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by SMC Networks
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Its been 50
days since Microsoft released Xbox LIVE. Its been three days since
January 1st when MechAssault reset the top score boards
compiled through online play. To be exact, at the time of this writing,
its been two days, twenty hours, and forty-five minutes since the
scores were wiped clean, yet at this very moment the highest ranking
player has 3739 kills to his (or her) name. By my rough calculation, at
lets say 20 kills per game, 15 minutes average game length, not
counting the time it takes to boot the Xbox, load the game, and join a
team it would take 46.73 hours of gameplay in order to reach that
score. Put another way, a person would have to have been playing roughly
16 hours a day, every day since midnight January 1st. Put yet
another way, that would mean that youd actually spend only 7.33 hours
of each 24-hour day not playing MechAssualt on Xbox LIVE. You
think thats bad? Before the scores reset, the top-ranking player had
over 20,000 kills. Run the numbers on that one, taking into account when
Xbox LIVE was released, and youll realize that some poor fellow has
been hooked online for 5.4 hours per day for forty-six days. If we
pretend that they take the weekend off, and sleep five hours a night,
theyve been playing 9.56 hours per day, five days a week, for almost a
month and a half. If those poor souls had paying jobs (which they
probably dont anymore damn you Xbox LIVE) that paid $10.00 per hour
for similar hours, theyd have made nearly $2,500 before taxes, or 12
cents per kill. Fully 40% of their waking weekday hours went into this
one game. What does that mean to you? Its simple. If you meet these
guys online, prepare to have your butt seriously walloped. In the words
of immortal Tin-Tin, "Oh, crumbs."
But what if you cant get online? What if you dont even have the
option of becoming addicted to Xbox LIVE? What happens if all your
computers are connected to broadband through an 802.11b wireless
network? Microsoft cant help you. When I called and asked for
assistance using my Windows ICS ability to connect my console, Xbox LIVE
tech support quite forcefully informed me that they didnt support
wireless, that 56k was fast enough for surfing, but not for LIVE (they
were under the mistaken impression that I was talking about a satellite
service, such as DirectPC, as opposed to a wireless network within my
home, which certainly is fast enough). Thankfully, my editor saved the
day. The SMC Networks EZ Connect Wireless Ethernet Adapter SMC2670W
arrived on my desk with a note from Santa Clause, talking crap about
how I no longer had any excuses for turning down all of his challenges
to whoop me in a game of MechAssualt. Eager to prove myself a worthy
challenger, I skipped home early, plugged the device into the back of my
Xbox, and found myself in a fierce battle with the best, fighting for
that coveted position, that all powerful rank in the MechAssualt boards
number 5237.
For the most basic of functions, the SMC Networks wireless adapter is
a truly plug and play device. The instant you plug in the power, three
little lights appear for easy diagnostics. One light comes on when it
has power. The other comes on when its plugged into the Xbox (and the
Xbox is turned on). The third comes on when it automatically detects and
logs into your wireless network. In the most basic of levels --meaning
no security, no MAC address screening, nothing I went from being
severed from humanity (roommates, wives, husbands, and live-ins dont
count) to fully connected and blowing them up in the 31st
century without doing more than matching up the right plug to the right
hole. It was only after a few hours, when I decided that Id activate a
few security features, that things began to go hairy.
Aside from a bit of difficulty reading the Xbox LIVE MAC address
information (you can find that in the network setup area of Xbox LIVE),
the adapter was able to log onto the network on the first try. The
little device adapts the MAC address of the device its connected to, as
opposed to retaining its own, so that you only have to enter the MAC
address of the computer or Xbox its attached to. In this respect, its
a remarkably invisible device.
Unfortunately, trouble reared its head when I activated WEP
encryption. Oh, sure, the system ran, and is currently running,
beautifully once successfully set up. That, however, is often easier
said than done. You access the adapters setting through one of two ways.
