One of the access points was easy, if time-consuming. An earlier version of this Cisco AP had to be kick-started a couple of times, but it came around and is now happily singing tunes from both the 802.11a and 802.11b songbooks. My other access point was and engineering sample from another vendor and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to reconfigure the thing. It’s at least five years old and has served well, so it’s time to let it put it’s little rubber feet up and rest. After all, how hard can it be to buy a new access point?

Pretty damned hard, as it turns out. If I wanted an wireless router, I could have my pick from shelves full at either Office Depot or Best Buy. The thing is, I don’t want a wireless router–I want an access point. I don’t want a pre-N or draft-N access point (though I may change my mind after I review a few), and I’d really like one that has both 802.11b/g and 802.11a. They simply can’t be found on any mass-merchant shelves. I suspect I’ll end up buying one of these Linksys units–even though it’s not the latest and greatest, it fits the bill and I’ve seen a similar AP at work in another network.

I know I’ve said this before: I understand that the network in my home/office is unusual. With that said, I can’t believe I’m the only person who wants a nice, simple access point. I’m thrilled with the way my current router/firewall setup is working, and I don’t want another device that thinks it should be doing the DHCP and NAT chores sitting in the mix. Sigh. I’ll look forward to reporting success later on.

Now, before you order you should check your user agreement with the ISP (there are some that will get grumpy about sharing bandwidth) and, if you’re in a business, you should check the applicable laws on secure wireless access points. If you’re cool with both of those, though, this seems like the sort if idea that could make the wireless world a little happier for all of us.