Hey! Get that WiFi Card Out of My BOX, The Antenna Tickles
Written: Sep 09 '06 (Updated Oct 06 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy Installation of Hardware, Decent Performance.
Cons: Software included is NOT User Friendly. Some Hardware Quirks.
The Bottom Line: A Decent WiFi Card with Easy Hardware Installation, Some Quirks, but works fairly well.
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| DeRango's Full Review: Buffalo Technology WLI-TX4-G54HP 802.11b/g Wirele... |
Similar to a two-way Nextel radio in terms of communication, a wireless network uses radio waves like a television or cell phone to send & receive information. (Using Binary Code 0’s & 1’s)
-First a wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal & then transmits the information using the wireless antenna.
-Then the wireless router takes that signal & decodes it, by sending the information to the internet using a wired Ethernet connection.
The process is reversible for receiving information from the internet, taking the radio signal & sending it to the wireless adapter connected to the computer.
My Speculations: Possible in the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you would be able to access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using any kind of wires. Image just turning on your laptop anywhere and being able to access your email at the touch of a button.
*Picking apart the claims & features which can be located on the products box or at the manufactures website*
Product Claims
At 54 Mbps, this wireless 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g PCI card is much faster than the 11 Mbps wireless networks and will supercharge the delivery of media-rich content to your desktop PC as never before. It easily handles huge digital video and MP3 files, firing them through your network at blazing speeds. It gives you continuous access to your home wireless router or office network, saves the time and expense of installing Ethernet cabling when you want to set up or expand a network, and makes it simple to relocate your desktop PC without rewiring. Moreover, it allows network users to wirelessly share a broadband Internet connection for access to corporate resources, the Internet, and e-mail – all with the highest available level of industry standard WEP encryption security.
*Personally I agree with the products claims of providing fast connectivity in a wireless fashion, however installation, wireless connectivity, and overall performance is questionable as the quirks of the software & hardware have proven somewhat irregular.
Manufactures General Wireless Note
Maximum wireless signal rate derived form IEEE Standard 802.11 specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead lower actual data throughput rate.
*Similar to a 56K modem, back in the day, where you would connect at a 31200 rather than a 56000 Baud connection, you will not always get the maximum that the card can handle as conditions stated above will determine.
Features
-Form Factor Internal Adapter
-Interface Compatibility PCI
-WLAN Standards IEEE 802.11g/b
Wireless Specifications
-Operating Frequency 2.4 GHz
-802.11b Data Rates 11 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
-802.11g Data Rates 108 Mbps, 54 Mbps, 48 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 28 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps
-Operating Channels 802.11b/g: 11 (North America), 13 (Europe), 14 (Japan)
-Modulation OFDM • CCK • QPSK • BPSK • DBPSK • DQPSK • 16QAM • 64QAM • DSSS
Security
Secure 40/64 and 128-bit Wired Equivalency Protection (WEP) encryption allows for secure data transfer and increased shielding from wireless eavesdroppers. Supports Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through for protected communication over the public Internet. Simple to install and use.
Operating Systems
-Microsoft Windows 2000
-Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
-Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
-Microsoft Windows XP
Warranty
-Mine included a 3 year warranty with an enclosed postcard to fill out.
Installation
Hardware: Using an available PCI port (Peripheral Component Interconnect) I installed the hardware, and it was quickly identified as a new device on the hardware list & asked me for the installation CD. With drivers included in the box I just inserted the CD and it asked if I wanted to install the software that was also included. With drivers installed the product was ready to use, simplistic overall hardware installation.
Software: The software included to help you connect to an available network is a major concern with me as it is not user friendly & somewhat difficult to navigate. My personal recommendation is use the software included with windows, which is very easy to use in my experience. Just use the CD for the drivers & leave the software off your desktop.
Performance
To expand on what was stated earlier, the product can be quirky when trying to get connected where the card may go through “spells” where it decides it does not want to let you connect to the internet. Hardware of the antenna may be partly to blame, where I can adjust the antenna to a certain angle & it will connect but then later that night I’ll adjust it again?
Furthermore, most of the people in my subdivision have wireless and I have picked up signals from over 100 ft away through walls & connected. (Of course I need a WEP key & password to use the internet, but it was neat to see all the names of people & networks available the powerful card could detect.) For now any room excluding the concrete walls of the basement, the wireless card connects to the network with a decent overall connect rate.
Overall
Installation was a snap for the hardware, however the software left a bad taste in my mouth and I urge you to stick with the windows software. If I had trouble with software, I can almost guarantee that anyone with little to no computer skills will be swearing, smashing things, and cursing the card to hell. The product is a decent value, although Netgear would not be my first choice of a WiFi Card.
NETGEAR Inc.
4500 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA
Support: 1-888-NETGEAR (638-4327)
E-mail: info@NETGEAR.com
http://www.NETGEAR.com"
More of my Insight on Computer Products
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An Indepth Look at Segate Hard Drives
PNY Verto GeForce2 MX400, (64 MB) PCI Graphic Card
Essay On CD Burners
Lexmark PhotoJet Printer Information
Samsung SyncMaster 171v TFT Monitor
Recommended:
Yes
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