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3Com OfficeConnect's Web interface lets it squeak by Eicon Diva LAN modem, while Motorola Vanguard 80's configuration tools make it the top full-function router. By Dave Brown
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By a narrow margin, we gave 3Com Corp.'s OfficeConnect top honors in the LAN modem category because it is so nicely targeted to the remote branch-office concept we defined-2 5 or fewer workstations on a simple LAN, with a dialup BRI ISDN connection to the Internet or an intranet. Having developed a healthy fear of setting up a complicated ISDN service and using command-line interfaces to configure unfamiliar routers and LAN modems, we were thrilled by the simplicity of making an "office connection." Although we had just as much fun with Eicon's Diva LAN ISDN Modem External, 3 Com's well-designed and intuitive pictorial Web interface gives it the edge.
Setting up OfficeConnect took us longer than the 15 minutes claimed by the manufacturer; we got sidetracked by...