Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps Review

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(More customer reviews)At $50, it's a steal for what this product does, right? Well, sort of... I purchased this device in order to allow my desktop machine to run Linux and connect wirelessly to my Netgear wireless router, thus bypassing all of the issues with wireless and Linux. I expected a nice setup process; connect the adapter to my NIC, configure some properties, and be off and running. I was wrong. Wrong in the form of a three hour session of head-versus-keyboard style troubleshooting. Hopefully this review will shed some light on this mysterious device.
Let's just get it out of the way that Linksys's customer support is nonexistant. Forget trying to call them. Also, the provided documentation is submoronic at best, and provides absolutely no information on troubleshooting. I had to figure everything out myself.
This thing is a nightmare to configure. I unpacked the unit, connected the power, and plugged into my NIC. Interestingly enough, my computer didn't automatically obtain an IP. After checking my TCP/IP settings, I reconnected and power cycled the thing a few times. Still no dice. As my frustration was building, it mysteriously connected! Awesome! I got no further than logging into the web interface, and it disconnected as mysteriously as it connected. I have no idea why it was designed like this, but it seems that you need to have a preexisting wireless connection for the thing to connect using DHCP!! The manual vaguely suggested plugging the thing into a router, so I tried that. Not only did I not connect, but my router wigged out several times, requiring me to restart it.
I finally figured out how to resolve all of these problems. It seems that since I have a netgear router, and the game adapter uses a static IP that is not in the router's DHCP range, this device behaves erratically when hard wired to the router. So...
1. Before doing anything, even before unpacking the adapter, log into your router and make sure your DHCP range is set to use IP's 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254. Most default router setups (except for Linksys of course) use 192.168.0.x, and this will simply not work.
2. Pray, then plug the adapter into a free port on your router. Nothing horrible should happen yet, so open up a browser and http on over to 192.168.1.250. You should get a login screen, so go ahead and leave the user name blank, and "Admin" for the password.
3. The configuration interface is horrible. Straightforward, but horrible. The "Scan" feature only works half of the time, so you may have to refresh the page a few times before it works. Here, connect to your wireless network by SSID. It should say "Setting Successful," at which point you can unplug the adapter. It will very likely crash your router due to connecting thru wireless at the same time as wired. There are some other options to play around with, but whatever you do, DON'T ENABLE DHCP. Everything else should work as configured unless you have WEP, in which case you're on your own.
4. At this point, you should be able to plug the adapter into the intended computer, and it should work.
Since I got it working, it's been a great little adapter. It's very robust and does everything I need it to. Here are some thoughts on getting it working without having to violate your router:
Since the adapter requires there to be a wireless signal present in order to log in using a standalone computer, you may be able to connect directly to it with a crossover cable. When connecting with a crossover, you have to manually specify an IP. Anything in the 192.168.1.x range should work, subnet 255.255.255.0, no default gateway or DNS servers. Using this method, you should be able to access the web configurator to set the adapter up. I recommend that you change the IP to one in your router's default IP range. Also, you can play with WEP. Again, don't enable DHCP, or your day will get a lot worse. Trust me on this.

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Linksys Wireless A/G Game Adapter - This external game adapter has 3 unique functions. For Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox owners, you canuse this device to wirelessly connect your console to the Internet for multiplayer gaming. Or, you can use two of these units on two separateconsoles for wireless head-to-head action! If you own a Media Center Extender-equipped Xbox, you can utilize the 3rd feature, which is to give yourXbox wireless access to your Media Center PC's media.

