CompuNotes - We now have forums on the website! See below! Notes from The Cutting Edge of Personal Computing ISSN: 1525-4534 April 19, 2002 Issue 180 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= To subscribe, send an e-mail to compunotes-subscribe@topica.com To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to compunotes-unsubscribe@topica.com or send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com with the following SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Visit our Family of Sites ========================= GetFreeReports: Tons of Information -- FREE! (http://www.getfreereports.com) Jokes-N-Stuff: Your daily humor web page. (http://www.jokes-n-stuff.com) Become a Friend of CompuNotes and Get Free Advertising for Your Site! ===================================================================== http://www.compunotes.com/friends.htm CONTENTS 1=> This Week's Notes, Add your link as a CompuNotes' Friend ... By Patrick Grote, mailto:pgrote@compunotes.com 2=> This Issue's Winner! Clickables: 3=> Clickables, Save Internet Radio and System Administrator Appreciation Day Interviews: 4=> Interview with Marc Saltzman, the creator of Top 250 Games for PalmOS Reviews: 5=> Product: Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS (PDA games) Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com 6=> Product: UPSEnhancer (power quality equipment) Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com 7=> Product: Microsoft .NET for Programmers by Fergal Grimes Reviewed By: Songmuh Jong, mailto:songmuh@yahoo.com 8=> Product: Actiontec Wireless-Ready DSL Gateway (Wireless-Ready Multimedia Home Gateway) Reviewed By: Donald Hughes, mailto:dhtech1@sympatico.ca --- To turn a friend on to this mailing, go to: http://go.MailBits.com/Tell.asp?611002.2 --- Why not suggest CompuNotes to a friend, family member or co-worker? You can win $10,000 and they have a chance to win each week with great information! Please click: http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=864865 --- 1=> This Week's Notes, By Patrick Grote, mailto:pgrote@compunotes.com We have two sister sites you may be interested in: Get Free Reports: This site has a ton of free information for the taking. You can spend an hour just reading on this site. (http://www.getfreereports.com) Jokes-N-Stuff: A daily dose of jokes, funny pictures, cartoons, trivia and more. You should make this a daily stop. :-) (http://www.jokes-n-stuff.com) 2=> Winner! This week's winner: Sean Dowers! Sean has won a $10.00 Amazon gift certificate. Would you like to win something just for subscribing? We give away a prize each and every week to one of our subscribers. Who knows, it could be you! You could win next week ... all you have to do is subscribe! 3=> Clickables, Save Internet Radio and System Administrator Appreciation Day Save Internet Radio (http://www.saveinternetradio.org/default.asp) Do you listen to internet radio? I am talking about everything from acid rock to jazz, from pop to alternative rock. If you enjoy it then you better savor the last days of it as the government is about to shut it down. Ok, that may be over the top. The government isn't going to shut it down, but they are going to set royalty rates for music over the internet that will put 90% of the stations on the internet out of business. See, the Copyright Office is responsible for setting the royalty rates people pay to use copyrighted material. Our laws provide for use of copyrighted material if the owner is properly reimbursed. Over the air radio stations do this now, but the government is asking internet radio stations to spend much much more. Save Internet Radio is a site designed to help you assert your rights as an American and let your voice be heard. On this site you're going to learn how we came to this dark cliff, what we can do to avoid the plunge and the latest on the struggle. You can read other media articles, gain a firm understanding of the facts, send your representatives letters and much more! The site is a bit confusing due to all the information. The broke the site into three different parts to help you understand it all. From the main page you can select sections for Webcasters, Listeners and Press. Each does a good job of focusing on the effects of the Copyright Proposal. There is no outright advertising and many links point to similar sites, news articles and more information. This is a call to arms to defend our rights of fair use. Jump on this site now and let your voice be heard! System Administrator Appreciation Day (http://www.sysadminday.com/) Do you see the guy in the picture? He's a System Administrator. Who are these folks? Well, they're the folks behind the curtain who make your computer systems humming along at work. Yes, they are overworked. Yes, they are used to having the impossible demanded by them. Yes, it is a thankless job. Or is it? You have