[mdlug] one laptop per child review

[Ingles, Raymond]

> From: Brian Hurley

> > So did you change you ESSID from 9 *characters* to 5, or did you change
> > your one character ESSID from "9" to "5", or what?
> 
> I changed the one character 9 to 5.

 Hmmm. Did you change the *ESSID* - the "Extended Service Set ID" or WAP station
ID - or did you change the *channel* of the WAP? The ESSID can be (and usually is)
non-numeric, a text string used to identify which WAP you're connecting to. Around
our neighborhood, some are set to people's last names, a few are obscene, some are
descriptive or defaults ("Linksys", "Netgear", etc.). Ours is set to "private",
just as an indication that I don't want random people trying to connect to it.
(Of course, I also have WPA set up.)

 The channel ranges from 1-11 (in the United States, anyway, by FCC rules).
Unfortunately, these channels aren't as distinct as the name might imply, and they
can interfere with each other. E.g., two WAPs close together talking on channels
2 and 3 will step on each other's toes a lot and slow everything down. To ensure
no crosstalk, it's best to use channels 1, 6, and 11, and ignore the others.
(Unless someone else nearby has set up their channel on a weird setting like 4,
in which case you should be at least four or five channels away, 8 or above.)

 Based on what you report, I would guess you changed the channel, and avoided
interference with some other nearby WAP. Perhaps the XO is a bit more sensitive
to crosstalk than other Wifi clients...

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                      (313) 227-2317
 
 "If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in
  nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious
   problem coming down the road. I'm going to prevent that."
       - George W. Bush; Oct. 3, 2000 (debating Al Gore)
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