Networking Reviews

I found that the DSB-H3SP HUB was not very easy to install. I found installation problematic. This is the fourth time I tried to install unit and was unsuccessful. I can not find any information on the D-Link web site related to the DSB-H3SP. A search of the web site in fact did not find a single item. A call to D-Link tech support was of little help!

While this product was fine when operating under Windows 98 SE, I was never able to find Windows ME combatible drivers for it. In fact the D-Link site doesn't even list drivers for it. You can find them in their ftp site, but they are not fully ME compatible. Under Windows ME, I could get the USB ports to work and the parallel port (if I reinstalled the driver every time I rebooted). However, I could never get the serial port to work. I recently tried to install the hub on a Win 2K machine. I should not have wasted my time. I recently found a reference to the Belkin F5U012 on a windows 2K compatibility site. The site claims that these two units are identical and the drivers for the Belkin should work for the D-Link. I have yet to test this claim. All of this begs the question, though -- why struggle with the D-Link when the Belkin ships with the correct drivers. Things that make you go "Hmmmmmmm."

Doesn't work with Win 2000...I'm returning.

I had trouble getting this to work with my Apple G4. I called for tech support and he had nothing to say to me as a Mac user and displayed no interest in helping me. Basically, although it says that it is compatible with MAC OS, if you are not familiar with print servers and need help, you are out of luck.

Relatively easy setup...BUT, very limited bidirectional compatability. Does not work well with multifunction printers. Either have to do a "cancel" to print or with a mutifunction printer with a fax, always shows the device as busy and cannot print at all.

It was easy to setup this print server on a Windows 95 desktop and a Windows XP laptop. I have two printers attached; one laser printer connected via a parallel cable and a color inkjet (multi-function) printer connected via an USB cable. They work great except bi-directional functions (no ink status info).

Need to connect directly to the multi-function printer to use the scanner function. Functions that need true bi-directional will not work through this print server.

SMC makes the sorriest cards I've ever used. I bought a wireless card for my PC and one for my laptop. They worked fine at first, but after months of heavy use both of the cards stop working. I'll never buy a SMC product again.

Save yourself and don't buy this card. Either the card or it's software messed up my brand new Dell. The card had a hard time keeping a connection less than 15 feet.

I purchased this card and an SCM router as a package. I got home installed the router and all was great. I then installed the PCI card into my wife's computer running XP SP2. I used the default drivers that came on the driver disk. The card worked pretty well, but it kept loosing the connection to the router. The router is on the 2nd floor about 30 feet away, if you go through the floor. One evening I downloaded the drivers to update the card from SMC's web site. I ran the install util and updated the drivers. After that XP networking died. I could ping devices, but I could not connect to them. I was not able to surf the web, check email or anything related to the internet. My other computer could connect and surf just fine so I know it was not the router having problems. To make along story short I had to use XP restore to get the machine back. After several emails with SMC tech support they informed me that they SMC utility that you use to configure the card is not totally compatible with XP. I was told to use the built in XP wireless config util. I did this and it did work but the problem with the wireless card dropping out continued. It got to the point so being so bad that I went back to using a hardwired cable running from up stairs to down stairs. At this point I am going to pull the card out and sell it. I have check SMC's website hoping for an update, but as of today no other updates have been posted.

This is 1.1, the much slower USB speed. Comes with no AC adapter, so you have to go buy one. You can get a fast one for the same money. I got this model on the spur of the moment at a dollar store (Big Lots) and now I know why they're dumping 'em on dummies like me. :)... The last reviewer says it isn't XP compatible, i wouldn't know, but I'm not going to buy an adapter just to find out.

Out of the box, this USB hub is not compatible with Windows XP... and the product does not come with a driver.
The product has a port for a 5V DC power adapter which is also not included but it is unclear whether this power adapter is even necessary...

I bought this hub so I could have my Intellimouse Explorer mouse, joypad, and memory card reader all plugged into the back of my computer running Windows XP home edition, and it has worked great. I just tried to plug in a Creative Webcam NX Pro and was alerted that the hub did not have enough power to support it, so I will most likely be buying the external supply. I haven't needed it until now, and am glad that I wasn't forced to pay for it when I bought the hub.

I have not bought this product and tested it, and have no plans in doing so. However, I justify my rating of 1 star simply because the price is too high for this technology. Amazon in its review mentioned that you can buy a networking kit TEN TIMES FASTER for the SAME or LESS price, and I totally agree!! It is simply not logical to purchase this item, it is a riff-off. You're paying more for less!

