Raymond Smith (McGraw Hill) ~ WIFI Home Networking
This 347-page book details how to build a wireless network for your home. WiFi is short for "wireless fidelity," the radio frequency technology used to connect computers.
Step by step, Smith outlines everything from the history of WiFi and the benefits of a wireless network to choosing the right equipment and setting up the network. The book, which sells for $29.95 and includes a CD version, is aimed primarily at small-office/home-office users. (Sorry, the CD is not included in this release).
There are several advantages of a wireless network, said Smith, who found in researching the book that more than 20 million U.S. households have more than one computer. With a WiFi home network, several computers can share the same high-speed wireless Internet connection and the same printer. If you have a laptop computer, you can work anywhere in the house or even the back yard -- because there are no wires to trip over.
Wireless networks make it easy to share files between computers and remotely control one computer with another computer. And, homeowners don't have to knock holes in walls like they would when running cable for a wired network.
Smith said a wireless network makes working from home easier and more productive. Real estate agents, for example, can connect a WiFi camera to their computer and show out-of-town home buyers photos of houses, and a salesperson could sit in their home office and use the technology to video conference with field engineers.
How it happened
In the last few months, interest in wireless networking has taken off. In addition to being a useful tool for home offices, wireless networks are cropping up in coffee shops, airports and hotels.
"Ray has a real knack of seeing things before they become popular," said Jade, who works for Verizon's DSL division. "... A lot of families have more than one computer, and (WiFi) is a way to get them to talk to each other. It's the next logical step."
Although Smith never wrote a book before, his longtime friend David Leathers, a Videography magazine editor and president of Eye Square Productions, a video and film production company in Culver City, didn't hesitate to recommend Smith when McGraw-Hill was looking for a WiFi writer.
"I knew he knew the subject matter because he had been directly involved in it a very long time," said Leathers, who has written technical books for McGraw-Hill. "I've not been particularly impressed with some of the technical writing I see. Some of it looks like somebody took some downloads from the Net, some press releases and rescrambled it and then called it an article. But I knew Ray would take it seriously and do original work on it." Smith's serious work-ethic impressed his editor at McGraw-Hill. "He did a great job of researching and getting enough information from the vendors," said Judy Bass, senior editor with McGraw-Hill.
Smith accepted criticism without complaint and quickly learned the style preferred by McGraw-Hill's Professional Book Group, which publishes hundreds of titles a year. "He really went out and learned about the market and in the process marketed himself really well," Bass said. Unlike many how-to technical books, Smith writes in a manner understandable by both novices and tech-savvy readers. The book is sprinkled with interesting tidbits. For instance, the first wireless communication was in 1880 when Alexander Graham Bell invented the photophone, which used a beam of light to carry a voice message between buildings in Washington, D.C.
Step by step, Smith outlines everything from the history of WiFi and the benefits of a wireless network to choosing the right equipment and setting up the network. The book, which sells for $29.95 and includes a CD version, is aimed primarily at small-office/home-office users. (Sorry, the CD is not included in this release).
There are several advantages of a wireless network, said Smith, who found in researching the book that more than 20 million U.S. households have more than one computer. With a WiFi home network, several computers can share the same high-speed wireless Internet connection and the same printer. If you have a laptop computer, you can work anywhere in the house or even the back yard -- because there are no wires to trip over.
Wireless networks make it easy to share files between computers and remotely control one computer with another computer. And, homeowners don't have to knock holes in walls like they would when running cable for a wired network.
Smith said a wireless network makes working from home easier and more productive. Real estate agents, for example, can connect a WiFi camera to their computer and show out-of-town home buyers photos of houses, and a salesperson could sit in their home office and use the technology to video conference with field engineers.
How it happened
In the last few months, interest in wireless networking has taken off. In addition to being a useful tool for home offices, wireless networks are cropping up in coffee shops, airports and hotels.
"Ray has a real knack of seeing things before they become popular," said Jade, who works for Verizon's DSL division. "... A lot of families have more than one computer, and (WiFi) is a way to get them to talk to each other. It's the next logical step."
Although Smith never wrote a book before, his longtime friend David Leathers, a Videography magazine editor and president of Eye Square Productions, a video and film production company in Culver City, didn't hesitate to recommend Smith when McGraw-Hill was looking for a WiFi writer.
"I knew he knew the subject matter because he had been directly involved in it a very long time," said Leathers, who has written technical books for McGraw-Hill. "I've not been particularly impressed with some of the technical writing I see. Some of it looks like somebody took some downloads from the Net, some press releases and rescrambled it and then called it an article. But I knew Ray would take it seriously and do original work on it." Smith's serious work-ethic impressed his editor at McGraw-Hill. "He did a great job of researching and getting enough information from the vendors," said Judy Bass, senior editor with McGraw-Hill.
Smith accepted criticism without complaint and quickly learned the style preferred by McGraw-Hill's Professional Book Group, which publishes hundreds of titles a year. "He really went out and learned about the market and in the process marketed himself really well," Bass said. Unlike many how-to technical books, Smith writes in a manner understandable by both novices and tech-savvy readers. The book is sprinkled with interesting tidbits. For instance, the first wireless communication was in 1880 when Alexander Graham Bell invented the photophone, which used a beam of light to carry a voice message between buildings in Washington, D.C.
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