Update on the Netgear Antenna

Back in October, or Spalio as our Lithuanian readers would have it, you may remember that I purchased a Netgear wireless antenna in order to boost the signal into my garage/studio on Fridays when I work from there.

Well, I persevered with it over several weeks, and ended up returning it this week, because, frankly, it made no appreciable difference in signal strength. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it was sometimes actually worse.

For example, today - with the original 10cm antenna - I have two bars (which is actually 5 bars in the Internet Connect control panel). Well, I never got that good a signal with the so-called booster.

In my opinion the ANT2409 is a useless pile of dog eggs, an expensive Star Wars toy that doesn't even light up.

In my continuing attempts to improve my garage bandwidth, next week I will try one of these, a MicroLink dLAN kit, which allows you to create a network using your mains electricity. A problem-solver, in other words, for hard-to-wire locations which are unsuitable for wireless.

You plug it into the mains close to your modem/router, connect it to the router with an ethernet cable, and then plug another one in near your 'puter, and connect to your ethernet port. Et voila: you're wired. That's the theory, anyway.

If it works, I'll be gutted, because it will mean a bit of cable clutter. And that I wasted money on an Airport Extreme card. And because I'll have to buy one, and it will cost me about £130 quid, less trade discount.