- Related Stories
-
Microsoft adopts latest Wi-Fi standard
September 16, 2003 -
Microsoft's Wi-Fi ups and downs
March 28, 2003
A source close to the company said Microsoft entered the Wi-Fi field with hopes of "raising the bar" on security, ease-of-use and performance and now feels it has accomplished those goals.
Microsoft confirmed the move late Monday.
"After careful evaluation, the Microsoft hardware group has decided to scale back its broadband hardware and networking business," a representative said. "Instead, the plan is to apply the knowledge we have gained in that category to future products and services."
The move is a dramatic turnaround, considering the company just introduced a USB version of its 802.11g product in February and has
Get Up to Speed on...
Wi-Fi
Get the latest headlines and
company-specific news in our
expanded GUTS section.
Microsoft had a complete line of Wi-Fi products including base stations, laptop cards, and USB and PCI add-ons for desktop machines.
The software maker said its line of 802.11g gear will continue to be sold for the next several months. Some older 802.11b and wireless networking products may also be on store shelves.
The company said it will support the products through their two-year warranty but will not provide service beyond that.
See more CNET content tagged:
wireless networking,
IEEE 802.11g,
Wi-Fi,
Microsoft Corp.,
networking
They need to design an encryption mechanism that shares keys nicely between devices.. hexadecimal is too complicated for the average user.
In any case, Apple should fill the void. For now, I recomend NetGear. No problems with those routers ever. If you have a Centrino notebook, it's worth it to get a Centrino certified model--get a router, not an access point; you avoid bridging and switching that way.