Although wireless local area networking seems like a relatively new technology in the computing world, it has, in fact, been with us since before the new millennium! Ever since the 802.11 standard was drafted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the 802.11b standard was accepted by the networking industry, the talk about it has only increased in popularity over the recent years. Couple that with the drop in prices of computers (as of the year 2000, 51% of US households had one or more computers connected to the Internet), wireless networking seems to be the next evolutionary home networking step. It makes loads of sense because in the "past" if you wanted to put a local area network together, you would have to, well, wire them together (in a matter of speaking.) So, unless you were a hardcore computer user or if you had one of those hi-tech houses that were Ethernet ready, you would be a bit hesitant to run these ugly blue or grey wires around your house in order for the computer in one room to have the same internet access as the computer in another room without having two separate internet accounts for each machine. But I digress…
Today, we are going to play with, surf on, and take apart (not really) the Actiontec 54 Mbps (802.11g) Wireless Access Point and the 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card, generously provided for our reviewing pleasure by Actiontec Electronics, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. Although we received both packages together, they are in fact, sold separately and available at your favorite computing retail/e-retail stores.
First, we will take a look at the Wireless PC Card:
The 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card, packed in a small compact box, comes with the PC Card itself, a quick start guide, and installation CD-ROM. The PC Card sent to us came bundled with their Actiontec "KidDefender" software (an application that monitors your child's internet activity in real-time.) Here are the specs as displayed on the box:
| Interface |
Cardbus Type II |
| Data Rates |
Up to 54 Mbps per IEEE 802.11g |
| Variable Data Rate |
Automatically adjusts data rate to support highest speed based on signal strength |
| Supported Modes |
Infrastructure Mode: BSS
AdHoc Mode: IBSS
Modulation: OFDM, BPSK, QPSK, CCK
Automatic and Manual Band and Channel Selection
Sleep mode for extended battery life |
| Standards Compliant |
IEEE 802.11g
IEEE 802.11b (2.4 GHz - DSSS) |
| Setup & Management |
Plug-and-Play compatible |
| Visual Indicator |
Wireless link |
| Environmental |
Operating Temp: 0 C to 65 C
Storage Temp: - 20 C to 85 C
Operating Humidity: 95% Non-condensing
Storage Humidity: 95% |
| Compliance |
FCC Part 15, CE mark |
| Limited Warranty |
One Year |
| |
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Minimum System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP
32-bit Type II PC Card Bus Slot
Pentium 90 or faster
16MB of RAM
TCP/IP installed |
I tend to read everything written on the box of the products I come across. I think it had something to do with reading all those cereal boxes when I was growing up. On the box of this product, they have a small typographical error: under Minimum System Requirements: 16MB or RAM (Instead of 16MB of RAM). Other than that, everything written seems fine and quite understandable.
