It's safe to assume that barbed wire won't ever be the first choice for LAN cabling. But if we're wrong, Gigabit Ethernet vendor Wideband says it's got the back 40 covered. Its hardware is designed to carry Gigabit Ethernet traffic across older and damaged wire.

The company demonstrates its wares by showing live, DVD-quality video at gigabit speeds over outmoded LAN cabling pierced by nails, tied in knots, and strung parallel to AC power lines. The last several feet of the line are even replaced by eight strands of barbed wire. And you thought your network was rudimentary.