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Pogoplug Multimedia Sharing Device Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using pogoplug connected to a 250GB external hard drive for about a month now, and can say they werent kidding how simple this is. It took longer for me to find room around my desk to connect everything than logging into their site download a simple application and off i go. The application creates a virtual drive on your computer that allows you to use it as a normal drive connect straight to the pc. Although they do provide a software to monitor for folder changes to sync to your files i opted for a more robust software. I decided to use SyncBackPro to monitor any changes on folders and sync then from my pc to pogoplug and pogoplug to pc (along w/ many other features). This seems to do the trick nicely. If you have multiple drives connected to your pogoplug you can do active sync which will transfer the files to another hard drive for redundant backups.
The website [...] looks and works wonderfully. Its able to transcode your videos into HTML5 allowing you to view your videos anywhere and pretty much anything. The sharing option is fantastic when working on projects. Only downside is if you share a folder that other party (and given full access) can use up as much storage on your hard drive as they want. There currently is no way to limit how many gigs they can use. It would be best to have a extra hard drive for sharing only in case your sharing.
As a android user they do have a app on the marketplace which recently had a update that really improved upon it. Again since videos are HTML 5 you can view them easily. It does get little choppy on 3G but on wifi works perfectly. Only downside is that you can upload documents/images from your phone to your pogoplug.

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Pogoplug's POGO-E02 multimedia sharing device lets you connect any external hard drive and then access and share your content over the internet. You have access to your content wherever you go, all files can be viewed, downloaded or streamed through any web browser. Access and share your content across multiple operating platforms; Pogoplug is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux. Easily share content, including HD video and full resolution photos, with friends and family with no uploading. Sharing is as simple as sending an invitation through an automated email link. Pogoplug is also great for working professionals who need to share information with clients and partners. Allow others to view and download or give them full access, you can pick and choose who has access to what files and folders. You can even stream videos, music and photos directly to your iPhone, Blackberry, Droid and other mobile devices. Keeping up with friends and family is easier than ever, with a single click publish your selected photos, videos and more directly to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. Installation takes less than 60 seconds and there are no monthly fees ever. Get plugged in today!

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Clickfree Automatic Home Backup C2N 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 1037N (Piano Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm paranoid about losing data and have through the years used Ghost in concert with various backup software as well as (belt & suspenders) copies of major libraries on external hard drives AND Mozy and Carbonite internet services. In short, I've tried it all for many years and always had a fear that I was missing something through a set-up error or such. I've had this solution for over a week now and nothing could be easier. I'm now writing the review as the product has performed flawlessly for a week doing what it's supposed to do. The set-up is easy: insert the USB set-up device into a USB port and like magic your machine is configured. Plug the cable from the drive into a USB port and plug the power cable into the wall and walk away; this thing will do its own thing without any help from you. Daily (or on re-boot) it'll automatically create a backup set and run the backup with no intervention. Do as I have and check it out daily to see what it missed (it doesn't fail--even gets all your e-mails and contacts.) As a network capable device it'll back up all computers on the network although I haven't used that capability. There's not much more to say--the thing does all the work, you don't; it's nicely made and nicely priced; you should continue to use an internet service as a fire or such would wipe out the computer and this device and even this drive could fail (think lightning strike that gets both the computer and backup at the same time.)
Update 6 months later: Still works just fine, still rates 5 stars

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The Clickfree C2N is a complete multi-computer Home Backup solution that works with your wireless router. The C2N has all of the functionality of the Clickfree C2 backup drive, and also includes Clickfree's new BackupLink. BackupLink helps customers to backup all of their computers automatically without connecting to each computer. The C2N can backup both Windows and Mac computers at the same time. The setup is Clickfree easy - simply plug it in once to each computer and that computer will be remembered and backup regularly - no network expertise is required. The C2N comes in storage capacities of 250GB to 1TB.

