By Ishant Gupta
Your home Wi-Fi
network usually serves one main purpose- that is internet surfing. However, you
can do many more things with the help of the Wi-Fi router and broadband.
- Using Wi-Fi you can make phone calls
- You can turn your phone into a remote control using Wi-Fi.
Wireless Printing
Wireless
printing can be done in two ways. If you have a printer with a built-in Wi-Fi,
you can do this very easily. If you already have a printer (without built-in
Wi-Fi), you can buy a wireless router that supports wireless printing.
Canon Pixma
MX416 printer (Rs.6995) has a built-in Wi-Fi. Connect it with your home Wi-Fi
connection during the setup process. Then click on Install a printer and
it will function like a network printer.
In order to
connect your printer (without built-in Wi-Fi) or All-in-one printer with the
home network, you can use ASUS WL-520GU router alongwith a USB print server
(Rs.2500). You can connect your printer using the USB port provided at the back
of this router.
Phone Calls
You can use
Skype or Fring and make Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls from your PC.
You can also make VOIP calls using your mobile phone. You can use any Wi-Fi
equipped phone and download Skype on it. You can make calls without using any
SIM card. Skype-to-Skype calling is free. So, if your friend is sitting in some
other country and has downloaded Skype application, you can make a free phone
call to him or her. If you wish, you can buy a Wi-Fi handset, like the Belkin
Skype Internet Phone (Rs.8000). You can then connect it to your Wi-Fi network
and sign-in on Skype. Once done with this, you can easily make phone calls. One
more advantage of using Skype phone is that you can be online all the time!
Smartphone
or remote control?
If you wish
you can turn your phone into a remote control as well. Today there are many
internet connected devices such as Smart TV, Media players, Blue ray players
and AV receivers that can work with Android and iOS applications. Using these
applications, you can transform your portable device easily into a Wi-Fi remote
control. Its greatest advantage is that it can work across the walls too. You
do not even need to point it towards the TV. What is important is that the
device and smartphone both should be connected through the same Wi-Fi network.
For instance, if you have a Samsung Smart TV, you can use Samsung remote or
Samsung SmartView app. And if you have WD media player, you can use WD app or
free/paid third party apps.
Photo Transfer
It often
happens that while taking photographs, the memory full message flashes.
But now, using a new gadget you can solve this problem. With the help of Eye-Fi
SD memory card (starting from RS.2500), you can transfer files from camera to
your PC. For this, you have to use the Wi-Fi network. When using it for the
first time, you will have to first pair your device with your Wi-Fi network.
You will also have to make a new folder in your computer where you will save
all the transferred files. Then you can use the Eye-Fi card like any other
memory card. Whenever you are near your home Wi-Fi network, the card will
automatically start transferring the photos to the folder in PC. If you want,
you can also get the option to transfer images to iOS devices via Wi-Fi.
Keep a
watch on your house
With the
help of home surveillance cameras, you can keep an eye on your house. It proves
especially useful when you are going out of the house. Professional home
systems are very expensive and the cabling arrangement required for it is also
very complex. Instead, you can use the other option available to you. You can
have a home surveillance with the help of wireless IP camera. It is very
reasonably priced (Rs. 5000) and its functioning is easy too. It is an
All-in-one unit. It just requires a power connection. You can fix it on any
wall in Wi-Fi connection zone. It has a built-in infrared LED for night vision,
a built-in microphone and a speaker for two way communication. You can control
the device remotely.
File
transfer
If you want
to share large sized files between computers, you can get it done speedily.
Firstly, you must determine whether all your computers are in same work group.
For doing this, go to Control panel, then go to System, and then Advanced
system settings. Go to Computer name. Under Networking settings, enable Files
and printer sharing. Then click the following boxes: Turn on network
discovery, Turn on file sharing, Turn on sharing so anyone with
network access can open, change and create files. After following these
steps you will be able to see your computer under Computer networking
devices. In order to share files, you just have to copy them to public
folder. Other computers from the network can copy-paste from that folder.
