Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch With Built-In Cabling

Advantages: Advantages: Cheap, all in one solution
Disadvantages: No manual overide or audio support

...stops autoscanning and lets you use the currently selected PC. The Belkin claims support for scrolling mice but I did find sometimes one PC would start up without recognising this facility if it wasn't the currently selected one when booting up and in extreme cases, wouldn't recognise the keyboard and mouse at all. Previous KVM's I've used send the PC fake 'There's a keyboard and mouse here' messages when not selected and it seems this unit does not, which is a pity. Conclusion The Belkin 2 port KVM is a well built unit that works nicely and provides a great way to save desk space and the cost of a second monitor, keyboard and mouse. The long leads are useful and despite the niggles with scrolling mice and the lack of manual switch. I'd say this unit is worth considering at this price if you can live with those shortcomings...

ilaskey 21.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch with Built-In Cabling - KVM switch - 2 ports

stable, reliable router

Advantages: bullet proof, future proof, idiot proof
Disadvantages: too new to be great value for money

...We bought one of these through work to handle our company 2mb ADSL connection. As with all linksys units this is well made and behaves nicely. the 4 port switch is as fast as it's supposed to be. The setup is as hard as you want to make it. there are lots and lots of screens that can be used to tune your internet experience down to fine details, it contains URL blocking, IP, MAC and bad word filtering and you can set it to only allow specific computers to access the net - as if the unit wants to be a proxy server when it grows up. We selected this router specifically because we were looking long term at getting an SDsl connection when it became available and this router is one of very few which will handle that technology (sdsl has the same incoming and out going available bandwidth, rather than adsl which has more incoming...

owenhurrell234 07.07.2005 (08.07.2005) · Read review
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Review of Linksys ADSL2 Gateway with 4-Port Switch AG241 - router

Linksys Router

Advantages: Can hook up a few computers to it,can have a password
Disadvantages: slow transfer of big files between computers

...The last review was very good but I thought I would give one more about the product itself. After purchasing a laptop it became apparent that I wouldnt want to run a cable from my broadband box to my laptop in order to use the internet especially when this is already plugged into my PC. The next logical step? By a wireless router and i'm assuming that if your are reading this then you will either be in this position or just cant be bothered with having cables all around your house anymore. As the title says this is a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point Router with 4-Port Switch. Fore this router to work you need to make sure that your broadband has an ETHERNET port otherwise you will need to find another router as you plug your broadband into this router via an ethernet cable in order for it to be able to send out the signal...

sum41rule 11.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point Router with 4-Port Switch

Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch With Audio Support

Advantages: Cheap, all in one solution, audio support
Disadvantages: No manual overide

...It's surprising how many people have more than one PC at home although even more surprising is that many of them each have their own screen, keyboard and mouse. In many cases this makes perfect sense but sometimes, you know you'll only ever use one or the other - perhaps one is your general PC and the other your music workstation. In these situations you can save a lot of space and money by investing in a KVM switch. KVM stands for Keyboard, Video and Mouse and allows you to use one keyboard, mouse and screen shared between two PCs. This particular unit from Belkin is unusual in that it also includes audio support and also comes with all the leads permanently attached instead of being supplied as a separate cabling set. Wiring it Up Installation is simply a matter of taking each of the two main cables and plugging the sets...

ilaskey 26.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Belkin 2-Port KVM Switch with Audio Support and Built-In Cabling - KVM / audio switch - 2 ports

Neat Netgear 5 port gigabit switch

Advantages: Cheap, reliable, simple to use
Disadvantages: None.

...I liked this switch so much, I bought two of them. Netgear have a reputation for cheap and reliable networking equipment, and this 5 port unmanaged switch is no exception. When I bought my two, they were retailing online for approx £35 each - but these days you should be able to get one for approx £25 (inc VAT.) The switch is more or less the size of my hand (yes, I have big hands). With 5 ports on the back - all are auto-sensing, as is the gigabit standard, so you don't have to worry about crossover cables if you're daisy-chaining switches... The only other port on the back is for power, which is the usual "wall-wart" plug in transformer you get with most home networking equipment. Given the switch is unmanaged, you can just plug desktop computers, laptops, XBOXes, network printers straight into the switch, and not worry...

sjhill 20.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR GS605 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch - switch - 5 ports

Netgear GS105 5 Port Gigabit Switch

Advantages: Easy installation, small, sturdy, quiet, auto uplink
Disadvantages: Runs quite hot

