Today, wireless is the way to go as wireless routers are now very affordable and the advantages it provides far outweighs the disadvantages and the cost of having the necessary equipment. Wired networks have been the norm ever since the advent of networking and is still being used because of its very secure nature. It may not be a good idea for high security networks but for most homes and offices, having a wireless network is just a very comfortable must.
In a very basic wireless network, there are two essential parts, an access point and a wireless network interface card that you need to attach to your computer. With routers, you really have no other choice, if your network doesn’t have a wireless access point, you would need to buy one and have it installed and working. On the side of the computer, you would also need to have a wireless NIC installed. This is usually not a problem for most people because a great majority of laptops being sold today and some of the computers already have one installed in them. But for those who have older computers that don’t have a built-in wireless adapter or those who have a non functional adapter, the only option is to purchase one.
The Belkin N150 wireless network adapter lets you connect to a wireless network. It comes in a compact and easy package that slots into a 2.0 USB port. USB is the dominant port standard today and because of its widespread adoption, you would be hard pressed to find a computer or laptop that doesn’t have one. Most of the newer laptops have totally abandoned other ports like serial and the printer port for USB. USB 2.0 is also much faster than the maximum Wi-Fi speed, so you would not have to worry about having degraded speed. The beauty of the Belkin N150 is in its quick and easy installation. Unlike internal Wi-Fi adapters where you would need to open up the computer or hire someone to do it for you, you just plug the N150 on any port outside and it would work.
Belkin has also added some extra features on the N150 that you can take advantage of if you are also using a Belking N150 router. With both, you will have an extended range compared to other devices. But when you are connecting to other hardware, the performance is not upgraded or degraded. It would perform reliably just like any other 802.11g Wi-Fi adapter.
