LITTLE DISH SERVES UP BETTER WI-FI RECEPTION

When I think of an antenna, the fist thing that pops into my mind is an image of the old rabbit ears that used to sit on top of my TV set back when I was a kid. Perhaps I'm dating myself once again as I reveal such imagery to you but there it is. Now ask any kid today what an antenna looks like and they're more than likely going to describe something that looks like a dish. And why not since the satellite dish has become the antenna icon of the 21st century. So it seems only natural that when you design something that's supposed to receive a modern, computer radio signal of some kind today that you make it look like a dish. And that's exactly what they've done over at Hawking Technology in designing their small antenna to receive a Wi-Fi signal.

The "Hi Gain Wireless-300N Dish Adapter" is the focus of this week's column.
It's curious that Hawking chose to not call their product an "antenna" but rather an "adapter." My guess is that it's a marketing thing since when you think about it, the word "antenna" really does carry along with it an anachronistic connotation. So it makes sense even if that really wasn't their intention. It's also interesting to note that they do use the word "antenna" in their product description where they compare a "Dish antenna"
to a "Standard antenna." Evidently when you say "dish antenna," you really are covering all of your bases for both past and present. So for the purposes of this column, I'll be using the word "adaptor" to describe this product since I would never want anyone to ever think of my column as being anachronistic.

The adaptor actually uses a built-in dual antenna that concentrates the wireless signals it receives. Hawking claims that their Hi Gain Wireless-300N Dish Adapter extends your wireless network six times and boosts your data throughput twelve times and is calling it the most powerful 802.11n wireless networking adaptor on the market. It's backwards compatible with the older Wi-Fi standards as well.

To install the adaptor, you just plug it into any available USB port and run the included setup CD. Hawking suggests that to obtain the maximum wireless range that you direct the little dish towards the general direction of your wireless source which is typically a wireless router.

Hawking makes a version of their Hi Gain Wireless-300N Dish Adapter for Windows and a version for the Macintosh. My guess is that they are probably functionally identical units but packaged with a CD that works with the corresponding platform. In either case, the adaptor really does look kind of cool sitting there on your desk so if you're into geek-chic, this baby's got your name all over it. Well, actually it has the Hawking name on it. And while the company has no association to Stephen Hawking, the name is still synonymous to one of the great scientists of our day and makes it that much more neat to own.

The suggested price for either the Mac or Windows adaptor is $79.99.

www.hawkingtech.com

Jump to:
[ Index of Craig's Columns | Main Columns Page | Computer America Home Page ]