Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!m.cs.uiuc.edu!knauer
From: knauer@cs.uiuc.edu (Rob Knauerhase)
Subject: Re: Apple's FCC request
Message-ID: <1991Apr11.042137.31309@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@m.cs.uiuc.edu (News Database (admin-Mike Schwager))
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
References: <pro-angmar!awillis@ALFALFA.COM> <91Apr10.132244edt.23275@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 04:21:37 GMT
Lines: 29

In <91Apr10.132244edt.23275@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca> GRAY@ADMIN.HumberC.ON.CA (Kelly Gray) writes:
>... off the top of my head, I can come up with a number of MAJOR problems
>that would need to be adressed. These include things like data security,
>multiple installation interference, and interference with non-LAN radio
>systems, or even non radio electronics!
>Anyone within range of your office would at least be able to listen in
>on your network traffic, and could even connect to the network without
>your permission! The thing is, fifty metres is a long reach in a typical
>office building. This would include not only the entire floor the network
>is installed on, but at least five floors above and below the network too.
>In a typical large office building, several companies would have offices
>in the same building. Given that the radio signal from the LAN would
>extend many floors above and below the network, how do you prevent
>interference between two networks (belonging to different companies)
>that happen to be located on different floors?

While most of the technology problems have been solved (range, reliability,
distinct nets on one frequency), most of the policy/risk concerns have been
adriotly ignored by Apple and others.
    The newsgroup comp.risks had several articles about this very issue a
couple months ago.  If you're really interested, the RISKS-digest archives
are on anonymous FTP at crvax.sri.com in the RISKS: directory.

Rob
--
Robert C. Knauerhase            University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"I get my exercise acting as    Dept. of Computer Science, Gigabit Study Group
 pallbearer for my friends      knauer@cs.uiuc.edu, rck@ces.cwru.edu
 who exercise..."               knauer@scivax.lerc.nasa.gov
