Netgear RM356 Remote Access 56K Modem Router

Rating:
Summary: Good answer for modem-based wireless network
Review: If you don't have broadband, but would like to have your laptop access the Internet through a wireless connection, this would be a good option (you would also need to by a wireless base station as well). An alternative is the Apple Airport.

Rating:
Summary: A simple must have for SOHO network!
Review: If you use a modem to connect to the Internet or another network at home or in a small office, throw it away and get this device. Even if you have a single PC this device can provide a nailed-up network connection that is on all the time, just like you might see at work.. There is no more clicking on a connection icon and waiting for your PC to dial and handshake. It uses a built-in modem, your POTS (regular phone line), and ISP service. You can configure it to dial-on-demand or configure a nailed-up connection that is on all the time like DSL.

Pitfalls might include that you must have a network card in you PC to use this device. It doesn't work to my knowledge with dialup online service providers like AOL, MSN and those that require you to connect with their proprietary PC software. It's best to keep, or get a local Internet Service Provider that gives you a raw Internet connection. I used mine for years before DSL became available in my area. It's a great product.

Rating:
Summary: Netgear Equals Superb Service
Review: This holiday season I was a good santa and purchased numerous wireless networking products for my various family members. Sure it was partially a selfish act as I wanted to be able to easily connect when I went to visit, but for the most part it was just an act of giving. I purchased mainly G products and they varied from routers to USB adapters to PC Card adapters. I did also purchase a couple of B products for those in the family that already had some wireless networking products (yes, I know they are backwards compatible but I didn't want to take any chances).

Only two members of the family had installation problems (considering my family is very non-technical I was quite impressed) and those two people both had yet to upgrade to Windows XP SP2. The rest of the family members were up and running within minutes.

As for the couple of family members that did have problems, well they called me first (of course) and I told them to just run back through the installation procedure again. This solved the problem for Uncle Dennis but Grandma Joyce still couldn't get it to work properly. I reluctantly told her to call Netgear's technical support (hey the reviews on Amazon haven't been too pretty for their tech support). I however was quite pleased when an hour later I got an email from Grandma Joyce thanking me for the great gift. I called her back and she told me that after fiddling with the settings with the Netgear people she was up and running within 30 minutes.

Overall, I consider this the ultimate test of product quality and support and I would give Netgear two thumbs up.

I hope this review was helpful to you in putting your mind at ease regarding ease of setup and trust of technical support if needed.

Rating:
Summary: Good for small office or home networking
Review: This product has been very helpful in our office. We have 6-8 computers connected to the router (and a connected hub) on a 56k connection. It may be a bit slow at times if several people are trying to download large documents at once (which is very rare), but that certainly outweighs the hassle of having to shout across the office to see who's online and wait your turn for the modem phone line. And it outweighs the cost of having a phone line for each computer... the person that said four modems are cheaper than this router might be right, but not for long once you get four monthly phone bills!!! Also, this router has allowed us to network our office so we can share documents and printers. I recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Networking a modem? Kinda silly...
Review: While this piece of hardware works flawlessly--and, as another reviewer notes, is a great way to turn a modem into an Ethernet feed--it's a silly concept to actually network more than 1 computer using a conventional modem as found in the RM356. Once you see this thing in action feeding 4 computers, you understand how silly the concept is... not to mention that 4 56kbps modems are, in fact, cheaper than this 1 unit.

In short, get (or wait for) broadband, make sure your broadband modem is of the ethernet variety, then buy one of the multitude of lower priced switches/minihubs available here and elsewhere if you want to share that connection.