...This is a 10/100/1000Mbps switch with 5 auto-sensing ports Visual Description A compact unit measuring 16cm x 10cm x 3cm (approx) Housed in a very sturdy blue metal casing with venting slots on the side and back Looks very professional 5 Front mounted UTP sockets Rear mounted PSU socket (12 Volt, 1.2 Amp, Centre Positive) and Earth tag LED indicators to display 10Mb, 100Mb, 1000Mb connection, Activity, Full Duplex, Collisions and Power Installation The GS105 switch comes supplied with manuals, 12 Volt (1.2Amp) PSU, ethernet cable, and the unit itself. Installation is very simple and requires no configuration as this is an un-managed switch. Simply connect your existing CAT5 cables from your PC to the switch, it will detect the connection speed and cable type. No need to worry about using cross-over cables or straight through...

sj19uk 11.09.2005 (04.12.2005) · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe GS105 - switch - 5 ports

4 port router - low priced but reliable

Advantages: Reliable, good support
Disadvantages: bigger than other similar routers from competitors

...This unit replaced an awful Belkin router which was a simlar specification and price. This router was so much better, i.e. it worked, The installation was straightforward enough, and the router was up and running with 2 pc's connected without a problem. Compared to the Belkin unit it is a no frills product, the colour is OK, but whereas the Belkin looked sleek, thie linksys s more function over form. I wasn;t really bothered though, it was going to be sat next to the modem out of sight. The ethernet sockets are round the back of the unit, and the system LED's are on the front. Also the unit is stable enough not to be lifted when multiple wires are plugged into it. This can be a problem with very small units which are so light the cables own tension can lift them off the floor/desk where you placed them. Probably the most you...

exup35 24.01.2007 (26.01.2007) · Read review
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Review of Linksys Instant Broadband EtherFast Cable/DSL Firewall Router with 4-Port Switch/VPN Endpoint - router

D-Link DSL-504 ADSL Router 4 Port

Advantages: Pick up a bargain ?
Disadvantages: Only 4 ethernet ports ?

...Another review from me for a discontinued item, but may be useful if you're loking to pick up a bargain item on ebay... The D-Link DSL-504 ADSL Router has a built-in ADSL modem - plugs directly into your ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)-enabled phone line, and with its 4 port 10/100Mbps ethernet switch, allows connections to lots of things (check out my other reviews for what it's connected to...). The DCHP server allows automatic allocation of IP addresses to all your network gubbins too - although I've set the IP's for my wireless accesspoint & print server to allow easier access to their brower based interfaces. The DSL-504 has a browser admin interface too for easy installation and setup, just type in the IP address (the default 192.168.0.1, as with most routers, but if it's changed you can always use the command line...

matt_fantastic 03.04.2006 (05.04.2006) · Read review
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Review of D-Link DSL-504 ADSL Router 4 Port

It's Cheap, Easy and can handle 8 Males at a time

Advantages: Fast, Reliable switching, Wall mountable, Solid piece of kit
Disadvantages: None!

......Male RJ45 cables that is. Netgear have a good reputation when it comes to network products, and the long running production of FS108 switches is testament to that. I have used several 8-port switches and this is my favourite. Fast It supports 100 Megabits per second per port per direction. So you can be uploading 100 Megabits a second AND download 100 Megabits a second, making a total of 200 Megabits per port. For the technophobic among us there are 8 bits in a byte, so 100 Megabits is 12.5 Megabytes. A fast broadband internet connect will most likely be 0.5 Megabits a second, which is 0.06 Megabytes a second... so this switch can shift a lot of data quickly. Informative Some switches have just one light per port to keep you informed. The FS108 has no less than FOUR lights per port! That's 24 lights plus 1 power...

phucco 04.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe FS108 10/100 Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports

solid build and quiet switch = happy chappy

Advantages: small compact size, metallic body, passive cooling=no noise
Disadvantages: gets a bit hot during summer

...using Windows 98/2k/xp over samba, which unfortunately only 50-60% efficient. Transfering files over FTP is gonna be miles faster than samba (windows file and print sharing) They are all auto MDI-X on every port, so it doesn't really matter if you';re using a cross over cable or not, as the switch will sort it out The LEDS on the ports indicate 1000mb or 100mb and the status LEDS on the panel indicate 10mb connection and blinking = activity. It's silent, as it's all passivly cooled, unlike 3com switches/hubs, which is good when you have these in the bedroom! It's solidly built and i really can't fault it, and I feel it's worth the money as most other switches are all plasticy and cheap looking/feeling. 1gb transfer over samba takes around 3-4 minutes... which is fast - as you'd expect for gig ethernet.... and ftp transfers are...

waga 25.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of NETGEAR ProSafe GS108 8 Port Gigabit Desktop Switch - switch - 8 ports