"Once you have the network setup, we have another piece of software, the Broadband Network Utility, which is a one-screen view of your network, where you go to troubleshoot if your network connection is live, (see) what the wireless strength is on the network and a wireless diagram of your network," LeVasseur said. Ease of use features might give Microsoft some advantage, but Baker said other factors have historically made the winners in the home networking market. "This is a very crowded market and there are lots of products in here," Baker said. "As much as it turns on how well the product works, your ability to get distribution, your willingness to work with the retailer is more important than the product itself. That's going to be pricing and promotion. It's not necessarily branding, but the retailers' desire in promoting something they can make money on.".

This working relationship with retailers has effectively shut out other big names that have tried to gain turk-tacular thanksgiving turkey (black background) | veronica nagorny iphone case a foothold in the home networking market, such as Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard and Intel, Baker said, "A lot of people with the names have tried to get these products out on the shelf, and it still comes back to NetGear, D-Link, Linksys and SMC--these guys with a networking background--and have had products in these kinds of categories for a long time," Baker explained, Wired and wireless networking products are on tap from the software giant, But in such a crowded market, is there room for Microsoft?..

The Redmond, Wash.-based company plans to market five consumer for wireless networks, and another five products for traditional wired networks. But analysts question whether the software giant can make any headway against entrenched competitors. The analysts point to Microsoft's less-than-stellar track record for selling consumer hardware as reason to question the strategy. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.

CNET también está disponible en español, Don't show this again, The 802.11g network is much faster, although it operates in the same radio frequency as Wi-Fi, Equipment using 802.11g can download files or access the Web at 54 megabits per second, turk-tacular thanksgiving turkey (black background) | veronica nagorny iphone case compared with Wi-Fi's rate of 11 megabits per second, It is also more secure than Wi-Fi and is compatible with existing Wi-Fi networks, meaning customers could use an 802.11g card to access a Wi-Fi access point, Although 802.11g hasn't been officially approved by the IEEE, equipment makers could announce 802.11g products as early as next month, according to Navin Sabharwal, a wireless networking analyst at ABI Research..

Texas Instrument wouldn't begin producing 802.11g chips until January, given the history of last-minute changes as standards finalize, according to spokeswoman Marisa Speziale. Cahners In-Stat analyst Alan Nogee said 802.11g equipment makers are still having difficulties making a single modem for a laptop to work with both Wi-Fi and 802.11g networks. The two networks shape their signals differently, Nogee says, making it difficult for one modem to handle. "It's moving along; (the standard) is probably on track for May," he said.