the chance to show your appreciation and thanks to your System Administrator on System Administrator Appreciation day! The day falls on Friday, July 26th this year, so you have time to plan and make it happen. The site loads quickly and has the feel of someone who is too busy with their normal job to put together a website. :-) All the information you need for the day is there. This includes the good gifts (Portable MP3 Players and DVD Players) as well as advice on bad gifts ("Promotional marketing "gifts" with your corporate logo on it."). You can also see various pictures of System Administrators .. the "MacGyver" picture is priceless. Advertising is topic related and the performance of the site is perfect. All in all you know you need to visit this site and make plans to recognize your System Administrator. You could always blow it off and see if there are any probl*&SbS.... [DISCONNECTED] 4=> Interview with Marc Saltzman Marc is a syndicated game columnist and technology correspondent for CNN. He has assembled a great CD full of the best in games for PalmOS. We chat with Marc concerning his release and thoughts on PDAs. 1) Why did you decide to compile a collection of games for the PDA market? Truthfully? I'm a hardcore Palm gamer, but found that 9 out of 10 games I downloaded off the Net weren't worth the time and effort. As a journalist (and CNN 'technology expert') I travel every week so I need some good games to keep me entertained on those long flights. I figured I knew at least a couple hundred great ones and decided to package them together for others. 2) What PDA do you use? Why? Well, I use a Palm m515 right now, but I also started to use a Compaq iPaq as I will be also releasing a "Top 250 Games for the PocketPC collection later this year, as well. Both the Palm and PocketPC operating systems have their strengths of course but there's still many more games available for the Palm. 3) The future of PDAs is murky now with convergence being a hot buzzword. Color, phone functionality and more are being tossed into one unit. Where do you think the industry is headed? You're absolutely right -- soon we'll have a very powerful, color PDA that is really a pocket computer. It'll be a communicator (cell phone, text-messaging, e-mail, fax, etc.) as a personal organizer, games machine, multimedia device (MP3, ASF, JPG), Web portal, business tool, etc. Later fown the road I envision there will be a tighter relationship between PDAs and the 'smart home.' For instance, you leave a movie theater and head home so you use your PDA to call your home netwiork, which puts on a fresh pot a coffee and sets the timer on the Tivo for a show you forgot to record... 4) If you had to buy a single PDA now which one would you buy and why? Sheesh -- hard question. I would really depend on what you need it for, The Palm Vx is still perfect for those who want a slim, business tool and organizer. Want games? Color is nice. Then there are those who want a modem built in or Bluetooth, etc. Some want to watch Simpsons episodes and MP3 tunes while in the back of a cab. I really like the m515, personally, but admittedly, it is light on the multimedia side. The new Sony Clie looks cool (PEG-NR70V). 5) What is your most enjoyable game on the CD? Even tougher question. Right now it's anything from http://www.astraware.com/ These guys are amazing. Maybe "Alchemy." 6) Where do you see game development going on PDAs? More multimedia (videos, richer images, better music) and of course, the introduction of the Internet will lead to massively-multiplayer games. 7) What are a few of your favorite PDA related websites? There's a handful I visit each week such as Palm.com, Palmgear.com, Handago.com, PDABuzz.com, Palmgamingworld.com, Palmblvd.com, Downloads.com, etc. 8) When you're not publishing software collections or writing books what do you do for fun? Play video games and computer games, which is also my full-time job (I'm syndicated through Gannett News Service and I also write for Playboy, Maxim, Yahoo! magazine, PC Gamer, and many others). I also love spending time with my wife walking, rollerblading, reading books by a fireplace, watching DVDs. In fact, my wife and I just found out we're having twins. Egad! ;-) 9) Can you describe your home PC setup? Computer configuration? Internet connectivity? I'm getting a new PC next week but for now, I'm running a high-end Pentium III (1 Ghz) with 256MB RAM, 30GB hard drive, cable modem, 64MB video card, 5.1 sound system. I am using WindowsXP and having a good experience with it....it seems to be great for games. 10) If there was on accessory that everyone should buy for their PDA what would it be? The little keyboard I guess. It's an amazing piece of engineering...you know the one that folds up to the size of the PDA. There are some other cool ones now such as the roll-up rubber keyboard but it's not as comfortable as Palm/Targus' own expandable keyboard. 