Struggling with home networks

"Troubled times for home networks" declares the BBC. A little over the top perhaps, but there is an element of truth.

Networks are complex, it's the nature of the beast. As the article says,

The problem, he said, was the sheer complexity of getting all those different devices to work together and swap data via a home network.

The only devices I've seen that work as advertised are the Airport Express devices when streaming music. Even there they have the same problems with SSIDs and WPA that everything else hits.

Where the BBC article hits rocky waters though is in falling for the LAN over powerlines hype. Quite frankly, they are problematic and don't work properly. Trying to your network over your powerlines is an exercise in frustration.

The article also falls for some Wireless LAN hype quoting Selina Lo, chief executive of Ruckus Wireless, as saying "wide usage would not have come about without it being straightforward to use."

Well yeah, except it isn't. In 50% of home and offices it simply doesn't bloody work properly due to all manner of factors.

What worries me even more is Selina's, and many other computer users, idea that WLANs should be ubiquitous and just work when you turn your computer on. This is a security nightmare.

The lesson for users is to be careful of the hype. When you buy stuff like wireless networking or network over powerline equipment, make sure the retailer has a satisfaction guaranteed refund policy.