard drive settings. Well, it got me $20 and a good meal so I was happy.
So over the years I started getting more and more calls; it all culminated into me earning big bucks on the holyest of days. Last Christmas I upgraded the local Borough Hall computers (6 of em) and brought in enough cash to pay for the presents I bought and still have cash left over for a long night of heavy drinking with friends. I love the holiday season, it always smells of money:)
Geesh, I'm going to run down to the bar and pick up a twelve pack for this event. Nothing like living in the middle of nowhere *with* broadband and watching the sky fall, all while sip'n a brew on the back of a lifted up 4x4.
All of this talk about 3D worlds being slow... I just want good heads up gear to become affordable. I would spent $300+ for a good head display if it meant virtual immersion. I believe it to be great when schools - like psu http://viz.cac.psu.edu/ invest in virtual projects. We can already see the future of VR, it will be based on technology that allows images to be overlayed onto your cornia and allow you to see the world around you while surfing the web... - the post that I'm referencing should be in the/. achives.
I'm looking forward to VR-Web based pages expecially with widespead highspeed internet access and faster systems. What is really needed is a refining of the code.
-0- Who cares what H.A.L. thinks, lets just turn him off.... Hello Dave, would you like some air today? -0-
Geesh, I want one of those things. It would take the work out of making dinner..
Lets See, I'll just put this on well-done and -ZaP- there we go. Hey everyone, dinner's ready!
Slashdot Mirror
I've been using Open-Mesh (openmesh.com) products for almost a decade in a downtown area in a small town. Prior to that I was using Meraki, before they were bought out by Cisco and the price went through the roof. They work great, are easy to manage, fairly inexpensive, and have a nice dashboard. I have mostly OM2P v2 units installed with a slightly bigger antenna to transmit across streets, but a handful of these would work.
Based on my past experience with remodeling my house, I recommend the following:
Install the following in every room, on at least 2 walls
- RG6 cable for TV. Use compression fittings
- Cat6 for both phone and network
- Use the Leviton (or off-brand) covers and keystone jacks to make everything look nice. This way you have cable, network, and phone in the same location.
- 4 gang outlets near every spot you put network/phone/cable
Purchase a pro-grade cable amp to deal with signal loss. Invest in a Leviton (or off brand) cabinet to hide and organize the wires. Invest in a patch panel for the network and phone as well as a switch for the network. If anyone tells you the future is wireless, their full of crap. You still need wires for cable and decent networking. If you're running cable, you might as well run two more wires for network and phone. If you don't need phone, then you're set with at least two network jacks.
Other handy things people have mentioned - large conduit in the walls for running audio or future cabling needs.
Remember that everything else with"smart" this or "smart" that will need to be replaced within 5 to 10 years of installing it.
I help run a small community history and information web site and checking google analytics I'm showing 31% of visitor use 800X600, 1% use 640x480 and the rest (~68%) use 1024x768 or higher. This data is based on 2000 unique visitors since December 1, 2005 to today. The site was originally designed for 800x600 back in 1998. When we do a redesign in 2006 it will probably be set up for 1024x768.
Ok, so I go to /. and post a message. What do you know, 30 seconds later my home network starts working again. Thanks /.!
Let me work on it for 10 minutes. It'll be screwed up then. (As I chuck my router and DSL modem in the middle of the road and grab my car keys.) Yeah, I've been working on getting my home network working for the past two hours! I need a beer.
You didn't say if you are living in a more rural area, but if you are then look at the level of technology that people are using. My sister and I have been working in rural pa doing residential and business computer support for quite some time.
I found a good price point at $30 an hour for residential, $40 for non-profits and $50 for business. Most of the work you'll find will be replacing blown hardware from power surges, virus and spyware removal, people not doing the system updates and small home or business networking.
For the most common stuff like virus and spyware removal and system updates I'll charge $60. If you do a good job and don't have to do a reinstall you can be pretty sure they'll come back in 6 months when little jimmy has the computer screwed up again.
Also, you should offer your services for helping people pick out their next computer. That also makes it more likely that they'll bring their computer back to you for maintenance.
For the past 8 years, since I was 15, I've been doing tech support on Christmas morning. I'll get up around 5 A.M. and wait for my first call. It has actually become one of my busiest days for doing installations and software troubleshooting.
:)
It all started one blistery christmas morning when I got a call from one of my friends. He had his computer setup for a whole 10 minutes before he "Broke it". Now, with me having nothing to do on Christmas except listen to my family babble on I was more than happy to run over to his house and fix his computer. When I got there I flipped the switch, it said it couldn't find the hard drive so I checked the CMOS settings, sure enough he had gotten in there and changed the hard drive settings. Well, it got me $20 and a good meal so I was happy.
So over the years I started getting more and more calls; it all culminated into me earning big bucks on the holyest of days. Last Christmas I upgraded the local Borough Hall computers (6 of em) and brought in enough cash to pay for the presents I bought and still have cash left over for a long night of heavy drinking with friends. I love the holiday season, it always smells of money
Geesh, I'm going to run down to the bar and pick up a twelve pack for this event. Nothing like living in the middle of nowhere *with* broadband and watching the sky fall, all while sip'n a brew on the back of a lifted up 4x4.
Check out Ruby Ranch Internet Cooperative Association at http://www.rric.net/
/. a few months ago about ruby ranch.
there was also a story on
All of this talk about 3D worlds being slow... I just want good heads up gear to become affordable. I would spent $300+ for a good head display if it meant virtual immersion. I believe it to be great when schools - like psu http://viz.cac.psu.edu/ invest in virtual projects. We can already see the future of VR, it will be based on technology that allows images to be overlayed onto your cornia and allow you to see the world around you while surfing the web... - the post that I'm referencing should be in the /. achives.
I'm looking forward to VR-Web based pages expecially with widespead highspeed internet access and faster systems. What is really needed is a refining of the code.
-0- Who cares what H.A.L. thinks, lets just turn him off.... Hello Dave, would you like some air today? -0-
There's this nifty device called a Microwave oven. Perhaps you've heard of it...
A microwho? Man, I've been trying to get this stupid fire started for two days, They said it was fire wood, but it isn't doin anything.
Geesh, I want one of those things. It would take the work out of making dinner.. Lets See, I'll just put this on well-done and -ZaP- there we go. Hey everyone, dinner's ready!