Article:		Performance Test: 802.11b Takes a Lickin' and Keeps on Tickin'
Subject:		data point vs experiment
Date:		2001-04-03 12:16:45
From:		vainst1k
One wireless card, one wireless access point, one microwave oven oriented in one direction. That's one data point, not an experiment. (Not to mention absence of readings for humidity, temperature, and other basics.) I'm embarrassed to be an O'Reilly reader when I see amateurish "articles" like this. Suggestion: "We don't have any decent new articles this week, so here's a Dilbert/Evil Geniuses cartoon to fill the space."

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• data point vs experiment
  2001-04-04 11:23:38  rflicken [Reply | View]
  
  
  I'd just like to point out that my intent behind doing this piece was to debunk a couple of rumors that surround 802.11b equipment:
  
  1) Using WEP kills througput
  
  2) The stuff is useless in the presence of household microwave noise
  
  To be sure, I could have tried different wattages of microwave ovens, added 2.4Ghz phones and even Bluetooth equipment, tried different manufacturer's radio equipment... But I'm not (nor do I try to present myself as) a one-man Consumer Reports.
  
  What this informal experiment demonstrated (to me at least) was that in a typical household setting (my own house, in fact), the effects of background noise on 802.11b throughput is negligible.
  
  Ten iterations per test, using the same equipment in the same position in as controlled a setting as one's kitchen can be, was enough to convince me of a trend.
  
  By all means, don't take my word for it. Feel free to do your own benchmarks! As the caption on the photograph says, "your mileage may vary."
  
  Regards,
  
  --Rob