-----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Iain L M Hotchkies
> Sent: 27 November 1998 00:29
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: home networks
>
>
> Several people have indicated that they have networks at home.
> I have a few questions:
>
> What, in very broad terms, would be the cost of networking,
> say, 4 PCs?
>
> What are the main benefits of so doing?
>
> Any drawbacks?
>
> Who uses the computers?
>
> If children, how many and how old and how do you know they're
> doing their homework and not downloading anal-sex jpegs?
>
> I have one completely disinterested (in computers) wife (although
> I've always sensed that if only I could get a sexy-looking box
> hooked up in the kitchen she might go for it, a 6-year-old and
> a 3-year-old who are whizzes with mice and improving all the time
> with trad. keyboard skills. They have a Pentium Multimedia PC
> for their own use but I can see a point approaching when hooking
> everything up together would make sense. Probably the time is not
> now, but not far off.
>
>
I used old network cards from work, bought 20m of ordinary TV arial coax and half a dozen bnc connectors for 4.99 from PCworld. One
afternoon drilling through walls later, I had a working network for my kids PC's. I can now back up my laptop onto a second hdd on
my main machine in half an hour (1.5Gb data) and synch files I am working on on the two machines while having breakfast and
downloading you lot at the same time. Alternative was to buy another printer for the kids or have them pestering me to print from
floppies they had save their work on. Also with netwatcher allows you to monitor what they are doing, ie home work or games.
Cost of networking 4 pcs = 4 network cards (?125UKP) cable and connectors 15UKP, one afternoon (250 + expenses if you want me to do
it!)
Trefor
Dr Trefor Roscoe
Beighton Health Centre
Queens Road, Beighton,
SHEFFIELD
GP Tutor Informatics - N Trent
Member of the BHIA
Dr Trefor Roscoe
Medical Director
Medical Legal Software Ltd
17 Owlthorpe Grove,
Mosborough, Sheffield S20 5JX
Tel 0114 251 0447
Fax 0114 251 0558
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