All other things being equal, a wired network connection will always provide better speeds and bandwith than wireless. Still, a wireless connection offers other benefits, such as decreased costs for networking an area and increasing user mobility. When the high bandwidths offered by a wired connection are not needed, a wireless LAN (WLAN) is an excellent option. To that end, setting up a wireless network entails making a number of strategic decisions about what equipment to use and where to place it. It helps to have signal analysis tools at your disposal.

• In your homework hand-in, please adhere to the following guidelines:
  1. Strive for readability for your reader:
     • You might want to create this PDF from a PowerPoint presentation, rather than a Word document.
     • Good choice of font and font size.
     • Correct spelling and grammar.
     • Logical organization of points.
  2. You will want to tell the user some basics about the app:
     • Name
     • The app's purpose.
     • What platform (e.g., iOS vs. Android) it is for.
     • How to find, download, install, and start the app.
     • What features the app offers -- and how those features are useful
  3. Pictures help. For example -- screenshots, drawing, and diagrams. Your guide should look professional and visually engaging!
  4. Examples help. Showing features used in the context of a specific goal.
  5. Strive for providing the right amount of detail:
     • Enough to help the reader understand what is going on...
     • ...but not so much as to overwhelm him/her!
  6. You may need to explain some concepts that are most relevant to using the app for the user's purposes. Things like...

     • Networks
     • Access points
     • Frequency Bands
     • Channels
     • etc...

     Moreover, what will the user actually do with this information? Remember, you are teaching laypersons how to use this app to accomplish useful things!
  7. You will want to include some further sources for the reader to consult, as well...
• Beyond the textbook and lecture notes, you will require some independent research.
• Your hand-in should meet the following specifications:
  • Cite your sources:
    • List any sources consulted. (Including sources used for help with math problems.) These are sources that significantly influenced your thinking or helped you to work out your ideas -- even if you did not take any specific ideas or points from them.
      • Any sources consulted must be explicitly oriented to science, technology, and/or engineering.
      • Generic, non-technology-specific encyclopaedias, dictionaries, websites, etc. are not valid sources.
      • User-created content -- such as blogs and discussion board posts -- should be vetted for credibility before being used.
    • Any direct quotes (or close paraphrasals) -- in other words, where you are using a specific idea or point from a source -- should be quoted and cited with endnotes
    • There may be some overlap between works consulted and endnotes.
    • If you do consult the textbook and/or lecture notes, those must be cited, as well.
    • There are various official citation styles -- MLA, APA, Chicago, etc. Choose one that you know. At the very least, your citation should make it easy for me to find your source -- and place within the source, if applicable.
    • For web links: Please include the URL so that I have the option to look up your source, if I wish to.
  • Any drawings/diagrams should be clear and easy to understand. Ways to make a drawing include:
    • In some kind of bitmap editing program, such as Paint.
    • Within your word processor, using the drawing utilities.
    • Drawing on paper and...
        * scanning your drawing to an image or...
        * taking a digital photograph of it.
      You would then import this image into your document. In either case, the image must be neat and easy to interpret.
  • Skip lines -- but not an excessive amount! -- to indicate divisions between questions and answers.
  • 1-to-1.5-inch margins