Hardware companies in 1999 began to ship a new generation of home networking products that allow users to link PCs and other peripherals within a home either by wireless connections, or by plugging hardware into an existing phone jack. As access to high-speed Net connections becomes more widespread and more homes own more than one PC, firms believe that many will want to tap technology that will allow them to share Internet connections, printers and files, as well as play video games with other PC terminals in a house. Companies like 3Com and S3's Diamond Multimedia are just some of the players in this new networking space. To push home networking technology, tech firms say they have made the technology easy to use as well as inexpensive. Looking to grab an early lead in this growing space, leaders like Intel have spent millions of dollars on advertising to push its own technology for home networking.
Many manufacturers say they have also taken a cue from the past.
Early technology based on a standard called Ethernet didn't break into the home market at large as it was too difficult to manage for most home users, analysts added. Yet arguments over which technology standard to use for home networking have to be solved. Analysts fear that a number of products based on incompatible technologies would only confuse consumers, and slow industry growth. With the flood of new packages for home networking finally hitting the shelves, industry observers say the year 2000 will be crucial in determining whether consumers really will take to the technology. You'll see how much interest there really is and if people will actually buy this stuff.