Microsoft officials asserted again this week that setting up a home network is way too complicated for most consumers. While this complaint was widespread and obviously true 10 years ago when home networks first started becoming popular, is it really still valid now? Use the "Vote" button in the embedded poll to register your opinion, and click the "Current Results" link to check result totals anytime.

→ See also - POLL: What Do You Use Your Home Network For?

At this year's U.S. Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft announced the Beta release of their new Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 should interest anyone who spends significant time configuring home networks, as it contains a feature called HomeGroup designed to simplify the process. Microsoft's keynote speech claimed that ... for most consumers, setting up a home network is way too complicated and highlighted how HomeGroup can help you set a home network "very easily" in just a few steps. "Way cool."

I'm not sure exactly how complicated or cool "way" is, but in networking, easier is almost always better. Does Windows 7 HomeGroup really deliver? During the Beta period, you may be able to install a public trial of Windows 7 and try out HomeGroup to decide for yourself. Microsoft's engineering overview of HomeGroup in Windows 7 is also excellent reading for those interested to learn why this feature is designed to work the way it does.

→ More - Windows 7 Beta Available for Public Download

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009 Keynote - Microsoft Windows 7 - Steve Ballmer - Photo: David McNew / Getty Images

This month, the U.S. NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity are celebrating a truly incredible five years of operation on the surface of Mars. Part of the technology that made it possible for the rovers to successfully deliver hundreds of thousands of photos back to Earth is the CCSDS Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol. This specialized network protocol allows the rovers to deliver data to an occasionally-connected planetary orbiter rather than directly to Earth, conserving its power and generally improving efficiency over alternative protocols designed for different purposes.

People tend to be quick to point out flaws and failures with technology but slow to celebrate success, even the impressive ones like this. Congratulations to all involved in Proximity-1 and the rest of the Mars rovers project!

→ More - The Proximity-1 Space Link Protocol (ccsds.org, in PDF)

Mars Rover - First Color Pictures from the Mars Rover Spirit (6 January 2004) - Photo: Getty Images

Two of our message board members recently went through a troubleshooting exercise on what appeared to be a dead Ethernet card in a Windows PC. This discussion is a good example of how the TCP/IP troubleshooting tools ipconfig, ping and nslookup can work together to provide information about your local network setup. Did they succeed in finally solving the problem? See for yourself.

"I have Windows XP Home Edition.... [Its] Ethernet card looks like its connected to the Internet, but I can't actually get any Web pages to load. When I use 'ipconfig' nothing is reported except the message "Windows IP Configuration". The loopback test passes but I can't 'ping' any other ip address. I have other computers at home that can connect to the Internet without any problems so I know my DSL is working fine. It's just this computer. I have checked all the cables, even swapped some out for new ones. I have never seen this before - any ideas?

→ Discuss - Troubleshooting an Unresponsive Ethernet Card
→ More - Introduction to 'ipconfig' - Windows Command Line Utility