I bought the LinkSys USB10BT so I could attach my NEC A1000 (see my review on ePinions.com) to my school's Local Area Network. Installation was simple: just plug the adapter into an open USB port and insert the included floppy disk when prompted. In contrast to internal Ethernet cards, you don't have to open your computer, nor suffer the agony of reallocating your PC's IRQ resources.

The adapter is a small, lightweight box which draws its power from your computer's power supply, so no extra power cord is required. Two lights indicate the unit's status, and the box can easily swapped between USB-equipped machines.

Throughput is reasonable, with a maximum speed of 8MB/second, slightly slower than the theoretical maximum for a 10Base-T LAN. Those attaching a USB-Ethernet device to a 100BT network will notice relatively poor performance due to the bandwidth limitations of USB devices.

My only real complaint is that the USB10BT occasionally drops its network connection, requiring me to unplug and replug the device a number of times before Windows 98 recovers the connection. This device is most suitable for niche applications: laptops or closed-box machines (like the A1000, which does not include ISA/PCI slots) running Win98 attached to home networks.

+ Simple USB installation
+ No ISA/PCI slots required
+ Inexpensive
- Slower throughput
- Occasionally disconnects
- Drivers (so far) only available for Windows 98



Recommended: Yes