Best Buy must really love me. They sent me a coupon in the mail for 20% off any Linksys networking product. I nearly threw it out because, well, I already have a Linksys WRT54G wireless router and a RT41P2-AT router with two phone ports. I don’t need any more home networking gear at present.
But I’ve really had my eye on the Linksys WCG200 wireless cable gateway. Combining my cable modem and wireless router would solve my problem about not having enough power outlets around my PC. Since the WCG doesn’t have phone ports, it’s not my ideal solution, but it’s a solution that I’ve been coveting for a while. I just didn’t want to spend close to $200.00 on it.
So even though I really don’t truly need it and even though it isn’t my ideal solution, I bought it anyway. My ideal solution at this point would consist of a cable modem, wireless router, print server, network storage device and media server all in one. With phone ports for my VoIP service. I figured a device like that was probably a few years away and I didn’t want to wait.
And my coupon expires at the end of the month.
Being the geek that I am, I couldn’t wait to get home and plug it all in. Actual set up wasn’t that difficult. I had to call my ISP to have them provision the modem. It was still easier to set up than my WRT54G. It took me an hour to get the WRT to use the proper DNS.
One thing I dislike about the WCG is the encryption scheme. The WRT offers 64 and 128 bit encryption via WEP and 256 bit encryption with WPA. The WPA encryption featured a key that changed every so often to foil hackers.
No such luck on the WCG. It offers 64 and 128 bit encryption with WEP and that’s it. Being the paranoid that I am, I was and am disappointed in Linksys for that. It also doesn’t look like I can flash the firmware, another thing I could and did do with my WRT. I guess it’s not essential, but it makes me feel more secure and I personally like making those little upgrades. I am tempted to take the thing back, but the comparable Motorola product doesn’t appear to offer WPA encryption either.
I guess I’ll live with it for now. Maybe NetGear, Belkin or D-Link offer a better product for less. At least I have one more outlet available.
Update: The Motorola SBG1000 seems to be the product for which I’m looking. I just can’t seem to find it anywhere except EBay, where I was just outbid. And it still doesn’t support WPA encryption.
