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D-Link's USB-Powered Access Point
Roger Ryder writes "D-Link announced the AirPlus G DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router/AP, a pocket Access Point for travelers. It can be powered by a USB cable and works as an 802.11g access point, client or router. A 3-way configuration switch on the bottom of the unit changes the mode of operation. In AP mode, the DWL-G730AP can be used to create a wireless network in a room where a single Ethernet port is provided. In Router mode, it can be used to share a single broadband Internet connection. The internal DHCP server automatically assigns IP addresses to ensure everyone in the room can connect to the Internet. It supports VPN Pass-through and firewall features including Network Address Translation (NAT) and MAC filtering to protect your wireless network from malicious attacks. When set in Wireless Client mode, the device allows connection to an existing wireless network, without having to install complicated drivers or additional software. For added mobility, the DWL-G730AP can be powered over USB if power outlets are not available. Similar devices are available from ASUS, SMC, Apple's AirPort Express and Netgear."
This looks like another ad/press release. First the Nokia phone, now a wifi product. Why are these getting approved?
Hang out for an hour, record the packets, go home and extract email passwords, etc...
This would probably work in an apartment complex, etc as well
Agile Artisans
Looks like D-Link's been doing its homework.
I recently bought a D-Link 802.11g+ card. The loaf at Best Buy expressed doubts about whether D-Link's 108Mbps "protocol" (compression, etc on regular g) would work with Netgear's 108Mbps protocol and he suggested I buy the same company's brand for the entire network.
Naturally, I ignored him. It works fine.
If D-Link can keep making devices that perform reliably and interact correctly with those of other manufacturers, I say "Great!"
would be an ethernet-powered access-point: just one plug for an Ethernet port, and it bridges and/or NATs onto that connection.
I don't know how much power you can safely draw over Ethernet. Maybe it's not enough. But it would be cool if it worked.
Well, let me give a real-world application that I have used...
At E3 this year, four of us were sharing two rooms, but we were doing all of our work in one room. Three of us had laptops, and we all would be doing work that would have required wireless internet. We knew our room would have internet access via ethernet, so I had brought along a full-size D-Link access point/router so that all three of us could use the internet access via wireless at the same time. Having one of these devices (or preferably an AirPort Express, had they been out at the time) would have saved me some room in my laptop bag.
Just my $.02...
I don't see any scenario when a bunch of people suddenly needs to share some Internet connection.
How about a team of CPA's in for a large company's audit and certification of financials? Or sales tax investigators doing a large audit? A team of programmers in for a database migration? I bet the insurance company response teams in Florida could even have benefitted from such a device. Once you start thinking along these lines, the list starts growing and growing.
Just a few weeks ago my family and I, along with two other families spent a week vacationing in some cabins at a camping resort. I brought 4 notebooks and a LinkSys WAP along with some multiplayer games. It rained two nights in a row, but the kids had a blast playing games. We had quite a crowd of family, friends and even passers-by hooting and hollering on our front porch.
This got me to thinking how nice it would be if I could find a tiny AP to carry in my daily bag for similar purposes. Granted, most cheap AP's aren't that big, but this D-Link device looks small enough to fit in one of the unused diskette pockets in my bag, and since its USB-powered, I can leave the power-supply at home.
--- A man with a briefcase can steal more money, than any man with a gun. [Don Henley]