I read the other review of this and thought it was excellent. I would like to add a couple of points.
Firstly, I have bought mine quite recently and it is version 2. I don't know the exact dimensions of the earlier one but this is minute. It is about the same size as an average hand, i.e. 6" by 4". It's also very lightweight and you can stand it on end if you want with the supplied widget. It's also a white colour.
I paid around £60 for this and could have got the DG834G (wireless) model for about £15 more. However the other computer in the house is quite a long way from this one and on a different floor with several walls in between. So I decided that wired was best if I decided to connect them up. You can't really tell if wireless will work untill you try.
I bought this one from NickKnows.co.uk and I also ordered 4 extra budget filters at £2.94 each. They work fine and it's probably not worth spending £10 on the high grade ones. You get one in the box with this modem/router. I asked their advice about filters and they said the cheaper ones are fine and they have been.
I noticed the other review was quite specific for AOL. I have a broadband connection with Virgin.net which has so far been very reliable.
As far as setting this modem up it's just really a matter of plugging it in and then using the log-in details supplied by your ISP. Once you're up and running that's it. It comes on automatically whenever you start up.
I did have some teathing problems at first but I discovered that was because I had the filters plugged in wrongly. We have a number of extensions in our house and you need to make sure the filters aren't being shared by more than one phone. You need one for each.
I haven't said much about the technical details for this modem mainly because it's in the other review. However, it is a modem/router/firewall. In other words, you can share this between four computers simply by buying extra ethernet cable to plug them in with. You can also use the ports to plug in a printer, or if you decided you wanted to go wireless after all you could plug in a wireless router and then share it with an unlimited number of wireless enabled devices. It's quite versatile.
The important point for me about this is that it includes a hardware firewall. Bearing in mind your connection is always on you need to protect yourself from attacks. I've got a Norton firewall as well but the extra protection is worth having, if say your firewall is off for some reason (such as at startup).
Overall the reliability is perfect, it does get a little warm, but you can always switch it off when not in use. It's nice and small, it comes with everything you need for one computer i.e ethernet cable and phoneline, and for the price will give you a far better service than a USB modem which your ISP will provide you with. As I understand it you still have to 'dial up' the connection with those, whereas with this it's just like any other program on your computer. The internet is there whenever you need it.
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