Home > Video Channel > Wireless Home Networking

Wireless Home Networking

Wireless networks allow you to roam freely--and stay connected. No longer tethered to the desktop (or your desk!), work and Web surfing happen when and where you choose.
Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Wireless Home Networking

  computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Hi, Tim Woods with the Internet Home Alliance, and I'm sitting outside. I'm sitting here with my Panasonic Toughbook, great piece of machinery, waterproof keyboard. I can drop it. I can do anything I want with it outdoors. That's pretty significant because as you can see, I don't have any wires. This isn't any magic trick. Right now, we're using a Cisco system Aironet device that's attached to the PC. This allows us to go anywhere around the house. Outside the house, we could be able to do our work. Just surf the web and do anything that we want. So, I can sit here, I can write a paper with word, send it into the house to the printer and print it off. I can get my emails; I can send emails, anybody that I want to all on a nice day outside of the house. Now, how can you beat that? The great thing about this is that as I sit here, as I sit, I can surf the web and we've got Bob Vila that come up on the screen. We're gonna go into several sites here just to show you what I'm talking about. And this allows us to really do anything we want. We can go anywhere on the web. The great thing about this is that Aironet system right now is interfacing with the direct-way system, which allows us to get our broadband to a satellite system. So, literally, I can do anything I want as I would from a PC inside of the house. You really can't beat it. It allows the flexibility that's never been there and a freedom that all of us would want."

 [-]


More Videos »Related Videos

Creating More Space in a Child's Bedroom
Creating More Space in a Child's Bedroom

The interior of this home, like most of the homes built in the 1920s, had very little storage space. Chloe Durant of California Closets reviews some of the changes made to the house to improve the storage space. Before the renovation, the boys' room featured lots of little containers for toys which made the room feel cluttered. In an effort to expand toy storage space and add space for work, a two-section desk was installed. Bookshelves and drawer space were included with the desk. Some bookshelves include baskets for toy storage. A door was removed from a pre-existing closet, the interior was painted, and display shelves were installed. A bunk bed from Levitz.com was put in the children's room, which helped open up more space. The master bedroom was also furnished with products bought online.

A Complete Basement Remodel
A Complete Basement Remodel

The new family room is all done and furnished and looks terrrific. Bob talks with Sarah Monzon, the homeowner who also acted as the general contractor on the project, about the remodeling work done on the room. The room was a "cave" according to Monzon before the project was started. A pitted soapstone sink was previously used as a laundry and had become an eyesore. The room was also cluttered with accumulated junk. Because of the shortage of space in the house, the family decided to finish the basement to add to the living space of the home. Monzon acted as the general contractor for the project because there wasn't money budgeted for the expense, which was not necessarily an experience she would choose to repeat. The local inspectional services department provided a large amount of information for the novice general contractor. It is imperative before homeowners do any work on their home that they obtain the necessary permits and find out what is safe and what is not. If homeowners do work on their homes without a permit and anything goes wrong, insurance will not cover the damage. Before any work was done on the house, the basement floors were concrete and heating ducts crisscrossed the ceiling. There was flooding damage in the basement during the past fall which needed to be corrected and prevented in the future. Basement Systems was called in to install a perimeter drain and drainage system. A lot of existing plumbing was then moved from the ceiling to make more headspace and a new HVAC system was installed to move the heating ducts. The new central air system complete with an air filter made the house much more livable. In one of the smaller spaces in the basement, a new bathroom was installed with the help of technology from Saniflo. Owens Corning Basement Finishing Systems was then called in to install new finished walls. Many of the mechanical devices in the basement are now hidden behind the walls but are still accessible as the walls can be easily removed. A new entertainment center was then installed in the finished basement featuring a S1 Digital Media Center. The media center allows the homeowner to browse digital pictures taken using the family's digital camera or to set the image as wallpaper for the screen. Television shows can be watched or recorded using a schedule guide. The media center also can store home videos, movies, and music. New reclining chairs from Bell'O were put in the entertainment room. When laying protection from flood damage in a basement, it is important to elevate wood from the concrete floor. Instead of using a plywood underlayment, a plastic tile system was used which interlocks and can be screwed down onto the concrete. Plastic webbing underneath the tiles diverts any water which may come up through the concrete or spill in the basement to the perimeter drain. Slide-Lok cabinets were put in the basement to increase storage space. The Slide-Lok wall system was put in place to hang tools in the workspace. The husband of the family is a musician and uses much of the storage space to hold his instruments. Because the room can double as rehearsal space, two and a half inches of fiberglass are in the walls to reduce sound transmission to the outside. The basement has a small office space for the husband as well. Accents throughout the space correlate with other things in the room. The lampshades on the desk have a design which relates to the flooring product. The floor does not have a wall-to-wall carpet although it looks as if it does. The floor is from Binvetec and features tiles of carpet which stick to the floor. The product has interlocking patterns which can easily be layed down. Bean bags from Sumo were put in the room for lounging in and the kids love to play on them. A stairwell fishtank from AquaVista is only four inches deep.

Brownstone Kitchen and Butler's Pantry
Brownstone Kitchen and Butler's Pantry

The huge space that is the kitchen of the Manhattan Brownstone has received its finishing details. Basaltina stone covers the counters, island, desk area, and built-in bar. There is a large double-door utility closet that houses the washer and dryer, as well as brooms and cleaning supplies. The custom cabinetry has a classic wainscoting profile and an off-white catalyzed finish. There is floor-to-ceiling storage that will need to be accessed, perhaps with a library ladder to traverse the space. Project manager Chris Vila shows Bob the built-in bar space that is designed to look like a butler's pantry, complete with glass-front cupboards and restoration-glass inserts from Bendheim. The Sub Zero 42-bottle capacity wine fridge is compatible with the home's security system to safeguard precious wine collections and block access.

Jonathan Adler Shop Tour
Jonathan Adler Shop Tour

In this segment Bob meets with Jonathan Adler at one of his retail locations in New York City's SoHo shopping district to discuss the furniture and accessory pieces that will be incorporated into the penthouse layout. Adler is part of an organization called Aid to Artisans or ATA, that brings together US artists, designers and business consultants together with craftspeople in developing nations.

More Content »More Content

Getting Connected: Project Sponsors

…on Internet connectivity. Cisco's Aironet access points and PCMCIA cards establish…
…broadband access to new areas and locations. Aironet products offer speedy data rates of up…
…as robust as that of a wired network. Aironet products can also be equipped with an…

Getting Connected: Controlling the Home

…Lighting, heating, cooling, and entertainment systems are accessed from a single wireless device. Watch Video! Cisco's Aironet wireless access point and wireless networking cards allow freedom to move throughout a home while staying connected to the…

Browse Topics

Click on a letter to browse content by topic alphabetically.



About  | FAQ  | Contact  | Sitemap  | Privacy Policy  | Terms of Use  | Help

© BobVila.com 2009