I've been meaning to review backup software, but never seem to get around to it. So I'm turning to you all for ideas.

So what application do you use for backup? What do you like about it and what do you think could be improved?

Just post a comment below. No registration is required. Thanks!

Nilay Patel's take on Apple's latest variation on the Airport Extreme:

Hardware: Basically an Airport Extreme with a hard drive inside.

Performance: Hogs the network when it's backing up.

Features: Backups only. Can't use as a general-purpose NAS.

Full article.

The response to my previous post looking for bloggers was completely underwhelming. So let's try a different approach.

I'd like to know what other sites and blogs you regularly visit for networking news, reviews, gossip, etc. I have a few, but I'd like to know where you go.

Just post a Comment below. No login is required. Thanks!

And please put links to the sites you like in your comments!

SmallNetBuilder is fortunate to have a talented and faithful audience. Our best contributors have always come from our readers, and I'm always looking to tap that vast wealth of experience.

But good people also tend to be busy people who don't have the hours that it takes to research and prepare they kind of in-depth articles and reviews that we do. On the other hand, you do have the time to visit SmallNetBuilder regularly and I'd like to have fresh stuff for you to read each time you visit.

It has been SmallNetBuilder's policy to not publish articles written by vendors. The reason is that most vendor-supplied articles are basically advertising in a different format.

But sometimes the articles really are informative, even though they carry a built-in bias toward the author's company's product. So I'm thinking of trying this out.

These articles will have the author's company affiliation clearly identified and carry a short disclaimer so that readers will know that the views expressed are the vendor's and not SmallNetBuilder's.

So what do you think? Should we let companies contribute articles? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

While arranging my DGL-4500 review sample with D-Link, I asked them about the rumors that the long-delayed DIR-855 has been placed on "indefinite hold". D-Link told me that the product is still alive and that the target ship date is now "end of year 07 or early year 08".

During my routine check of the Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11n Certified product list, I found that the mythical D-Link DIR-855 Dual-Band Draft 11n router received its 802.11n Draft 2.0 certification back on October 3. Shame on me for not catching this before now.

If you have been using the TomsHardware front page to see when we post new articles, you'll need to change your habits. Sometime very soon our Articles will no longer be featured there.

This will mark the end of our transition from being a TG Publishing partner site to being an independently owned and operated site. While we have valued our long relationship with TGP, we feel that we will be able to better serve you by being under own own management.

We hope that you'll now come directly to the site to see what's new, or use our main RSS article feed.

But no matter which way you arrive, we're glad that you're here!

Today's announcement by Linksys of its "affordable" Range Plus product line (WRT100, WPC100) is an odd one. The product line is described as using "MIMO" technology to provide extended coverage at a price point around $100. But a look at the FCC Test report reveals the real technology used.

As is too often the case, yet another networking term that initially had clear meaning has been grabbed by the marketeers and is being used to lure gullible buyers.

While the Wi-Fi Alliance's list of 802.11n Draft 2.0 certified products is growing longer, of course, there is still a catch. A product's appearance in the list doesn't necessarily mean that the products you can buy today are Draft 2.0 compliant. Nor does it mean that you can download firmware and drivers to bring them into compliance, either.

The Uberpulse headline "Cisco kills Linksys brand, plans agressive move into consumer markets" is sure an attention getter, but comes as no surprise.

First, Chambers actually said: "It will all come over time into a Cisco brand"—which hardly amounts to an announcement that the Linksys brand has been, or will soon be, retired. And for those of us who deal regularly with the company and its products, it's really a statement of the obvious.

You may have noticed a slight change to site navigation. I've removed the "Browse All.." side boxes and instead added a submenu to the top navigation bar.

The sub-nav bar changes when you mouse over the main topics to provide one-click access to any section from the current page. And as a side benefit, the sub-menu also provides an indication of the current section.

Just post a comment to register kudos, complaints and suggestions!

My previous post describing the D-Link DIR-655 / DWA-652's failure to switch from 40 MHz to 20 MHz channel mode when encountering a legacy WLAN, might be counter to what D-Link says is the expected behavior. But I have found that it is neither a violation of IEEE Draft 2.0 nor the Alliance's Draft 2.0 11n Certification.

Since that post, I've exchanged emails with D-Link and spoken with both Atheros and the Wi-Fi Alliance to try to find out how the D-Link products could not be performing as D-Link had described, yet receive Wi-Fi Draft 2.0 11n Certification.

With the Wi-Fi Draft 11n certification process underway, I've decided its time to resume reviews of these products. This doesn't mean that I now consider the products to be "done"; far from it. But with the legitimacy of the Wi-Fi mark now being slapped on boxes, I figure someone has to see if these products are really living up to their claims.

When Tim Higgins first started Tom's Networking Guide for TG Publishing (TGP) I was not sure what would happen. But I did know that Tim was a unique voice on the Web, and we would not fail by being associated with him. Today, he launches SmallNetBuilder, and TGP is forunate to be a part of his vision. Tom's Networking always implied that it was a networking mirror of Tom's Hardware; Small Net Builder is a more accurate reflection of what the site is truly all about.

Just got a call from a colleague who was looking for recommendations on dual-WAN routers to replace his faithful Nexland router that was finally starting to fail.

I haven't looked at dual-WAN routers in awhile (note to self, put these on the "to review" list) so didn't really have any helpful recommendations, other than to stay away from the Linksys RV082, which has had a troubled past.

So what are you using that you like? And what should prospective buyers avoid? Just reply to this post. You don't need to register to post. But due to those wonderful spammers out there, I will be moderating comments before they are shown. Thanks!

I share Glenn Fleishman's disappointment with this week's announcement by the Wi-Fi Alliance that they have only begun their certification testing. But judging from what I've seen so far, getting draft 11n gear up to spec is going to be a long, difficult process.

I spent a few days last week testing a D-Link DIR-655 router and DWA-652 Cardbus card, which are based on Atheros XSPAN silicon. These are the first products to have firmware and drivers posted that allegedly implement 11n Draft 2.0 compliance. My primary focus was to see whether the legacy protection mechanisms added in 802.11n Draft 2.0 were working in actual product.

Something I'm surprised I don't get more questions about is how to tell when someone (who you don't want there) is trying to use your wireless LAN. I swear there used to be a simple application that came with early Macintoshes called "Knock Knock" that would pop up a dialog when someone attempted to connect to your Mac. I'm looking for something similar, preferably free, that runs on Windows.

Come to find out that the news item we posted the other day about Netgear releasing 802.11n Draft 2.0 firmware was a bit premature.

The firmware for the WNR854T router, which is based on Marvell silicon, is the only draft 2.0 upgrade posted. The upgrade for the matching WN511T Cardbus card is still in verification. According to Netgear, it won't be released for "a couple of weeks".