Microsoft Home Networking Wireless Notebook Kit
by Microsoft
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List Price: Our Price: $54.99 You Save: $54.96 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $29.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Microsoft Home Networking Wireless Notebook Kit
Customer Review: so you want to go wi-fi (aka 802.11) on me???
Summary: 4 Stars
Last summer the local parks went wi-fi, and when I finally decided to buy a new computer I decided on a 802.11b notebook. When my new roommate started having difficulties dialing up, it seemed a natural progression to go 'wireless'. Her notebook is older(running 98se, no modem, low memory pentium mmx et al) so I decided to go with the commonality between our two systems microsoft OS.While I didn't need the 802.11b adapter, my roommate did so I went with the kit. I was prepared to be disappointed with microsoft and to have to spend much time trying to set up my roommates older notebook.
But I was shocked to say the least when everything loaded quickly and as laid out in the set up guide. In fact it loaded quicker than setting up my dsl connection. I think part of it was due to me making sure that my viruscan firewall was down.
My roommate has had no problems with her notebook adapter and has used it outside of the house through other hotspots. My third roommate who has an ibook (which also has an intergrated 802.11b) also hasn't had much problem logging onto the network.
Our apartment consists of two floors in a townhouse and the signal is consistently strong throughout the apartment. It was worth the 90 dollars spent and worth the less than 15 minutes of set up time. After two weeks of use I have not seen any of the problems described and feel confident that I won't.
Customer Review: Easy to setup / use
Summary: 5 Stars
It was pretty easy to get this installed and start using right away. I'm one of those people who wants to get things working right away instead of spending even a minute with tech support and I wasn't disappointed.I have one Win98 desktop connected to the base station and a Win2K laptop connected using the wireless adaptor. If you have only Win2K note that there may be some limitations. For example you cannot manage the base station from a Win2K station.
Instead of the kit I bought the base station and the notebook adaptor separately (couldn't find the kit in the store). The base station has 4 ethernet ports and according to the user guide you can connect upto 200 wireless devices using this base station. More ethernet devices can be connected using a hub.
The only hitch that I hit was that the Broadband Network Utility did not start up (GPFed). This was because my display driver did not support DirectX. Upgrading the driver set this right. BTW, you do need to get this utility up and running because you'll need to do a firmware upgrade right away (SP1 came out Dec 11, 2002). This is a critical update and as another reviewer mentioned should fix any communication issues you may have.
All in all it's been a good experience with this product.
Customer Review: Great wireless kit once you get it working.
Summary: 4 Stars
This product has allowed me to use a new notebook with Windows 2000 professional on a network with a desktop running Windows 98, sharing a cable internet connection with great speed and range. I can also use the printer through the wireless connection, which is a great convenience. The range is greater than I expected, with little signal loss in other parts of my modest home and even outside on the deck.The setup was not simple. After consulting two tech reps with Microsoft, the second suggested unplugging the power cord to the cable company modem for 5 minutes, plugging it back in, allowing it to reset for a little while, then unplugging the power to the base station for a few seconds and plugging it back in. This got the internet connection working. (I see another Amazon reviewer had to do this.) Then, the printer would not work, even though I had enabled sharing of the printer. Finally, another call to Microsoft (good thing there is good support for this product) and I logged in as a guest on the base station computer. Now the printer can be used on the network.
The setup was much more complicated than I expected, but the wireless network was worth the trouble for me. It works beautifully. (I did download the patches right away.)
Customer Review: Boy, was this easy!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to allow my wife wireless access to our DSL internet line; she has my old laptop running Win98 and I just bought a new desktop with XP Pro. I nosed around and considered some Linksys components, but after reading the reviews here on the Microsoft system I went ahead and got it. Installation was very easy and it worked first time. Following the recommendations of some other users here, I went ahead and downloaded the updates for the base system during installation, but it installed without a hitch, and putting the notebook adapter on the laptop (a Dell Inspiron 7000 running Win98) was a snap. The Microsoft installation CD has you put the network information on a floppy, so you don't even need to write down or remember any network addresses; when you install the adapter on the notebook, it just takes that information off the floppy.
I have a low frustration threshold and I'm not real comfortable with installing and configuring stuff like this, so I was a little worried, but it all went very smoothly, so a few days later I bought a USB adapter for my other, even older, desktop so my kids could access the DSL line while on it. It was just as easy and works just as well. I have to give this product the 5 star thumbs up.
Customer Review: Great Product....but call Customer Support 1st!
Summary: 5 Stars
While I hate to admit it, Microsoft's wireless notebook kit works extremely well! (Sorry, I'm a former Mac user) I have a cable modem with Adelphi.net and noticed NO discernable reduction in web page viewing when I switched to wireless. (I think downloading large files may be ever so slightly slower, but not so you can notice)If you're like me and plan to use the wireless connection solely with a notebook, call technical support as soon as you take it out of the box. They are extremely helpful and will guide you through the installation process.
As you can read on the product box, the wireless network works 'best' if you have a WIRE Ethernet connection to a desktop computer AND set up the wireless port for use with a laptop. If you don't have a desktop, it just takes a few extra steps to set it up. The techs at customer support are very helpful and can take you through the set-up in 10 minutes....but go ahead and call them 1st. You'll save yourself a headache.
Microsoft also gives you the ability to add WAP secuity, which is a must.
I have no complaints and am very happy with my purchase! (The [money amount]rebate is a great thing as well)