The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Mynetgateway David Hague |
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One box to provide all your broadband connectivity sounded like a dream come true for David Hague. |
How things change. Not that long ago, to access the local BBS or Compuserve, all we needed was a 56K modem (yes I am ignoring those days of 9600, 1200 and even 300). Today we could hardly live without our broadband gadgets. Until recently, I used a combination of ADSL2+ modem, 4 port wireless router/ switch, VoIP box and an external Skype phone via another black box. The bank of flashing lights at night was very impressive - the tangle of spaghetti cable behind it, however, was not. And I'm guessing the power consumption was somewhat frightening (the number of power packs connecting to a multipoint, board certainly is).
However, I've just condensed all this electronic wizardry into a single NetComm unit with the part number of NB9WMAXX-ADSL2+. Thankfully, Netcom has also done a bit of market research and it's more commonly called 'MyNetGateway'.
In one compact unit, in the obligatory white plastic casing pioneered by Apple as I recall, is packed an ADSL modem that supports ADSL, ADSL2 and ADSL 2+, with an integrated router and VoIP router and 54Mbps Wireless Access Point. With the VolP router, you can plug in a standard phone line, letting you choose to either make calls via the VolP system, or your standard phone line. There are two FXS ports, 1 FXO port and a 4-port LAN Switch built in allowing you to connect say, a NAS, XBOX, PS3 or as I have, a DVICO TViX personal video recorder and a DLINK DivX Connected box.
Thinking along these lines I'm guessing that NetComm has also installed a
Parental control system into MyNetGateway and all this is configurable by
connecting to it through a web based interface.
Connecting all this together is a snap. You could do it by simply
looking at the diagram on the back of the box! The only thing you have to
remember in reality is to put a splitter with a microfilter between the unit and
the phone point. Strangely, this is not supplied in the box, which, if this was
supplied as a Christmas present, would
be a tad annoying and indeed it's a bit penny pinching I feel.
The actual price of the MyNetGateway is quite competitive, considering the
functionality you get - buying all the components separately that make up the
unit would certainly set you back more than the $279 list price (accepting
that some ISP's
are
almost giving away
VoIP boxes
these days as long as you sign up with them). It also comes
with a three year warranty.
In operation, the MyNetGateway works flawlessly and I'd highly recommend this
unit.
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A man, a plan, a canal The number of options available these days to connect to ADSL2+ are staggering. There are dozens of plans from each of the various companies all suited to different usage plans. We've flirted with the idea of putting together a concise cross reference to what's available, but quickly came to the conclusion this wasn't possible as these are changing all the time, and by the time we get to print, it's highly probable they've all changed! The same applies to 3G phone connectivity - Isigned up only four months ago with BigPond and already my plan is not only outdated, but costing around 4x more than it should! Instead, Roger Brown is putting together a step- by-step guide on what traps and pitfalls to look out for and we hope to have this ready for next issue. One tip - have a look at how many complaints an ISP has received via theTelco Ombudsman before committing. This is often a good guide as to their level of service, isn't it oh bird that cannot fly! Meanwhile, remember the excellent service that's at www.whirlpool.net.au |
Reprinted from the November 2008 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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