Review on Linksys WRT54G Wireless G Router by Dennis Chase

I bought a Linksys G-Kit - router, PCI card and card for my laptop. Here is my hardware setup. :Machine 1: WIN 98, first edition; 400MHz PII, lots of RAM; DesktopMachine 2: WIN 98 First Edition; 233MHz, moderate RAM; Desktop computer 3: WIN 2000; lots of speed and RAM; LaptopRouter: Great product. I hooked it up to machine 1 and it was up and running in under 5 minutes, including the hardware. I did NOT use the supplied software, but configured the router via the web interface. This is the key. The router doesn't even support WIN 98 First Edition according to Min. Linksys claims. However, my setup works fine. In fact, it seems to have increased my internet speed somehow - something I can't figure out but am more than willing to try. For those having trouble, I suggest skipping the software CD. BTW, I also have Comcast broadband cable internet and had no trouble setting it up - I don't know why anyone commenting on this product had trouble, but it certainly doesn't happen often. PCI Adapter: I'm giving it an average rating of 3 stars because I honestly haven't gotten it to work, but then again it really shouldn't have worked with WIN 98 First Edition since it runs on machine 2. Well, here's why I feel I should comment on this point at all - even if it's not supported, downloading the software and trying it out shouldn't crash the system and cause errors. In fact, I had high hopes as the software appeared to load, but in reality it was just bugging the system. Well, after much trial and error, my poor old system is worse than before. I just don't understand why Linksys doesn't offer a way to work with WIN 98 First Edition. Basically it's just hardware and I guess at the end of the day a computer isn't that different from an ethernet card. I may be wrong, but why can't they create an interface for the old OS? In any case, if you don't have a newer system, don't worry. Laptop Card: Works like a charm. I installed the software on machine 3 running WIN 2000 and within minutes I had a great signal. The laptop was at least 50 feet from the router and in the basement (router on tier 1). So I still had a lot of power and signal quality through walls and from a distance. There was no fall and all settings were set to a high level of safety. So overall I'm happy with Linksys. UPDATE: I have upgraded to all XP devices and this router is working fine. No problems at all, easy transition. Also works well with Dell's Axim x50v handheld. Everyone plays very well together.