If you ignore the documentation and read the reviews, you'll have it up and running in 5 minutes or less. This is totally a plug & play solution. Plug your Access Point into your Router/Hub/Switch and power up the Access Point. Next plug the Wireless Card into your PCMCIA slot. Windows 95/98/etc. will prompt you for the drivers. Insert the drivers diskette (have your Windows CD handy). The system might reboot. Then you come up and you are connected to your LAN. Surf the web, send emails, knock yourself out. Great speed and range.

Now I have changed the rating to 3 stars because SMC technical support proved to be terrible. The minute I tried to configure the product I ran into problems. The provided software would not work. I tried it from four different workstations. I tried to contact SMC technical support. They never responded to three emails. Furthermore, I waited on hold for a total of over four hours on six different occations and never got to talk to a customer support representative.

I have since returned the product.

So, make sure the the access point has both the green lights flashing before trying to connect.

The only problem I had with installing the pcmia card was some conflict the other (wired) ethernet adapter. I simply removed that one, rebooted, installed the drivers and it was done.

The range is unbelievable and the speed is super. For the price, and the easy configuration, this product is hard to beat.

From the time I opened the box, I was up and running in no more than fifteen minutes. The signal quality and strength are both outstanding. I get consistently 80-90% signal quality and strength through two walls and over fifty feet of distance. (My condo is pretty small, but the walls are almost solid concrete.)

I'm running the MAC address filtering and 128 bit encryption with no problems. As I write this review on my terrace, I couldn't be happier with my choice for wireless networking.

The setup on the SMC was a snap. I have it hooked up to a Linksys Cable/DSL router and Linksys Home Phone Network, which also works great(10Mb) over regular phone lines. The range on this thing is far better than the Linksys Wireless. I have the AP setup on the third floor. In the same room I consistenly get around 95% to 100% signal strength vs. the 50% on the Linksys! I go 1 flight down through 2 or 3 walls, and my signal still is at around %70. I go another flight, another wall or 2, to the first floor and it's at 50%-60%. In the basement it finally weakens out...only able to do 2Mb...depending on whether I have a Microwave running in the kitchen it will sometimes die for a short period of time, but we are talking about several walls and 3 floors. I also took it to my backyard/frontyard...no problem...consistent 50%-60% signal. Pretty damn good...that's as good as the Linsys when it is in the same room!!! In other words, stay away from the Linksys.

The downside would be that the Card makes noises when transmitting signal in the laptop's speakers...kind of annoying but totally liveable. This did not happen with the Linksys. Other than that, no problems. It's nice to be able to take the laptop anywhere around my house and have full networking/internet access happening.

Range of Operation and Throughput
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Suffice it to say, this combination of Access Point and Card cover my entire house. I connect at 11Mbps most places in the house. At the furthest point from the base unit, I connect reliably at 2Mbps. Not bad, considering that is through 3 walls and a floor! I can roam anywhere browsing the web and can't notice any difference in speed (Using a 1Mbps aDSL).

Reliability
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I want something I set up once and never have to touch again. I work from home, so I am on the wireless every day of the week. I need a connection I can rely on. My connection has been as reliable as a wired ethernet, with the added bonus that I can roam anywhere around the house with my laptop.

Ease of setup
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This was a piece of cake! Install the card in your laptop, using the drivers provided. Install the Access Point utility on the same laptop and use it to configure the Access Point. The actual configuration uses a web browser, so it is very user friendly. Mine worked straight out of the box, but I went ahead and set up 128-bit encryption for security. That too was an exercise in simplicity.

Warranty
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Its warranted for a lifetime, compared to a year or two with the other products.

Very easy to use and set up. A secure unit that does 64 and 128 bit encryption. I've compared other wireless units and for the money this one is feature packed along with it's lifetime warranty. A good buy for a nice product.