5=> Product: Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS (PDA games) Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Requires: (PDA) PalmOS 3.1 or later, Palm III or higher, all Handspring Visors and Edge, Sony Clie, TRGPro/HandEra; (Desktop) Windows 95/98/Me/NT4, 2000/XP, MacOS 8.6, 9 or OSX and QuickTime 4.0 or later MSRP: US$19.95 Finding reviews of PDA games of any kind is difficult. The absence of reviews makes it equally hard to know what to download or purchase. Trial and error is OK for a while, but you really don't want to spend all your allotted game playing time simply trying to find something decent to play. Enter Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS. Marc is a syndicated game columnist and technology correspondent for CNN, and has assembled some of the best PalmOS-based PDA games available. The hybrid (Win/Mac) CD-ROM is accessible through an all-in-one, easy to navigate, categorized interface. The game collection consists of selections that work on grayscale and color PDAs. With excellent balance between freeware, shareware and commercial demo titles, this collection also features a very broad range of game types - from RPGs to card games, from puzzles to racing sims, 1st person shooters and sports. Choosing and installing individual games from the CD is as simple as browsing the menu which appears after you place the CD in the drive (as long as Autorun/Autoplay is turned on in Windows). Nothing actually installs on your PC or Mac - the menu program runs entirely from the CD-ROM drive. A menu appears on the desktop, asking the user to click on the desired section: action/arcade, strategy, puzzle, role-playing games (RPGs), simulation, adventure and sports. Each section displays a list of games and selecting any of them displays a game graphic along with a brief description. Click the graphic to install the game. The Palm Desktop Add Program dialog appears and the selected game is set up to install at the next HotSync. Cons: I'd like to see some of the shareware and commercial software authors provide fully licensed versions on these types of CDs - OEM versions in other words. I'd pay twice as much for the CD in that case. The individual authors might only earn a royalty for each CD sold, but the potential volume of sales might be worth it. Pros: Twenty bucks for this CD? No problem. Everything on the CD is playable - I couldn't really find any outright turkeys, although titles such as "Dr. Insano's Eyes" and "Graffiti Face" in the Miscellaneous category are slightly odd. On the other hand, RPG/Adventure titles such as Ancient Red and Solskia (a development demo) are downright gorgeous - both of them use the newest graphic engines. You can certainly download all of this stuff yourself, but you'd have to sort through enormous amounts of junk in order to come up with Marc Saltzman's collection - which is the time and effort saving point of purchasing this CD in the first place. The CD works as advertised and I couldn't find any inoperable programs. The Macmillan Web site refers to the CD as Marc Saltzman's Top 200 Games for PalmOS, while the accompanying product screenshot clearly shows Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS. But if you count the individual games in the KidzPak, Palm Puzzles and a couple of other selections separately, the actual count is well over 250. If your PalmOS-based PDA is a constant companion, you'll likely get many months of use out of Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS. Recommended. Macmillan Software (Pearson Technology Group) Marc Saltzman's Top 250 Games for PalmOS Product Web site: http://www.macmillansoftware.com 6=> Product: UPSEnhancer (power quality equipment) Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Requires: Live AC power supply (depending on UPSE model, various power phase configurations are supported; voltages from 120VAC and up are supported; various current loads up to 2400A are supported), Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) device MSRP: Call VARs and distributors for models and pricing. UPSE as tested US$994.00 Soft Switching Technologies has developed a piece of hardware called UPSEnhancer which is designed to solve some important power problems. Short duration AC power sags and interruptions cannot be prevented, even on the most robust and reliable power grid. When such events happen, disturbances lasting less than 1/4 second occur and are normally absorbed by Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS). In some areas throughout North America, utility customers for more than 100 miles around a power fault location may also experience a voltage sag or dip. So who (or what) might need a UPSEnhancer? Enterprise and network servers, 24x7 computer operations, data centers, server farms, computer rooms, high reliability computers (hospitals, research, etc.) and telecom equipment, are a few good examples. Short duration disturbances can have a dramatic impact on a large percentage of manufacturing processes too because of system downtime & process restart costs, scrap material costs, lost data and (occasionally) the odd bit of fried hardware. The UPSEnhancer is a power quality device that uses patented technology based purely on power electronics. There are no batteries in this thing. The point of UPSEnhancer is to reduce UPS battery cycling, thereby prolonging its life. As well, in the event of UPS maintenance or UPS failure, the UPSEnhancer provides continued sag and surge protection for the load. The UPSEnhancer is designed with what Soft Switching Technologies refers to as a double redundant 'Fail Safe Bypass Mode', which is supposed to provide energy for an orderly shutdown so that even in the very rare case of a bypass failure, the UPS can still do its job. Also according to Soft Switching Technologies, a simple reliability tree analysis of their product design approach shows at least a 12 times improvement in system reliability. Here's a simpler explanation. According to some experts, 90% of computer crashes are caused by power quality problems (read: voltage spikes and dropouts, computer power supplies which go nuts when a voltage sag or spike occurs, brownouts, rolling blackouts, etc.). 70% of UPS failures relate to battery issues, even with battery maintenance programs in place. UPS units are the predominant solution to power problems these days. But inherent limitations of UPS batteries seem to have reached their technical ceiling for power quality and power reliability for the time being. The statistics don't lie either - over 3% of UPS units utilized in Information Technology applications will experience a battery related failure each year. Battery failure is acknowledged by all UPS manufacturers to be their main product weakness. A UPSEnhancer plugs into the AC outlet ahead of a UPS, thereby acting as the power supply and power conditioner for the UPS. The UPSEnhancer handles the voltage sags and short interruptions that would normally require a transfer to the UPS battery. By reducing the number of times the UPS battery discharges, battery life is greatly extended and the overall life-cycle cost of the UPS and battery system is reduced. Ah-hah(!) you say. But does it actually work? In a word, yes, and it's really quite slick. Here's how we tested the thing. For the first part of the testing, I dug out my trusty Volt/Ohm meter and inserted the probes into a duplex receptacle being used to feed one of the UPS in my server room. I sat around for about three hours, staring at the stupid thing and made note of all the voltage drops/sags and spikes. It was actually quite 'shocking' to note the number of times that the UPS absorbed minor spikes and drops. I then enlisted a couple of helpers to dig out an oscilloscope with a function that recorded a couple of days worth of power supply information. The results are too detailed and lengthy to go into here, but it's sufficient to say that a chart of the AC coming off the electrical grid in power-rich Toronto Canada looks more like a sine wave on a roller coaster than a flat line. The second part of the testing involved plugging the UPSEnhancer into the AC outlet, then plugging the UPS into the UPSEnhancer - a straightforward procedure. We then connected the oscilloscope via a pair of leads to the same output receptacle on UPSEnhancer that was supplying the UPS. The observations were amazing. The former AC power roller coaster being supplied to the UPS when it was directly connected to an outlet was smoothed into an almost completely static sine wave. As best we could tell, over a period of about 8 days, the UPS battery was never used and the UPS itself did not have to absorb even half the events that it did when directly connected to AC power. In the area where the tests took place the UPS battery normally kicks in for a few seconds, at least a couple of times per week. Cons: Well there are none really - just a complaint about the whole approach to power management. We'd like to see Soft Switching's power conditioning technology licensed and embedded in all UPS models. We'd also like to see some sort of standard for UPS batteries. They're all too expensive and many models are difficult to find and/or replace, which results in the need to purchase a brand new UPS far too often (and the good ones aren't cheap!). Pros: The model we tested can handle several medium sized UPS loads and has multiple outlets for the purpose. If you live and work (or locate your business) in an area with even average power problems, and if you are constantly dealing with crucial data systems, data outsourcing customers and high reliability computers, UPSEnhancer can be very useful. If you've experienced early UPS failures resulting in