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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."
So, when I'm on the road in a hotel I can plug this into my USB port, then plug an Ethernet cable into it and surf wirelessly? Oh... except for the Ethernet cable plugged into my USB port.
World's tallest building rises in the desert
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!"
This seems to serve the same purpose as the AirPort Express for the business traveller except that it has a separate power supply (unless you want to tether yourself to it with a USB cable). The fact that the power supply is not built in seems to me to limit its utility quite a lot. Given it costs 80% as much as the AirPort and also lacks the printer sharing (and non-sequitur music streaming) I have a hard time seeing this being a commercial success.
If intelligent life is too complex to evolve on its own, who designed God?
The only use I see for this is LAN parties on Planes/Busses/Trains. I am sure the person in the seat next to me would enjoy it when my buddy from the back of the plane storms up and throws a glass of coke at me screaming "STOP AWPING NOOB!". ;)
The fact that this could also screw up plane communications and positioning equipment is irrevelant. No one ever uses that stuff anyway...
You don't have to be the AP to sniff wireless packets, it's quite easy to do so as a client.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
Because new technology is interesting to geeks? This is the first (to my knowledge) USB powered access point. That's news, at least to people who travel a lot.
Every day I get people walking into my office asking me advice about technology I personally haven't had a chance to play around with. An article like this gives me a shot to read about a cool new product that I probably wouldn't have thought to look up until a day or so before I was leaving for a trip. Dunno, I don't mind having articles posted that give out info on new tech. that has unique features.
Even the bed example is not a best fit; business travelers are usually tired enough, and they spend more time in restaurants (between 6pm and midnight) than in bed.
Even more detached from reality is the claim that you can share the connection. Sure you can, but with who? When you travel you have your room to yourself. I don't see any scenario when a bunch of people suddenly needs to share some Internet connection. I travel with other people sometimes, and we have notebooks... but sneakernet with USB flash disks is the media of choice; besides, we all have Internet access in our rooms, often included into the bill which we don't pay ourselves anyway, along with newspapers which we don't have time or desire to read.
This device may be useful to someone - anything is useful to someone, somewhere. But when I travel I need an Access Point much less than a spare battery, for example, or a stack of CDs. I do not need this AP on the road, and I don't know anyone who would need it.
Besides, most of business travelers are sales people, not very familiar with computers and rightfully afraid to mess with them. These guys know how to turn the thing on and how to start their PowerPoint presentation, and that's pretty much all they know. The good part is that they don't even need to know more.
PCTel's Segue Soft Access Point Module (SAM) is a clever piece of software that turns any LAN-connected PC into a Wi-Fi wireless access point. Given the low price of Wi-Fi APs (typically $60 or less), SAM might not appear to make economic sense. But SAM's price is even lower: Several motherboard and wireless chipset makers have purchased licenses to include SAM with their products, making SAM effectively free to end users. And for setting up a temporary AP in a hotel room, meeting room, or the like, it's a darn clever solution.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
two notes:
1. the mobile hub feature can be useful. traveling with two powerbooks, my wife and i frequently use a single network access (dialup, ethernet) in hotels, sharing it from one machine over ad hoc wlan
2. well, with a powerbook (or stationary mac with airport card), you get this option built in, without any hassle with a separate device or dlls from hell...
(please insert your apple rant here:... thanks.)
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've been reading slashdot since 1998. These two stories from michael today have got to be the lamest entries I've ever seen on here. I'm very disappointed. At least this one isn't as bad as the Nokia one.
There might still be a problem with a hardware-based keystroke recorder, but that level of expertise is unlikely, I think. A thief who could do that could get a good job, and wouldn't need to be a thief.
Hire me, please!
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Has no one in this thread ever heard of peer to peer?
All the examples of "I could have used this when..." could easily have been solved by simply setting your wireless cards into peer mode and making an ad hoc wireless network. This is quick and easy with every network client app I have seen; does no one use this feature or what?
Why is this device any better than just bridging your ethernet to your wireless peer network?
I work as a Sales Engineer for an enterprise software company, and I can think of a number of uses for this type of product. Just to clarify, a 'Sales Engineer' is generally someone who is in charge of all pre-sales engineering duties, such as requirements gathering, proof of concept, etc.
First of all, I do a lot of work in hotel rooms, and I like to take advantage of the mobility of my laptop. I hate working at the cramped desk that most hotels give you, so I usually end up working on the bed, and wireless would be very helpful. Second, I feel that using a hardware NAT router in a hotel room is a 'Good Thing'. Yes, some of the software firewalls are nice, and will keep you protected - I feel however that the additional security layer is nice judging by the sort of activity that I see on the LANs of most hotels. Third, business travelers often have need for impromptu meetings while on the road. With this unit everyone can share a single ethernet jack to get some work done. Finally, the reason that might be most relevant only to other SE's like me....for a lot of proof-of-concept or demo environments it is imperative that you carry a router and other gear to emulate real world network conditions for your presentation/demonstration. This sure beats carrying a full-sized Linksys.
Consider yourself enlightened.
\/\/oobie
No one is complaining about the product posting; everyone is complaining about the lack of a story. We could all go find five hundred products that might be worth a glance, and post it to Slashdot. But "stories" like this increase the noise-to-info ratio greatly. Instead, the submitter (or michael himself) could have searched a bit for a review on the product. If none were available, perhaps the poster could have bought one, reviewed it, and posted a story to the review. At least it would provide independent and useful information about the product, rather than PR/marketing info from DLink.
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