The NETGEAR box contains an installation guide, CD with software and drivers, the PC card, and info about warranties, support, etc. The MA401 is a 16-bit PCMCIA and 32-bit CardBus compatible card, and works in any available PCMCIA or CardBus laptop slot. It is designed to run with Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, Me, or XP. The card sports a 5-year warranty.

The installation of the hardware is virtually foolproof; simply insert the MA401 card into (one of) the PCMCIA slots on the laptop. When the card is inserted as far as it will go, a green light on the protruding edge of the card will light, and the computer will beep to acknowledge that the card has been recognized.

The next step is to install the software and drivers from the CD. The instructions advise you that the card should remain inserted, and you should have the Windows Operating System CD handy, as you begin the software installation. Just follow the on-screen instructions, and everything is self-explanatory. The process could not be more simple or straightforward, and should take less than 10 minutes (if you’re not writing a review and being extra-careful to follow instructions).

After installation is complete, a configuration utility may be accessed from an icon in the System Tray or via the Control Panel (System, Devices, Properties). It is from this window that the user may change settings for card configuration and encryption. One of the tabs in this window also shows the current status of the card in terms of signal strength and link conditions. There are two other status indicators: On the edge of the PC card the green light will blink when there is no connection, and be steady when a connection with an access point is established. Also, the icon in the System Tray will be colored Red when there is no connection, and Green when there is a connection.

Since I did not previously have a wireless LAN setup, there was no Access Point with which to test the card. So, I drove down the street with my laptop to the nearest Starbucks (they’re everywhere, they’re everywhere!) since they advertise unrestricted public access points as a means of attracting customers. I found that the card easily recognized the Starbucks access point, and I was all set for wireless computing. Except for one small point…I did not have an account with the Starbucks ISP. Therefore I could only access the ISP home page for Log-In, and a few related information pages. But that’s OK, because I knew that the PC card worked.

The NETGEAR card is available on-line through Amazon and others for $58.00+, and there are plenty of favorable reviews. The card is not listed in the on-line catalogs for Best Buy or Comp USA (although newer models are available). By comparison, other brands of cards are available in local stores for as little as $10.00 (after rebates and discounts).