Faster Wireless Networking Gear Released

One year after entering the home networking market, Microsoft has released the second version of its wireless home-networking hardware. A new base station and wireless adapters for PCs and the Xbox game console use the 802.11g wireless protocol, which offers data transfer rates up to five times faster than 802.11b, the protocol on which the first generation of wireless products was based. The new lineup also supports the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security protocol and parental controls. However, the adapters are not available in USB versions.

802.11g Support, Security Additions

When Microsoft entered the home-networking market in fall 2002, the company felt that existing home networking products were too difficult to set up, but that perhaps products sold under the familiar Microsoft brand might encourage more consumers to experiment with home networking. This could then drive users to purchase multiple PCs and wireless-enabled devices and spur new home entertainment scenarios with a PC as the hub.