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Review
Created: October, 2000
If you believe in the "three strikes and you're out" rule,
the Netgear Phoneline 10X universal serial bus (USB) adapter is
a big loser.
It boasts easy installation in a snap, but doesn't always deliver.
Strike one. It does not ship with a manual. Strike two. There
is no online support. Strike three, Netgear, you're out.
To be fair, the concept behind this product is great if, and when,
it works. It allows you to share files, printers and a single
Internet account with several computers, taking the main headaches
out of creating a small network by doing away with network cards
and hubs.
First, you designate one computer as the main host. This should
be the computer that has the Internet connection. The network
uses existing phone lines but it doesn't stop you from making
calls while you use the Internet.
The installation takes just a few minutes. Plug in the USB device,
connect it to the phone jack and install the included software.
Then you repeat the process with any other computers that will
be connected to the network. Each computer will need its own Netgear
Phoneline 10X kit.
After the admittedly easy setup, everything should be ready to
go. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
During testing, the indicator lights initially showed that the
two installed computers could see each other but the Internet
connection was not shared and there was no network to speak of.
Luckily, Netgear has 24-hour, seven-day-a-week technical support.
After 40 minutes on hold, a technical support representative quickly
acknowledged what he referred to as a common problem and promised
to e-mail a list of instructions to solve it.
If you're a confident troubleshooter, the problems will probably
be solved with a
few trial runs. But a less experienced user will quickly become
frustrated.
Inexperience may also extend troubleshooting into hours or, if
you need to contact technical support a few times, perhaps days.
The fact that you have to fix any problems or conflicts on a minimum
of two computers is frustrating. If it's a larger network, good
luck.
It's misleading to bill a product as user friendly when it major
installation problems are common. Worse, these acknowledged issues
aren't addressed in the packaging or on the Web site. The e-mailed
instructions were helpful but far from professional, containing
many grammatical errors.
It's too bad that the Netgear Phoneline 10X doesn't provide the
easy install it claims. While you may be one of the lucky ones
who have no problems, there's no guarantee that will be the case.
If you want to roll the dice and can avoid problems, it can be
a good option for a simple, small network.
This could be a cool product even if you don't have several computers
to connect. Professionals with a desktop computer and a notebook
computer can use it to connect the two for file swapping, printing
and shared Internet access with a single step. But first you have
to get it to work. That can be easier said than done.
Reviewer's rating: 2 / 5
Comments: The Netgear Phoneline 10X home network USB
adapter is a potentially great product ruined by a installation
that will be far from simple for many users. Unless you're comfortable
experimenting with network settings, you'll probably want to
look elsewhere.
Minimum system requirements: Windows 98 or higher, a
telephone jack, a USB port.
More info: http://www.netgear.com
Price: $79 US, $119 Canadian
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