Rating: 
Summary: It may take a little tweaking, but this network rocks!
Review: I thought the installation instructions were simple. They even had instructions for people who didn't follow the instructions. I connected an iMac, a Dell (P-3) running XP Pro, and a HP 2200 printer with a JetDirect card to the base station and have a laptop with a wireless card.
I did have problems getting the PC to see the printer, but this was largely because I had a static IP address configured before. Once I fixed that, it was great. The wireless weaved in and out even though I had at least 40 percent signal in the house. I solved that problem by turning the security (with the encryption key) off and relying on the MAC (Ethernet;nothing to do with Apple) address filtering for security. In that mode, you put the MAC addresses of all of your devices into the base station. Since I did that, my wireless connection has been golden. I had the laptop's wireless up for six hours at a stretch without a single dropped connection. I would recommend this mainly because it seems to be a very reliable unit with great wireless reach at an unbelievable low price. I thought I would have to pay alot to get something that worked this well. Even for newbies, the configuration wizard is very easy to use, and failing that, the technical support is terrific.
Rating:
Summary: Wireless Networking is a breeze with this product
Review: First, I did not buy this product off the bat. I went with a Netgear MR314. I work on computers all day, and my job involves troubleshooting, so I am not a dummy. But the Netgear product was a pain to set up and never worked right in connecting to my wirelessly enabled laptop. I traded it for this Microsoft product based on word of mouth and whoa! It was remarkably easy. First, the setup program is very helpful, and they even make setting up an encrypted network about as easy as possible. Also, the Microsoft manual is better and gives you info on how to network printers and share folders, which the other product did not address at all. I have a troublefree connection now. If you have a choice of buying another brand's wireless router/firewall cheaper, please keep in mind that part of the price of the Microsoft unit is the ease of installation, and in my personal experience, paying an extra ten dollars or so would have saved me a whole week of hassle!
Rating: 
Summary: Check with your ISP!
Review: Set up and installation were a breeze...except the unit kept sending incorrect logon info to my ISP. As a result I had to have my password reset by my ISP. Microsoft Tech Support was quick to reach but unable to assist with the problem. Eventually had to return the Network. Check with your ISP to determine which Networking System they support!
Rating:
Summary: Never got it to work...even after 6 hours of trying
Review: After about 6 hours of trying, including the accidental
discovery of a firmware update I was never able to get
the wireless connectivity promised. The irony of the situation is that I bought the MN-500
from Microsoft SOLELY due to the fact that I thought it
would be easier to install and get running. My friend has a netgear that he swears by, but I'll just
stick to a physical cable for now. This stuff requires
WAY too much knowledge to install and configure. I was
never confident I had it installed properly. I'd watch
the wireless connection show up as enabled, with
excellent signal strength, yet it never connected to a web
site. Then it would drop the connection. Then it would
come on again. Sometimes, it would require manually
connecting to the base station despite the fact that I
thought I had it set to auto connect. Basically a 6 hour nightmare
Rating:
Summary: Totally smooth setup. I love wireless!
Review: Setting up the product was the easiest thing I've ever done for my computer. I just popped in the disk, entered in some information, plugged in my connection, and I was off and running. I am running it in my condo, with no signal problem at all (though it's pretty small anyway). Having wireless and a laptop is so nice. I can sit back in the couch and get whatever I need done. Very awesome!
Rating:
Summary: Should have been bold!
Review: I bought the equipment several weeks ago to set up both my laptop and my desktop in a wireless network. Finally ran out of excuses this morning and decided to take the plunge and install. I had everything up in 30 minutes without a problem. First I set up the wireless base station while still connected to the NIC of my desktop. Then I set up the wireless notebook adapter. After setup I had to search for the printer on the network but it came up immediately and I set it as the default printer. Then I returned to the desktop, uplugged the NIC card and set up the wireless USB adapter. This was absolutely painless, everything is working. My son is tracking football stats on the laptop in the living room and I have more room on my desk. Both my desktop and laptop are running Windows XP Pro.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty smooth
Review: I recently purchased this product along with the mn-520 wireless notebook adapter. I am not a big microsoft fan so it was a little painful to give them more of my money but there were some good rebates at a retail center (initials BB) so I thought I would give it a try. I am fairly familiar with computers but I think a neophyte could set this up with no problems. I was up and running in about 15 minutes without a flaw. I connected my Win 2000 laptop to my XP desktop and am having a great time wandering around the house, surfing. I haven't tried to test the distance limits yet but I give MS two thumbs up for this one.
Rating: 
Summary: For the novice
Review: Wasn't sure what I was getting into when I got the idea to network my three computers together- using a wireless access - this is for: a desktop, laptop/school and laptop/work. So, I did a lot of research and figured this one looked the easiest. It was. It serves as the gateway/access point I needed to network these computers and share a printer. I was able to hook up my desktop within just a few minutes. My school laptop was a whole different story. It came with an IBM adapter (card) and it had to be configured ... didn't know how, so I called Microsoft. They were great.. [...] But, a few clicks later, I somehow figured it out. So, as I enjoy surfing the net while sitting in front of my TV as my husband surfs the net in the office, I have to say the whole experience was worth it! The only other problem I had was setting up my printer b/c I have Windows 98, 2000, and XP - so I had to reinstall drivers. Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a combined review of the MN-500 / MN-510 / MN-610 since they are combined (the MN-610 is a kit of a MN-500 base station and MN-510 USB adapter). The base station installed up to the very end. It said that the installation could not complete because of a firewall or similar problem. I checked, re-checked and re-booted many times. However, I could get through to the Internet, so I had no idea why it would not continue the installation. I ended up calling technical support and they were very helpful. Since I was connecting to the Internet, everything was configured. It just would not complete and make a floppy that could be used on the other systems. So, that part had to be done manually. I was glad support was quick and helpful. Installing the first other station was very easy, but the second was more problematic. Still, compared to other network installations, it was pretty easy. Throughput is pretty impressive. In fact, it is just as fast on the others as it was on my base station BEFORE the wireless network. My base station varies from the same performance to THREE TIMES what it was before. I am guessing that the router doing the firewall instead of the OS doing it may account for most of the improvement. Overall, we are very happy with it.
Rating:
Summary: Just as billed
Review: All the manufacturers of wireless systems claim that their wireless products are easy to setup, compatible and have great support. Unfortunately, that's not true. I bought and returned a Belkin after running into trouble and discovering that their "free" support required a tolled call to a call-back service. LinkSys couldn't tell me if the version of the products they shipped would be XP compatible or not (some were and some were not). The Microsoft hardware was easy to setup as billed and I had no trouble locating competent assistance via their tech support when I ran into some trouble with my cable modem. While its still early, so far so good with this system and a notebook adapter.
| 
