My wife likes torturing me.
Sunday, after dropping my daughter off at college (12Gs poorer)my wife wants to stop (torture me) at Joann fabrics. Fortunately there's a Staples next store which I could escape to. Since I'm broke, I go straight to the clearance table. There on the table is a "2Wire HomePortal 100W" wireless router for $50. I've been hot to get a wireless setup but I couldn't afford it. But 50 bucks was doable. However, for 50 bucks I was also skeptical figuring this was probably another proprietary wireless POS like the Warplink setup. Not true, this is 108.11b wireless router plus a whole lot more. I broke down and bought it.
Some Specs:
Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless access point
Ethernet 10 Base-T
HomePNA 2.0 (10 Mbps)
Direct USB connection
Firewall security with Stateful Packet Inspection
TCP/IP, DHCP and DNS (client and server for DHCP and DNS)
VPN tunnels with PPTP, L2TP and IPSec pass through
etc, etc
As near as I can tell this device will bridge the 108.11b, ethernet, HomePNA, and USB topologies. Which will allow me to use my old HomePna adapter while I wait for a firesale on wireless NICs.
Some Links:
http://www.2wire.com/home/hp_index.html
http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-7053-418-6251597.html
http://www.cablemodeminfo.com/2Wire1000CWReview.html-ssi
http://www.iapplianceweb.com/appReview/IAW_GATEWAYS/56
http://www.epinions.com/content_68684975748
http://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/stories/overview/0,12069,561817,00.html
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/review.asp?pid=307
http://www.homenethelp.com/web/review/2wire-100w.asp
I bought mine at the Springfield PA. (outside Philly) Staples off Sproul road. They had about 6 left late sunday afternoon. Hopefully they're available elsewhere like the Warplinks where. Be advised; Staples clearance items can not be returned, so inspect it carefully.
This probably doesn't belong in Breaking News forum but I really don't know where else to put it. Hope this is helpful.
