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Netgear GA311 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | Networking (LAN), Reviews | Comments

The Netgear GA311 boosts network speed tenfold compared Fast Ethernet. The Netgear Gigabit Ethernet adapter puts your local network on steroids, and only using a standard PCI connector. The Netgear GA311 Gigabit Ethernet adapter enables higher speeds and faster transfers over local networks, allowing videos to be played almost as though they were on the same computer.

Networking is the lifeblood of the everyday computer. 10 years ago an isolated computer was just the norm, but now modern computers rely heavily on networks, usually the Internet, for almost all aspects of computing.

For computers on a local network, where information is often stored on separate storage media like Network Attached Storage devices, the speed of the local network makes a big difference when it comes to watching videos over the network, or listening to music, or just about anything that moves a lot (or a little) data over the network.

Older computers typically utilized a Fast Ethernet adapter, meaning it could handle up to 100Mb/s of data transfer. This is still the standard, but faster is better, and the Netgear GA311 helps with that.

The Netgear Gigabit Ethernet adapter transfers data at up to 1000Mb/s, or around 1GB in 10 seconds. The Netgear GA311 is perfect for older computer that attach to faster networks. It does need to be combined with other components that also handle Gigabit speeds, so the routers and other components also need this.

For $25 this is an easy way to make a home network that much more seemless.

Tags: gigabit ethernet, Networking (LAN), pci

Linksys WRT54GC Wireless G Router – 54Mbps

Monday, November 26th, 2007 | Networking (LAN), Wireless Networking Reviews | Comments

An old favorite at an unbeatable price, the Linksys WRT54g gives high speed wireless connectivity for household and small office applications.

The WRT54G is well known for its linux based software. When hackers found that the core was just a slight variation on linux and could be reprogrammed to offer a whole array of functions, the days of the multi-functional wireless router began.

Besides being a router for up to four computers with a wired connection the wireless connection allows users to connect via their wireless cards.

The router can be setup to do DHCP, automatically assigning IP addresses to computers that connect to it. There is auto-negotiation of connection speed, depending on the capabilities of the computer connecting to it.

Most unnoticed, but probably the most important is wireless encryption and security. Make sure to set it up with the highest security possible using a shared key, otherwise it could be hijacked by someone in the neighborhood. And also change the admin password that allows you to access the router.

For the adventurous, go to DD-WRT and try out some of their options to spice up your router with some really cool functions.

What is VoIP?

Monday, April 17th, 2006 | Networking (LAN), News | Comments

Tomshardware takes a look at many of the questions that people have about VoIP technology. This is the technology that allows you to make phonecalls over your computer other users around the world for very much less than the cost of an international phonecall.

VoIP has become popular because of its cheap prices, but the main limitation, according to the article is that people are not sure what its all about. And if a consumer is not sure, they’re likely to go elsewhere.

There are a few variations on VoIP.

There is computer to computer, where both parties need software like Yahoo! messenger with voice of Skype and they call each other using their usernames. This kind is completely free, and the quality is quite good.

The other option is computer to landline. This will usually cost and you will have to use a computer to phone them, the cost however is cheaper than a local call in the area you are phoning to.

Little gadgets like the phone pictured here make things easier. This one attaches to the computer and then you can use it around the house like a normal phone. Other options are standalone phones that perform the same function, but without the need for a computer to be on.

Go check out all the details at Tomshardware.

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Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router

Saturday, February 25th, 2006 | Networking (LAN), Reviews | Comments

If you want to be online and connected wherever you are at home, then the Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router is your top buy. The Netgear WPN824 RangeMax router boasts of providing users with approximately up to 500,000 square feet of coverage. That’s 1000% more than 802.11g. So does it deliver? According to most consumers, it does.