unexpected data loss, consider UPSEnhancer to add another layer of protection to crucial systems and to reduce the chances of costly or unexpected early UPS replacement. Soft Switching Technologies UPSEnhancer Product Web site: http://www.softswitch.com 7=> Product: Microsoft .NET for Programmers by Fergal Grimes Reviewed By: Songmuh Jong, mailto:songmuh@yahoo.com Requires: MS Visual Studio.NET, Windows NT or 2000, DVD drive, IIS and FrontPage 2000 extensions, MS SQL Server MSRP: US$34.95/Cdn$52.95 The topics covered in this book are very current: C# (C-Sharp), database, XML with XSL, remote services, Windows forms and Web forms. A case study uses a video poker game to illustrate the various principles throughout the book. A short, but to-the-point C# introduction can be found in the Appendix. The whole book, not counting the appendix, is less than 300 pages and divided into eight chapters. On the surface, it appears you can read from cover to cover in a short period of time. However, you really need plenty of time to digest the content of the book in order to understand all the details. This book is written for intermediate and advanced programmers and is not for beginners. Since this book uses C# to explain Microsoft's .NET, you need the Visual Studio.NET (VS.NET) or the .NET Framework SDK to follow along. VS.NET is preferred because the SDK doesn't have the GUI design tools. To install VS.NET, you need Windows NT, 2000 or XP. Older Windows (95, 98, and ME) are not supported. To try the database example, you need SQL Server. To test the web features, you must install and configure Internet Information Services (IIS) and FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions before installing the VS.NET. Total installation of VS.NET takes about 2GB of free disk space. In order to build the game engine the author uses NMAKE, which is not part of the SDK but can be found in the Visual C++.NET. (Ed. Note: Always ensure your firewall and antivirus software are installed and running before installing and configuring IIS. Failure to do so can result in being hit by CodeRed in as little as 30 seconds after going online with the computer running IIS. After installing and configuring IIS, always check Microsoft's web site for updates to ensure your IIS is as secure as possible). The installation of MS SQL Server 7 or 2000 is pretty straightforward, but the installation of VS.NET takes some patience. Since this is a review of the book rather than the tools, I won't go into the details of tools installation. The .NET SDK can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site for free. The source codes used in the book can be freely downloaded from the publisher's web site (see below). Readers will immediately notice that the author uses the command line C# compiler to compile the examples in the first six chapters of this book, instead of using the fancy IDE that has been familiar to Visual Studio programmers. Part of the reason is that the C# compiler comes with the SDK, so readers without the Visual Studio.NET can still follow along. An untold truth is that the Visual Studio.NET is extremely slow. It is even slower than Java AWT 1.0 for a simple task like navigating the directory structure to choose a project. People who are used to the Visual Studio IDE will find the slowness totally unacceptable. Command line compilation is the best choice for .NET development, as exemplified by this book. Chapter 1 of this book introduces the .NET platform and concept and, as usual, presents a simple Hello World program in both C# and VB.NET formats. The similarity is striking. Chapter 2 discusses the data types available to .NET applications. The similarity to Java is remarkable. Assembly versioning is an interesting idea not found in today's Java. However, it must be modified to a simpler form in order to gain widespread use. Chapter 2 also discusses writing codes in Microsoft Intermediate Language (IL - a kind of Assembler for .NET) directly, and writing a compiler. Pretty advanced! Chapter 3 introduces video poker game programming project. Although the poker engine is the heart of the game, the author leaves it to readers to understand the source codes. Once you accept the game engine, it is surprisingly simple to use the engine to create a simple poker game in three different forms: (1) you can run it as a console- style poker game by running a C# executable; (2) you can register the game engine as a COM and play it with VBScript; and (3) you can deploy it to a web server and play it as an Internet game inside a browser using an HTML page with VBScript. The last option is the most interesting one. It's amazing how a simple and small DLL can be easily deployed as an Internet game! Chapter 4 discusses how the ADO.NET can be used to communicate with a database. To follow this chapter, you need to install Microsoft SQL Server (either 7 or 