Keyspan US-4A 4-Port USB Server (12 Mbps) Review

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(More customer reviews)I opened the packing box 10 MINUTES AGO, and both of my printers are up and running on every PC.
I was a little worried when I saw the 'documentation' was smaller than a CD, but everything went off without a hitch:
Step 1: Power up the USB server with no USB device hooked up to it, and connect it to the network via RJ45.
Step 2: Install the software (if WinXP, use the unsigned drivers). Your OS searches the network at this time and finds the USB Server.
Step 3: Hook up your USB devices.
THAT'S IT!!!
If you have a Multi-Function printer, you NEED this device, because even if you find a compatible print server, it will only let you use the print function. A Printer Server turns your Multi-Function printer into a Uni-Function Printer.
With this device, it will be just as if the printer were directly connected to your PC. In fact, you are not limited to PCs; you can connect ANY USB device to it (camcorder, scanner, webcam, even a mouse or keyboard).
The ONLY advantage that a print server has over this device is that with a server, multiple PCs can control a target device at once (really, that's not quite true, since the requestes are put in a queue).
With the USB server, every PC uses a little administration program. When launched, it opens a window that lists all of the devices that are connected to the USB server. A PC on the network that wants to use a device (i.e. print) needs to first take command of that device. You just select the device by name, and hit the connect button. From that point on, it's as if the printer were plugged directly into your PC. Others trying to use the printer would see that you were subscribed to it; they would have to wait until you release the subscription - which you have to do manually.
They could really use a virtual queue that keeps checking until the subscription is open, then releases the subscription when the job is completed. The problem is that if the device isn't a printer, how does it know when the job is finished?
So, even if you have only one PC on the network, you need to request access to use the printer. On the (sort of) bright side, every time you power up the PC, it will remember who owns what. I think the memory is maintained in the USB Server itself, not the PC. So if a PC takes control of a device, then dies, cycling power on the server releases all devices.
This is a little hokey (they claim they MIGHT fix it in a later release) but it's 1000% better than losing printer functions you paid for. They have an 'Admin' panel on the software, but I don't think it currently lets you boot someone off of a device.
If you already installed the devices you want to share, then once you connect to the server, every device will show up by name. When you take control of one or more of the devices, Windows goes through the 'new device ready' popup.
If you haven't added the device to your PC, then the server will show a default name for the device. Once you take control of it, Windows will detect the PnP device, and start the 'add new hardware' wizard.
It's truly as if the USB server didn't exist, and you had a REALLY long USB cable.
I have a Canon i950 Photo Printer, and a Brother 9600 MFC.
The Brother is particularly painful in that it won't even work with most printer servers. In fact, Windows XP doesn't even have a dedicated driver for it; Brother has all but stopped supporting it.
I was highly skeptical, but the MFC's scanner worked right away. As for the Canon, I launched the Status Monitor, and was soon seeing I had to replace an ink cartridge. So, the USB server is bi-directional, too (most Print servers aren't).
It took me longer to write this review than it took me to get the server up and running.
I can't recommend this product highly enough!

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MODEL- US-4AVENDOR- KEYSPANFEATURES- USB Server The USB Server makes it possible for USB printers and scanners to be used and shared by client PCs on a Local Area Network (LAN)! It is ideal for home office, small office or classroom use. The USB Server supports both Ethernet and Wi-Fi networks -- making it easy to print to a USB printer from a Wi-Fi based laptop! * Connectivity to USB Devices: - 4 USB Full-Speed ports (12 Mbps)- Full 500mA power provided to each port * Connectivity to Network: - RJ45 LAN connector- 10/100 autosensing- IP addressing: Static/DHCP/Rendezvous* Compatibility The first release of USB Server software supports USB printers, USB multi-function printers, USB scanners and USB HID devices. While other USB devices may work, they are not officially supported by this release. USB audio and video products are not compatible with this release. USB hubs are not supported. -- SPECIFICATIONs -----------------------------------CONNECTORS - (4) USB 1.1 ports (1) 10BaseT/100BaseTX/RJ45 portREQUIREMENTS - Macintosh: Mac OS X v10.2.8 or greater Windows: Windows 2000/XP or greater keyspan.com