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Apple Time Capsule MB277LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 1 TB Storage) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the 1 TB Time Capsule to replace my Linksys Router and an external Lacie 500 GB HDD. Setup took about 2 minutes - and I was up and running. It was extremely simple - insert the disk into a drive, install version 5.3 of the AirPort Utility, answer a few questions, and you are up and running - easy as pie.
That said, I have a warning for power users who want more security than a disk password - IE; you use user accounts for file sharing, etc. Instead of following the 'easy' path, you will want to use 'manual setup'. If you initially use the 'easy' setup and want to go back and change from a disk password for security to account security, you will lose any data you have transferred to the disk - that is correct, you will lose any data you have transferred to your disk - for me that was a 7 hour, 350 GB transfer - lesson learned.
I backup two computers via time machine on the Time Capsule - a Mac Mini, and a MacBook Air. They both averaged 25 GB on the first time machine backup, which took about 2.5 hours each via Ethernet - which is another point - you will want to use Ethernet instead of WiFi for your first backup - as the Time Capsule will truncate the transfer rate to allow others to keep using the AirPort.
That said, I am using the 802.11n (5Ghz) setting on the time capsule - and when I am surfing or downloading files via the internet on my MacBook Air, I honestly can't tell the difference between that and a direct Ethernet connection - when connected to the internet via cable Modem. It is absolutely incredible. To give you an example of the 802.11n transfer rate - I am sharing a single library stored on the Time Capsule for both my iTunes and iPhoto programs between the two computers - it used to take 45 to 60 seconds for the iPhoto library to come up when accessing via 802.11g (Linksys) on the MacBook Air - accessing the iPhoto library now via the 802.11n connection on the MacBook Air takes 5 seconds or less.
As you can guess from the previous statement, in addition to backup - I am also using the Time Capsule as an External HDD - I have about 350 GB of music and 100 GB of video stored on it. And so far so good!
Overall I am extremely pleased with this product and would recommend it to anyone!

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Introducing Time Capsule. Automatic wireless backup for your Mac. Time Capsule is a revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It automatically backs up everything, so you no longer have to worry about losing your digital life. Time Capsule is also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station. Every computer in your house can work off a wireless network at blazing speeds. And they can back up wirelessly to the same Time Capsule.

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Clickfree Automatic Wireless Backup C3 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive, 1028Wi (Piano Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought expecting to Back up my PC every other day.
I usually dont upload or download much on my PC, so when running the scheduled back ups, runs fast and easy.
Worked well with my MAC and PC simultaniously.
Connected to the wireless network efortlessly.
Very good.

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The Clickfree Wireless is the world's first backup product that backs up every PC and Mac without having to be plugged into any of them. Simply connect Clickfree Wireless to each computer you use with your wireless router. It will perform the initial backup and learn all the wireless settings automatically. After you have connected it once to each of your computers, simply leave it plugged to a power outlet. That's it. All your computers will be automatically backed up from now on no matter where they are located in the home. You will never have to worry about backing up again!Clickfree Wireless is also the perfect solution to protect all the music and playlists you have on your iPod, iPad or iPhone. For the photo lovers, it will find and backup every photo on your computer automatically and will allow them to easily upload the photos to Facebook, email to family or friends, or archive onto a CD or DVD for safe-keeping. Clickfree Wireless also offers the easiest and totally automatic restore functionality. You can recover only the files you need or entire folders with just one click.

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Belkin F7D1301 Wireless Router Review

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(More customer reviews)August 11: I bought this router from Walmart and proved a bad buy. Although installation is easy, but the router drops signal 5-6 times per day. Whenever It drops signal, I have to unplug it, wait for 10-15 seconds, then plug it again with power supply. Not funny!November, 02, 2010: Belkin customer service has spent around 30-45 minutes to upgrade firmware for this router. Their latest firmware has actually solved the frequent signal dropping problems and for the last couple of weeks I have not been experiencing any signal drop. I also get 150 mbps data transfer speed for laptop and 135 mbps for desktop. It also covers entirely my one bedroom apartment( 480 sq. feet). Right now, I am satisfied with this product and getting good value for my money.
I sincerely suggest others to buy it. I give this product 4 star.

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With the Basic Wireless Router by Belkin, you can easily connect up to 4 computers to the Internet. It features up to 150 Mbps data transfer speed for fast, efficient operation. Ideal for multiple computer users in one area, allowing the whole family to access the internet no matter what part of the house they are located. Included - Belkin Basic Wireless Router QIG, cable Setup CD-ROM Owner's manual Unit Dimensions -5.5 H x 2.5 W x 5.5 D, Weight -1.3 lbs.Manufacturer's 1-year warranty (parts)

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