2000). Chapter 5 is all about distributed applications and illustrates the creation of a remote service for the poker game, conversion of the poker game into a Windows service, and creation of a message queue- based poker service. Chapter 6 discusses XML web services and creates a web service-based poker game. Chapter 7 reviews standard Visual C++ programming and the creation of a Windows forms-based poker game. Chapter 8 creates a web forms interface and elaborates on ASP.NET functionality. The only problems with the book may be that the tools configuration may be different in your installation. For example, the default installation of MS SQL Server 2000 uses the connection string (local), not (local)/NetSDK as in the book's examples. The OSQL commands printed in the book don't work for a default installation of SQL Server 2000. The author would do better asking readers to execute script in the Query Analyzer. Fergal Grimes has written an excellent book on the hottest topics within the .NET platform. He has obviously digested the essence of .NET platform and presented it in a no-nonsense manner using an easy to understand sample project. People who are confused by the marketing hype around .NET concepts should read this book. Programmers who want to enter the .NET field should not be worried by the small size of this book. Pure Visual Studio programmers may be shocked by the difference in the syntax, but Java programmers will feel right at home. I highly recommend this book to Java programmers who have had Visual C++ experience. Manning Publications Microsoft .NET for Programmers by Fergal Grimes Product Web sites: Book - http://www.manning.com/dotnetbooks/microsoft.net/index.html - http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url= /nhp/Default.asp?contentid=28000451 Visual Studio .NET - http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url= /vs/techinfo/Default.asp 8=> Product: Actiontec Wireless-Ready DSL Gateway (Wireless-Ready Multimedia Home Gateway) Reviewed By: Donald Hughes, mailto:dhtech1@sympatico.ca Requires: PC or Mac with a network adapter card, Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT, 2000, XP, MacOS 7.1 or higher (USB: Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP), Internet Explorer 4.0+ or Netscape 4.0+ MSRP: Gateway $104.95, PCMCIA Wireless Adapter $104.95, USB Wireless Adapter $104.95, PCI Wireless Adapter $104.95 During 2001, the computer industry was buzzing with many companies endorsing the values of wireless NIC adapters, wireless PCMCIA cards, wireless routers and wireless gateways. The prospect of easy, wireless connections between multiple computers all sharing one Internet connection is certainly intriguing. The Actiontec Wireless-Ready DSL Gateway is an easy-to-install device which allows your desktop and laptop computers to share an Internet connection, share files, printers and multiplayer games on a wired or wireless network at speeds up to 100Mbps. It's a flexible, upgradable networking system that also provides firewall protection for network security. It has been tested with all major Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) distribution systems is compliant with all major ADSL standards. The Actiontec Wireless-ready DSL Gateway is housed in a very stylish, ultra-modern case, which gives eye appeal and functionality to the unit. All modem and network connections are located on the back of the unit and there are seven status lights on the front display. There is also a vertical stand if desk space is limited. A main set-up CD-ROM is not supplied or needed because the device has a configuration Web page built-in. Each of the 802.11b (Wi-Fi) components come with their own installation manual and CD however. I decided a good read of the manual was appropriate before proceeding. Basic set-up is simple. Connect the device to your computer and your cable modem. Then using Internet Explorer, simply enter an IP address (typically 192.168.2.1) and the configuration page built into the device appears in the browser window. I connected the Actiontec Gateway to the cable modem, connected two of our systems to ethernet ports on the back of the gateway, launched Internet Explorer and configured the gateway. The set-up is straightforward and in no time both computers were connected to the Internet, sharing the same IP connection. The first test was to download a game demo on both systems to check the download speed. There was a 12% difference in the download speeds of the two computers, but no noticeable speed differences when surfing the Internet. The overall results of testing and using the Actiontec Gateway during the past two months have been great. Wireless testing was next. Wi-Fi has an advantage for businesses, apartment dwellers, and others who rent space. Landlords take a very dim view of anyone who damages property by cutting or drilling holes in