Find other networking kits here which are faster and cheaper alternative like: Linksys FESWSK5 EtherFast Switched 10/100, Linksys FESWSK5 EtherFast Switched 10/100, D-Link DFE-910 10/100 Network-In-A-Box with 5 Port Switch, etc.

I was very disapointed in the way the internal network cards that came with this product worked in my machines. Basically, they didn't. because of the IRQ conlficts I was unable to resolve, I had to turn around and buy two more NICs (I highly recommend Netgear USB NICs, BTW). The only reason I gaive it 3 stars is because of the hub which works well and seems to be high quality. 3-Com dropped the ball on this one.

I'm extremely unhappy with the Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM DVI Switch with Audio. I'm sure most of this applies for the VGA version

1) It is nearly impossible to connect a cable to the console DVI Connector. Belkin had to overnight a special extender to connect the monitor DVI cable to the KVM.
2) Connecting the Power Adapter to the KVM blocks one of the peripheral USB ports.
3) It's absolutely impossible to put on the cover (i.e. cable management cover) if you connect the four (Belkin) cables to it.
4) Connecting only two PCs with a resolution of 1600x1200 to the KVM resulted in green shadows for one connection. (both NVidia cards GeForce 4 (4200 series) and a Geforce 5 (5200 series)
5) The Microsoft Wireless Keyboard doesn't work as stated in the manual. I did manage to plug in the wireless dongle connector to the USB mouse port on the KVM but now I can't use the hotkeys to switch between computers. Belkin has also indicated that wireless keyboards don't always work as stated in the manual

6) There isn't a FAQ or software/firmware upgrade listed for this device. I would recommend checking out the belkin support pages or lack there of.

I bought it to use with 3 computers. However Belkin does not sell a CHEAP all in one cable for this product. ...And by the time you use different cables, everything is REALLY messy. Also the worst problem is that it says it can support 4 computers, which it can, but you can only put on the sheath when you use only 2. I emailed Belkin and they said that they use the same casing for the 2 port as they do for the 4 port. So it really looks messy. The item itself works flawlessly, but I shelled out the extra bucks so the sheath would cover all the ugly cables. I don't reccommend this product unless you are going to use 2 ports, or you don't mind the messy cables without the sheath.

Buyer beware:
Keyboard, Mouse and Video quality - 5 stars
Audio quality - 1 star

If audio quality is important, do not buy this model. The sound level is scratchy and tin-like. I tried from 2 different computers (both Red Hat 9 and Windows XP) and the result was still the same, very *poor* audio quality.

I do not know why a company which manufactures and sells computer hardware would include a feature that does not work. I have come to expect this practice from software companies where it is common practice to sell a product that is broken out of the box. For some reason this is not acceptable on hardware products.

In sum, I returned my unit and bought the equivalent belkin model instead. It was worth it despite being $10 more cause the audio works great on it.

Iogear tech Support delayed responding to a known defective audio chip in the unit with two weeks of emails and then insisted that I FAX my serial number to get permission to pay for returning it to them. Instead, I returned it for the $20 cheaper Cables to Go 2PT Authority2-Micro KVM with Audio that has worked flawlessly.

Proxim Orinoco cards are some of the best in the industry. If you surf some web lists, you'll find people like their performance (reception especially). But don't get the Silver version. The security (yes, you need it) is very weak. I'd only consider the Gold versions of any of their cards. And there's no point in getting an 802.11b only card. Everything is headed to 802.11g. The third mature standard, 802.11a, never really took off. So the way to go is: Proxim Orinoco 802.11b/g GOLD (model 8470-WD). Spend the extra few bucks and still feel smart at the end of the year.

I bought this card because of the strong reviews and low price. Beware! The software support is abysmal; I cannot add new networks in the client manager, and when I tried to go online to get more up-to-date software, the downloaded 'updates' were non-functional. This is compounded by the fact that none of the 'read me' or online 'documentation' files actually have any instructions in them - they all just list the many updates made to the non-functioning software ("Chinese character support updated")

Switch did not work with my Samsung 191T monitor. Customer service people were slow to respond and were not helpful.

This KVM is easy to install, disappears easily under your desk, and switches between computers easily (a button on the KVM or by pusing "scroll lock" twice on your keyboard); however, a problem I had was there were horizontal lines moving down the screen, and I had to return the product. 3 stars for easy install and easy running.

Hooking up this product to my Win XP system slowed down the response of other USB peripherals considerably. Web site does not include updated driver and did not get any response from GWC tech support team.

And if you install the driver, guess what?

It's a hub, just plug it in, it will work, DUH! the included drivers should almost NEVER be installed.