For the novice, the Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router comes with an installation CD with SmartWizard, which basically helps you to install the wireless-networking device as painless as possible. SmartWizard automatically identifies your ISP’s network settings and succeeding steps are clearly outlined. If you still cannot figure it out, we come to one of the product’s downside – many users complain that Netgear’s tech support is not so good. Although this does not directly impair on the product itself, it does bring a user down and is cause for much aggravation especially if you can’t even get it to start working.

Another ‘con’ is that there have been repeated reports of the Netgear WPN824 RangeMax not working well with legacy 802.11b devices. So if you have older Wi-Fi devices on your network, prepare to be challenged when setting up this wireless router.

Well, on to the good points! The Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router features MIMO technology AND a new technology called Video54, which enables the Netgear WPN824 RangeMax router to have seven internal antennas. This enables the RangeMax to be constantly ‘on the prowl’ for any interference and adjusts the wireless signal ‘on-the-fly’ to make up for these barriers. This ensures that you get consistent high-speed connection anytime, anywhere in your home.

Note too that the seven antennas are discretely located inside the device offering users a sleek n’ chic design. Speaking of design, some users are a bit annoyed with the Netgear WPN824 RangeMax router’s blue pulsing light at the top of the device (which is actually an indicator as to which antenna is currently transmitting) but I think it’s cool and with its white casing, the device is a nice and ‘clean’ gadget to have amongst your other hi-tech devices.

To sum up the pros…

• lightweight and sports a nice, clean design
• is easy to setup
• great range
• features advanced Smart MIMO technology with Video54 which makes ‘dead spots’ less of a problem

To sum up the cons…

• does not work well legacy 802.11b devices
• difficult to reset and reconfigure

All in all, the Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router is great buy if you need to be online constantly, anywhere in your home.

Zyxel Prestige Wireless VoIP Phone

Tuesday, February 21st, 2006 | Networking (LAN), Reviews | Comments

The Zyxel Prestige Wireless VoIP phone (model name Zyxel P-2000W V.2 VoIP Wi-Fi Phone) is one of the first WiFi VoIP phones to hit the shelves just at the time when people were really digging into the word ‘mobility’. But does the gadget deliver?

The Zyxel Prestige wireless VoIP phone enables users to receive or conduct phone calls anywhere they are as long as they are within the range of IEEE 802.11b or 11g wireless access points.

One of the Zyxel P-2000W’s strongest features is its range. Many users have reported that it has detected access points that some of their other wireless gizmos haven’t found. Officially, Zyxel claims that its operating range is up to 300m out-doors and 75m in-doors and so far, users are not defying that claim.

However, is the Zyxel Prestige Wireless VoIP phone’s strength also its weakness? Its sensitivity clocks in at -82 dBm@11Mbps, with the antenna’s output power at 14 + 1dBm. This assures users that the antenna is indeed powerful and can detect and connect to many access points. The downside is that the phone takes so much power that it drains the battery… fast. Some users claim that it only provides 11 hours of standby time and 1 hour of talk time.

Although not very important for the purposes of a wireless VoIP phone, it’s also noteworthy that the Zyxel P-2000W only has an earphone jack. That is, you cannot use it with a headset with microphone.

Other features:
- Supports G.711 and G.729 voice compression technology, enabling it to successfully reduce bandwidth consumption caused by voice traffic.
- Direct IP-to-IP call and ad-hoc Intercom mode support. The Zyxel P-2000W offers a direct IP-to-IP call feature when users configure a remote IP address in its built-in phone book.
- Another strong point of the Zyxel Prestige Wireless VoIP phone is that it is based on SIP v2 (Session Initiation Protocol version 2.0) open standard, which means that the unit is compatible with most SIP-based providers, IP-PBXs and other standard SIP-based client devices. As far as looks are concerned, the Zyxel Prestige Wireless VoIP phone is pretty ‘cool’. It features a bright blue backlight keypad and a blue backlight 112×64 pixel LCD.

Overall, the Zyxel P-2000 is a great deal for those who would want to take advantage of cheap VoIP rates and services without having to log on to their PCs.