The first is a Windows based utility that you install on your computer
and subsequently use to log into the wireless adapter. The other is web
based, in which, according to the manual, you use a standard web browser
in order to access the setting via an HTML based interface. Supposedly,
you simply type in the IP address of the device into the menu bar, and
press return (or enter, as you like). I was never able to successfully
use the HTML based feature, and not for lack of trying. I tried with
three computers two IBMs and one Apple ibook and three different
major web browsers. I tried connecting the device directly using an
Ethernet, in case what it really meant is that it would log in through
the cable of a connected computer. No luck. I tried accessing the little
guy in every conceivable way. Wireless network plugged in; wireless
network unplugged. Wireless network unplugged after the adapter has been
reset to default. No success. Luckily, the Windows based adapter is
another story all together.
Upon initial setup, when the adapter was successfully logged into the
same wireless network as the IBM, the EZ Connect program was able to
detect it and log in without a problem. However, as far as I can tell,
the instant the adapter is no longer able to connect to the 802.11b
network for any reason (including having the wrong WEP key), the
software loses track of the little guy. That translates into a rather
substantial problem. When setting up your WEP encryption keys, you have
to get it right the very first time. If you have a setting slightly off,
and the EZ wireless adapter can no longer log into the network, you
wont be able to re-log onto the adapter to correct the error until
youve disabled WEP security on your wireless router, and the adapter
itself has undergone a slightly confusing reset process to restore it to
factory defaults (meaning it wipes the WEP key from memory).
The instant I entered the wrong WEP key, I would lose the ability to
detect the adapter and it would remain that way until both of the
above had happened. This was a repeatable development, with consistent
results I could tell without testing in which conditions the computer
would be able to find the adapter, and when it wouldnt. I can only
assume that means that had WEP been activated when I first brought the
device into the house, it would not only have had difficulty logging
into the network (naturally) but I would also have been completely
unable to access the adapters setup features without first disabling my
WEP security. What you end up with is sort of a chicken before the egg
problem. You cant adjust the settings without it being able to access
the network. You cant access the network without adjusting the
settings.
The biggest problem with that is that there is no mention of it in
the manual, not even when it explains the basic purpose of WEP
encryption. As far as I can tell (based on this unit) you must disable
all WEP before you can configure your adapter, in which case the problem
goes away. Just as I can assume that the HTML based setup feature either
doesnt work, or that the manual doesnt explain how to access it well
enough, I can only conclude that the device is working properly, but
that the manual is severely lacking. Had I not been willing to dismantle
my network in order to figure out the problem, disabling WEP on my own,
my only recourse would have been to call tech support with a
non-functioning piece of equipment. While I can think of several reasons
the system may be designed the way it is (including issues that are not
related to the adapter, but instead related to how my wireless network
is configured), the lack of detailed documentation would be crippling.
Finally, I was able to get the system up and running by basically
following a specific sequence. First disable all WEP on the network.
Then login and configure the WEP settings on the wireless adapter. Then
login and re-enable WEP on the wireless router using the right key. Then
set up your computer. That done, you can expect trouble free access.
Once up and running, the adapter continues to do so without fail and
without notice. As with all computer equipment (keep in mind, the EZ
Connect is designed to connect any Ethernet enabled system not just
Xbox to a wireless network) things went very smoothly until they went
wrong. Thats a "duh" statement. Without WEP, the adapter is nearly
seamless plug and play. With it, you have to know a bit about what
youre doing, and expect a little time during setup.
So now Xbox LIVE is at my
fingertips. The power to communicate rests in a tiny microphone balanced
on my head, an ever-useful mute button, and the stream of information
flowing through my skull to the router directly behind me (cancer,
anyone?). I sent an e-mail challenging my editor to join my friends
list. And you know what? He wrote back to tell me he was on vacation --
out of town. Im convinced hes merely cowering in some dark corner,
dreading the day he gave me access. But thats ok. Everythings running
fine now. I can wait. In the mean time, its back to blowing up anyone
with a voice mask I cant understand. Besides, Im falling behind in my
hours.
Aaron Stanton (01/12/2003) |
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Snapshot
Ups: On
a simple, no-WEP network this is a true plug and play device; fast
connection; invisible MAC assignment; reliable once configured.
Downs:
Inadequate documentation; difficult working with
WEP setup.
Platform:
PC / Consoles
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