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As the prices of 802.11b products plummet, many SOHO (small office/home office) users are considering wireless. Not only does it afford client mobility, it obviates pulling wires through a building. I have been wireless for quite some time and was eager to test Lucent Technologies' new Orinoco Residential Gate RG-1000 wireless access point. At $449 for an access point and a PC Card for the laptop, however, it doesn't quite match Apple Computer's Airport price, nor do I like it quite as much as I do the Airport (see "Apple's Airport Card and Base Station: Some Wireless Flights May Be Delayed," www.nwc.com/ 1102/1102sp2.html).
After a few weeks with Lucent's RG-1000, I was both impressed and disappointed. However, the version I tested was intended for resellers and integrators, and it lacked some of the flexibility that SOHO users will want. The company says it will release a version for direct sales later this summer.
Although the RG-1000 is a very good product, Lucent should include all the needed functionality in the box. Providing options to disable WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), change the ESSID (Extended Service Set ID) and support PAT (Port Address Translation) would make this access point one of the best. As shipped, Lucent's RG-1000 is not WiFi (Wireless Fidelity)-compliant, but it will work with any WiFi client adapter.
Easy As 1-2-3
Setup via the included Windows utility was quick and simple, but I needed to use the...