walls or floors and running cables though those holes. Similarity homeowners who have completely finished basements do not want the hassle of cutting holes in drywall and running cables to upper floors. A wireless network solves those problems, and like wired networks also provides a way to share printers, files and Internet connections. Some hackers claim that many wireless systems have little or no network security, but regular use of software firewalls and the firewall built into every gateway and switch/router should provide all the security most home and business users need. We have a computer in the main floor den. However, our office with high-speed Internet connection is in a room in the finished basement. For some time I had wanted to be able to use the hi-speed Internet connection and share files from the upstairs system with the network server in our office. Before testing the Actiontec gateway I was planning to run cable from the hub to our upstairs system, which would require the need to remove some ceiling tiles and drill holes. The Actiontec Wireless gateway was the answer to solve the connection problem, and would give the flexibility needed to send files downstairs to server and printers. For review, Actiontec supplied a PCMCIA 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless adapter and a USB wireless adapter. To use the gateway as a wireless system, the user must insert the PCMCIA Wi-Fi card into a special slot at the top of the home gateway unit and another Wi-Fi adapter into the portable computer you wish to connect to the gateway. If a user has one laptop and one desktop, they can use a PCI or USB Wi-Fi adapter in combination with the PCMCIA adapter to link and share data between systems. After installation, the USB Wi-Fi link icon appeared on the status bar and indicated a wireless connection to the gateway. However, I could not connect to the Internet nor could I locate the source of the connection problem. The software showed we had a proper connection, but the device was not transmitting data. Suspecting a transmitting distance or interference problem I decide to try the USB Wi-Fi device on our spare system (only about 8' from the gateway), but this did not work either. A call to Actiontec's tech support helped determine that the gateway itself was faulty. A replacement arrived within 24 hours and the system worked like a charm. The wireless connection solved my cabling problem and we now have shared access to our high speed Internet connection. We can also access printers and share files on the office machines. After getting the USB wireless connection working, I decided to try downloading the same game demo from the same web site and actually achieved a slightly better download speed. When the PCI Wi-Fi adapters became available, Actiontec sent them to me for testing. The PCI cards work well and did not present any problems during installation and testing. The Actiontec Wireless-Ready DSL Gateway has a built-in firewall and is easily configured to block specific Web sites, newsgroups, e-mail and FTP for all or selected computers on your network. This built-in blocking capability is handy for small businesses that wish to clamp down on employee Internet access, or to limit children's Internet access at home. This is a superb product and a real performer - wired or wireless. Installation of the product is straightforward and well documented using the easy step guides and the manual. The system offers great value for the money and an easy way to eliminate problems for home users and small businesses that have more than one computer requiring Internet access. Actiontec Electronics Wireless-Ready DSL Gateway Product Web site: http://www.actiontec.com +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Publisher / Senior Editor: Patrick Grote, mailto:pgrote@compunotes.com Senior Editor: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Archives: ftp://ftp.compunotes.com/archives Website: e-mail: mailto:feedback@compunotes.com Want to Write for Us?: mailto:agitater@compunotes.com fax: (314) 909-1662 voice: (314) 909-1662 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CompuNotes is: Available weekly via e-mail and on-line. We cover the PC computing world with comprehensive reviews, news, hot web sites, great columns and interviews. We also give away one software package a week to a lucky winner for just reading our fine publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we are here to bring you the computing world the way it is! Please tell every on-line friend about us! CompuNotes B440 1114 West Essex Ave. St. Louis, MO 63122 feedback@compunotes.com (C)2002 Patrick Grote ISSN: 1525-4534 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more http://games.yahoo.com/ *********************************************** The COMPUNOTES-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html