With the ubiquity of wireless networking products in the home, chances are that you use at least two or more wireless products to connect your PC to the Internet through a wireless router, or perhaps even wirelessly network a game console (XBOX or PS2) to your home network through the same router.

But anybody with any experience with wireless networking knows that connecting various wireless products can still be an exercise in frustration, even considering the improvements in compatibility that competing manufacturers have managed to achieve, based on standardized wireless protocols (802.11g or 802.11b). If you are starting a wireless network from the ground up, it is still recommended to stick with a single manufacturer’s products, as presumably, there would be better compatibility between esoteric components if they fall under the same brand.

One such company offering an incredibly diverse array of wireless products is Actiontec, a smaller manufacturer (than Linksys and Netgear) that still manages to compete with, and even surpasses the majors in its range of offerings. For our wireless networking tests, we set up a host of Actiontec products and found them all to work near-flawlessly, with only small annoyances along the way in their setup and functionality.

The heart of Actiontec’s wireless network is its “54 Mbps Wireless Access Point,” the unit that connects directly to your Cable or DSL modem, and that effectively transmits all signals throughout your wireless network. To be honest, the Access Point (usually called “Router”) is a fairly generic beast, comparable to most other products of its ilk and only diverse as to its antenna transmission capabilities and range (rated at 300 feet indoors and 1,750 feet outdoors).

Actiontec’s “Wireless Access Point” was set up in nearly identical fashion to competitive products (such as Linksys best-selling router) and as such, should be easy to connect for anybody with a modicum of experience with wireless networking. The same principle applies to the company’s companion “54 Mbps Wireless PC Card,” designed for laptops containing the 32-bit Type-II PC Card Bus Slot. The “PC Card” communicated immediately with the Access Point, thereby establishing a fully-functioning wireless network within minutes.

While the base PC to router connectivity is nice, we often wish that we were wirelessly connected to some of our other peripherals in the office, such as our various local printers, and video cameras. Aciontec offers a 54 Mbps “Wireless Multiport Print Server,” allowing up to two USB and one Parallel port printers to receive data from any PC connected to your wireless network. This is where we start to see even greater benefits from the wireless network – when multiple printers are interspersed throughout the house or office, with each printer designed for a specific task (i.e. photo printing, high-speed monochrome laser printing) and where each printer may only occasionally be needed by another user on a different PC in a different room.

Such is the same for Actiontec’s 52 Mbps “Wireless Network Camera.” Perhaps only one or two users need to view certain activity (i.e. surveillance) at any given time, making the wireless camera an ideal solution for connected users who want to watch the action (or lack of action) for a time, then log off in order to let others view the camera’s eye. The “Wireless Network Camera” allows for 4 simultaneous viewers, and offers such features as video email alerts and recording for future viewing of events that are detected by the camera’s built-in motion detection.

Wireless networking is ideally suited to such applications as home monitoring, for the capability of connecting various monitoring peripherals at various points throughout the house, without the need for expensive alarm system wiring that previously might have required tearing up walls and installing monitor boxes at various locales. Motorola has jumped into the game with its comprehensive “Home Monitoring and Control” system, containing wireless cameras very similar to that of Actiontec’s, and other add-ons such as temperature monitoring, door-and-window monitoring, and even water-monitoring for such occurrences where water might be present from burst pipes or a broken hot-water tank.

In short, the applications of wireless networking technology are extensive, and extend far beyond simply setting up one’s PC or laptop to connect wirelessly to the Internet. With the addition of more products in Actiontec’s line, or the availability of complete and comprehensive systems like Motorola’s “Home Monitoring” products, plenty of useful household or small business tasks will be increasingly simpler to set up and use, will be available to just about anybody, and best of all, will accomplish its useful functions at a fraction of the cost of traditional wired legacy systems have at times past.

Actiontec Wireless Network Camera 54 Mbps 802.11G

Video monitoring and surveillance just became easier with the release of the Actiontec 54 Mpbs Wireless Network Camera. Imagine being able to view what’s going on in or around your home from virtually any location in the world. Now you can keep an eye on your children or monitor the safety of your home — all by opening a web browser and watching live streaming video. If you would rather watch it later, the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless Network Camera offers multiple recording and alert options. The possibilities are endless,and video surveillance just couldn’t be easier or more convenient with the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless Network Camera.