802.11a - Gizmodo

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Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Buffalo Banned from Selling 802.11a and 802.11g Gear in the US
Wi-Fi BlackBerry Cherry Picked by FCC

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macpatrik
09/23/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I'm using dual band through Airport Express and the 2wire router that AT&T u-verse uses. So both g and n and it works out wonderfully.
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Eavangel
09/23/09

@macpatrick: I do the same. Wireless N 5.0ghz off the airport extreme and then wireless G from my bros old netgear. The G is for people who connect with cellphones, and the N for laptops =] Everything else is wired gigabit (Desktops, PS3)
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something_unique_and_descriptive
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I was waiting for the final spec to be ratified.

I'll stick to G until either prices come way down or my router dies. I just can't justify the expense, the WAN connection wouldn't saturate 802.11b, let alone G (I live out in the sticks), so the only reason to upgrade to N would be more on-site bandwidth... and if I need that I can run some gigabit copper for a lot less.
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ID Ron Burgundy
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
*whatever my neighbor users. :)
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Fabricamity
09/22/09

@Identity less than three: +1
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Imagism
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Excuse me, exactly what kind of an environment would even use A band anymore?
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something_unique_and_descriptive
09/22/09

@Imagism: Corporations who sunk massive amounts of money into a 802.11a wireless infrastructure and due to corporate bureaucracy / pettiness / departmental infighting refuse to upgrade until they've "gotten their moneys worth".
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DrRiAdGeOrN
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
There is a reason I have a rack in the house, Gig to every room. I'm staying with G till I need a new AP for the bedroom and only then it will be a gig switch/router.
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SQLGuru
09/22/09

@DrRiAdGeOrN: I'm running G, but I just wired the house for more consistent coverage.
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UnderLoK
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Technically I use them all, but at home 3 are N 2 are G.
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EBone
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Airport Extreme with N. My MBA can receive N, all other computers in house use G.
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skywalker24
09/22/09

@EBone: I thought if you have anything G in your network, the whole network gets downgraded to G. Is that not right?
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EBone
09/23/09

@skywalker24: Only when the G computers are running.
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IN THE FACE!
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I've got a dual-band N router, but I haven't really felt the need to upgrade any of my laptops (which all presently have G internal cards already)...

I rarely need to transfer large files wirelessly, so meh, G is fine for now.
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STFU_FPU!
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
what happened to C,D,E,F,H,I,J,K,L, and M?
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Barry99705
09/22/09

@iPhone Home Now!: Within the IEEE 802.11 Working Group,[14] the following IEEE Standards Association Standard and Amendments exist:

* IEEE 802.11 - The WLAN standard was original 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz RF and infrared [IR] standard (1997), all the others listed below are Amendments to this standard, except for Recommended Practices 802.11F and 802.11T.
* IEEE 802.11a - 54 Mbit/s, 5 GHz standard (1999, shipping products in 2001)
* IEEE 802.11b - Enhancements to 802.11 to support 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s (1999)
* IEEE 802.11c — Bridge operation procedures; included in the IEEE 802.1D standard (2001)
* IEEE 802.11d - International (country-to-country) roaming extensions (2001)
* IEEE 802.11e - Enhancements: QoS, including packet bursting (2005)
* IEEE 802.11F - Inter-Access Point Protocol (2003) Withdrawn February 2006
* IEEE 802.11g - 54 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (backwards compatible with b) (2003)
* IEEE 802.11h - Spectrum Managed 802.11a (5 GHz) for European compatibility (2004)
* IEEE 802.11i - Enhanced security (2004)
* IEEE 802.11j - Extensions for Japan (2004)
* IEEE 802.11-2007 - A new release of the standard that includes amendments a, b, d, e, g, h, i & j. (July 2007)
* IEEE 802.11k - Radio resource measurement enhancements (2008)
* IEEE 802.11n - Higher throughput improvements using MIMO (multiple input, multiple output antennas) (September 2009)
* IEEE 802.11p - WAVE — Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (such as ambulances and passenger cars) (working — June 2010)
* IEEE 802.11r - Fast roaming Working "Task Group r" - (2008)
* IEEE 802.11s - Mesh Networking, Extended Service Set (ESS) (working — September 2010)
* IEEE 802.11T — Wireless Performance Prediction (WPP) - test methods and metrics Recommendation cancelled
* IEEE 802.11u - Interworking with non-802 networks (for example, cellular) (working — September 2010)
* IEEE 802.11v - Wireless network management (working — June 2010)
* IEEE 802.11w - Protected Management Frames (September 2009)
* IEEE 802.11y - 3650-3700 MHz Operation in the U.S. (2008)
* IEEE 802.11z - Extensions to Direct Link Setup (DLS) (August 2007 - December 2011)
* IEEE 802.11aa - Robust streaming of Audio Video Transport Streams (March 2008 - June 2011)
* IEEE 802.11mb — Maintenance of the standard. Expected to become 802.11-2011. (ongoing)
* IEEE 802.11ac - Very High Throughput <6GHz (September 2008 - December 2012)
* IEEE 802.11ad - Extremely High Throughput 60GHz (December 2008 - December 2012)
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Sir Gibler
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Those 8 of you who voted 802.11a can go read Engadget. Oh and there should be a poll for "why do you use a standard other than 802.11n" and I just about guarantee you'll see 100% for "I have at least 1 gadget that isn't compatible."
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Barry99705
09/22/09

@Sir Gibler: I don't have one device that is compatible....
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ripfire
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I use 802.3ab
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Barry99705
09/22/09

@ripfire: That's the fastest way to go. Waaay more secure as well.
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Edited by Barry99705 at 09/22/09 5:47 PM Barry99705 was starred Barry99705 was unstarred

ThisCharmingMan
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I'm terrified to buy a new router because it's such a serious pain in the ass to install. When will these things become user friendly?
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IN THE FACE!
09/22/09

@ThisCharmingMan: I don't think the router is the problem.
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craig_16
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
Well despite the fact I have a wireless n router and 2 wireless n computers, I also have 2 iphones, an xbox 360 and an old laptop that use g and a DS that uses b (!). This means I have to run my network in b/g/n mode, which drastically reduces the advantages of using n in the first place.

From the FAQ for my router:

Question :
What happens when I connect a Wireless B, B , G, or Super G device to my Draft N network?

Answer :
Your network will operate at the speed of the slowest host,therefore if a slower hosts connects, every host will drop speeds to match. (i.e. If a G host joins, the network changes to allow54Mbps maximum.)

If I'm reading this right, that means that whenever I check my phone or play a game the network is operating at g speeds and if someone happens to play online on the DS, we all go down to b speeds. If this is correct, then it will be a long, long time before I get to take full advantage of wireless n.
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k2snowboards88
09/22/09

@craig_16: do what I did. Get a $30 netgear router, hook it up to your n router as an access point. Now you have a network for you g stuff, a network for your n stuff, and everything talks to each other just fine.
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Kaiser-Machead
09/22/09

@k2snowboards88: That's what I have. I was previously using a Netgear WGT264, but now that I have the Time Capsule, I reserve that solely for the MBP, and use the Netgear for my other wireless peripherals.
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GitEmSteveDave_ My Brute Dojo Code CDIAFIFE
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I use and I will stick with g, so when everyone else jumps over to n, I'll have more bandwidth to hog.
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Barry99705
09/22/09

In reply to Which Flavor of Wi-Fi Do You Use?
I'm still rockin 802.11g, cause none of the wireless devices in my house support n.
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