Two internet connections, one phone line
Written: Sep 23 '01
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Pros: Allows more than one internet connection on one phone line.
Cons: May be difficult for a computer novice to set up.
The Bottom Line: I thank God for this product, as I can't get two phone lines or cable modems here in Italy.
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| brookelorren's Full Review: Vicomsoft Internet Gateway |
When I lived in the US, I had it all... cable modem, a couple computers, and a wonderful internet connection.
That all changed when I moved to Italy.
I'm sorry, but this country does not have it going on when it comes to technology. Sure, you have your cellular phones, but we don't have RoadRunner or AtHome out here. I live in Navy housing so I can't get a second phone line or DSL either... besides, the cost of using a phone is outrageous (I have $270 a month phone bills and the only calls I make are local calls to the internet).
SO... when I moved out here, the biggest problem was figuring out how to get on the internet. With two computers. Preferably at the same time. We tried Microsoft networking, didn't work as we hoped. So while surfing the web one day, I ran into the Vicomsoft site. And I'm glad that I did.
You can purchase different licenses that will allow you to run this software on different numbers of computers. We only have two computers that we hook up together, so we chose the smallest license, allowing us to hook up five computers up to the internet together at once.
How does this work? Vicomsoft uses a thing called Network Address Translation (NAT) that will translate the incoming IP addresses into a different IP address for the computers you have hooked up to it. To the outside world, it looks like you just have one IP address, but to your home computers, it looks like each computer has a different IP address.
It took a while to figure out how to set this up. Even now, if we have to reinstall it, it takes some tweaking. Both me and my husband are fairly proficient with computers... I have a degree in computer science, and he builds computers and is knowledgeable about networking as well. If you have trouble distinguishing a subnet mask from a gateway address, you either should consider other solutions or call your computer proficient friend over.
The good thing about Vicomsoft is that if you are unsure whether you will be able to figure the whole thing out or not, they offer a free trial, so you wont be out $80 after you figure out that you can’t figure out how to set up the software. The web site offers help in setting up the software as well, so you don’t have to figure things out completely on your own.
What about the performance, you may wonder? The performance is great. My modem is terrible, so I usually run the internet through Vicomsoft using my husband’s computer’s modem whenever I get on the internet... the performance is better using his computer’s connection. Usually you do not notice a slowdown in your connection, even with two computers running at the same time. The only time that slowing down ever becomes a factor is when one of the two computers is trying to download a large file.
The only other problem with Vicomsoft is when the host computer is doing something intensive or crashes... then you lose your internet connection, or it hangs up. Make sure that the host computer is stable and won’t be running intensive programs that will take all it’s processing power if you want the best connection.
You may also wonder about the compatibility of Vicomsoft with the programs that you may use on a daily basis. Be sure to read the question database on Vicomsoft for some issues. I am able to run most programs with Vicomsoft... I play Ultima Online through Vicomsoft, for example. Other programs, like ICQ, require you to check a certain “keep connection alive” box in order for ICQ to keep other people informed of your status, and you informed of other people’s status, as otherwise ICQ won’t update correctly. AOL Instant Messenger works, but will sometimes come up with an error box about your connection... the way to go about that is to have NAT last for longer periods of time, or you’ll get a message every five minutes... very annoying. Some programs require special proxy instructions set up, but I’ve never had to deal with that. Other than that, I might have had one issue with connectivity through accessing certain ports through Netscape, but I was unable to tell whether that was a Vicomsoft issue or not.
One small, slightly annoying feature of Vicomsoft comes out when playing Ultima Online. If Vicomsoft has been running for too long, UO will have trouble connecting, and will time out at that screen. The way around that is to restart Vicomsoft... not usually a terrible issue since it’s just two computers, but if you’re running a business with five or more computers, that might get annoying. Then again, unless you’re running a computer software business, you won’t be running UO, and the web browsers and email will continue to work, but you may run into that issue with other programs.
There are other features that Vicomsoft has that you can purchase as extras that we don’t use. Vicomsoft has an option that allows you to filter certain websites. It allows net caching. There is a feature that allows you to combine more than one internet connection into one higher bandwidth connection. There is another feature that requires password access to the internet. I have tried none of these features, but that may be an option.
Am I happy with Vicomsoft? Yes, I thank God that we have it because there no doubt would be fights over who could have the internet otherwise, especially on the weekends. The internet is our only connection to the outside world here in Italy, and Vicomsoft allows us both to access the internet simultaneously.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
brookelorren
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Location: Phoenix, AZ
Reviews written: 214
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About Me:
Homeschooling mom of two cute kids.
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