English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

For my second research blog I started looking up the technical reviews for my Netgear router. One of the better ones that I found was at New York Times tech review. The editor reviewing this router did a very thorough test in my opinion as was able to point out many pros and cons of this router that may be important to a person looking to purchase this for a company's wireless solution.

This router was the basically the 802.11g version of the Netgear MR814 which was considered one of the best 802.11b wireless routers on the market. And according to the editor the WGR614 lives up to its predecessor. The review seems to be very objective and accurate as well. The editor notes how easy it is to install whether using a PC or a MAC with the installation showing short videos that tell the user how to find any necessary network settings on their computer. The only drawback they mention during installation is that it does not bring up any of the wireless security options that can be found on the router. However the resource manual that comes with the router has an extensive explanation of all the security devices that are on the router and how they can be implemented.

After the installation they did some testing on the average speed and range of the router. It was one of the fastest routers they have tested as well as having the longest range, with computers still connected over 175 ft from the router. However they mention the optimum distance is less then 50 ft because the speed of the router starts to dip after moving out of that range. The biggest drawback they had was when using both 802.11g and 802.11b devices together. When they did this they had a slightly lower then average speed compared to other routers. So if someone had many different types of wireless devices it would be something they would want to keep in mind.

And because this review was done by an institution such as the NY times I believe the testing is objective and accurate.