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Apple MB763LL/A AirPort Extreme Dual-band Base Station Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi All,
True to my gadget envy, I acquired one of these dual band extreme base stations to see if they held up to the hype. Sure enough, Apple has improved an old mediocre product with a new more powerful hardware engine and improved software abilities.
Features:
802.11 A/B/G/N DUAL Band radios at 2.4ghz and 5ghz simultaneously.
Gigabit Ethernet ports 1x Wan and 3x Lan.
Guest wireless network.
Disk sharing via USB connected drive.
Access to shared disk via MobileMe (apple mobile me subscribers on os x).
The box comes with the router, the power cord, software cd, and documentation....limited documentation.
Time to test.
Setup: Setup of an apple base station is unlike any other in that you cannot access the setup portal via your web browser. You must install the Apple Airport utility (both mac and windows) in order to set the router up. The software is built very well and provides the typical ease of use known to MAC users. You simply walk through a setup wizard and define simple options for your internet connection, your wireless network, etc, etc. NOTE: When setting up your wireless networks you are able to hit the options button so that you can define a 5ghz network as well (example, main wireless network called wifi, the 5ghz is called wifi (5ghz)). Very easy to setup and get going. You are also able to easily define a SECURED (wpa/wpa2) guest wireless network....which simply means that if you have a visitor they can use wi-fi but not get to any of the computers on your home network. Very Secure....and a great feature to boot.
I was using the old Apple Base Station and kept switching between it and a d-link wireless n router.... I got one of these primarily due to dual band and guest access.
Yes, there are other routers out there that can do this for a bit of a lower cost...but the elegance of the Apple Airport Utility make this a router that can be setup without too much hassle. The software will also identify problems in the setup and have you correct them before it uploads them to the router. These abilities alone make this a router for the non-geeks to be able to setup a robust networking environment at home.
Wireless: As I mentioned before, I am comparing this to an older model apple base station that was single band and worked in the N range. Also compared this against a D-Link DIR-655 which is a 2.4ghz Wireless N router. The section on speed below will detail my wireless experience.
Speed: I have Comcast cable modem service which gives me about 15-25mbps down and 2mbps up....I live in an area where there are probably 5-10 subscribers...so my speed is generally GREAT and never experiences a slow down. The first thing I do when I play with a new router is do a speed test....the new base station is comparable to the others and gets the same exact download/upload speeds over ethernet. There is one exception....using the wireless on this unit yielded BETTER results then the older model and the d-link. Normally when doing a speed test over wireless I get about 12-15mbps and 2mbps up....with this router I was able to successfully hit the 20mbps mark and 2mbps UP. WIN WIN!!!! So I figured that this may be an anomaly and thus proceeded to test a download from Microsoft - a 3.4gb file - which normally downloads anywhere between 900kpbs and 1.2mbps. Surprise.....with the new base station I stayed at 1.3mbps and it did not hiccup even once. The same was true when downloading via a wireless connection, albeit the speed was 1.0mbps....faster then I have ever gotten before. WIN WIN again!
Disk Sharing - Not much to be said here...I attached a Western Digital USB hard drive 320gb and shared it. You simply go into the Airport Utility software and setup sharing of the hard drive and define which password should be used. You can either use the password for the router or setup a separate password to use with Disk Sharing. Speed is dependent upon wired or wireless. I tested while transferring 3 files...one was 2mb one was 100mb and one was a 2.5gb file. The two mb file of course went over before I could blink...the 100mb transferred over in about 3-4 minutes...the 2.5gb took about 15 minutes. The first transfer test was with ETHERNET connectivity. I did the same tests over wireless and found that the times doubled...naturally since wireless is a bit slower I expected that and had no issue with the times.
Mobile-Me - I have not tested the mobile me features just yet but will be testing them in the days ahead and post my results here.
So far I feel this router has hit perfection and will now find a permanent spot in my home...at least until something better hits.
Please do leave me comments with suggestions on the review and or any questions you may have.

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The sleek, easy-to-use AirPort Extreme Base Station with simultaneous dual-band support is the perfect wireless access point for home, school, or small business. It offers fast, 802.11n Wi-Fi access for Mac computers, PCs, and Wi-Fi devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV.

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D-LINK SYSTEMS INC DIR-825 XTREME N DUAL BAND GIGABIT ROUTER, Review

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(More customer reviews)Would rate as -1 if I could.
Bought this to replace a Belkin wireless router that didn't have enough Ethernet ports. Belkin: EASY to set up, NO PROBLEMS. D-Link DIR-825: a total mess.
Installing this unit requires that you BE a computer geek or you HIRE a computer geek. If you're a Macintosh user--although it theoretically will work with Macs--DO NOT BUY, or run back to the computer store to return it.
Although I would not describe myself as a fully knowledgeable computer installer, I'm a fairly sophisticated user and have been since 1980. Speaking of 1980, the "manual" that comes with this unit would have been considered poor even by 1980 standards.
I've spent nearly the entire day attempting to get this unit set up and it's still not working. The D-Link website is one of the clunkiest I've been on lately and is difficult to navigate and even when you "think" you've gotten to the correct place it's likely you're wrong and nothing there will help. Very frustrating.
If you can live with the slightly slower speed and fewer Ethernet ports, buy Belkin (I have no connection to the Belkin company). Belkin has done an outstanding job of making installation of their wireless routers quick and easy. D-Link is living in the distant past. Fools.

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Click here for more information about D-LINK SYSTEMS INC DIR-825 XTREME N DUAL BAND GIGABIT ROUTER,