4. The Line-Up

Microsoft's BroadBand product line includes both 802.11b wireless and 10/100 Ethernet-only offerings, with a couple of wireless bundle "kits" thrown in to make things easier for novices and give you a little bit of a price break (around $10 street...). Here's a summary, along with street prices as of Sept 23, 2002 and links to look up the latest prices:

Wireless Base Station (MN-500), $128 Wireless USB Adapter (MN-510), $71 Wireless Notebook Adapter (MN-520), $71 Wireless Desktop Kit (MN-610; Base Station plus USB adapter), $189 Wireless Laptop Kit (MN-620; Base Station plus Notebook adapter), $189

10/100 Ethernet Wired Base Station (MN-100), $70 10/100 Ethernet USB Adapter (MN-110), $26 10/100 Ethernet Notebook Adapter (MN-120), $35 10/100 Ethernet PCI Adapter (MN-130), $21 10/100 Ethernet 5-Port Switch (MN-150), $35

The MN-500 User Manual lists FCC IDs for the MN-510 and 520 USB and Notebook adapters that show they are also sourced from Accton. I think it's safe to assume that the remaining products are also Accton-sourced, and will be similar to their equivalent offerings from SMC. The main question is what path Microsoft took for the router products' firmware. I'll tell you what I found there in the next section.