Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys PCMLM56 EtherFast 10/100 + 56K Modem PC Card

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There are a few PCMCIA cards on the market that incorporate network and faxmodem connectivity together, but I like the EtherFast 10/100 + 56K Modem PC Card. I like Linksys products, they have never let me down. The card's network and modem connectors are fully integrated into the card's body, so there is no need for extra cables, dongles, or connectors -- you simply plug in your network and telephone cables and go. So, there are no extra parts to carry or break!

Unlike many other network/modem cards on the market that require 2 PCMCIA slots in order to function, the Linksys card only requires a single PCMCIA slot for operation, freeing up your notebook's other slots for other cards if you should need them.

Another way to connect to a LAN is by using a wireless LAN connection. That is fine if every place you want to use it has a wireless transceiver. I favor the simplicity of this products CAT 5 connector. That's the way to go.

You only have to ask yourself. Do I want to pay for the clean, neat simplicity (this PCMCIA card), or do I want a cheaper product, with a few more hassles? If cost is a factor, check out the PCMPC200 and my review on it.

There are more PCMCIA network adapters out there than you can shake a stick at, and a few of them are actually good. This is not one of them, this card is GREAT.

Unlike the plethora of "dongleless" cards popping up lately, this card only needs one slot, freeing up my second cardslot for other peripherals, flashRAM addapters, and etc.

My personal favorite feature of this card is its LINUX support. It installed without a hitch under RedHat (6.2), Mandrake (7.0) and debian... you cant say the same thing for other similar cards that use "winmodem" technologies for the modem part of their products.

I have been using this card for about a year now, and I do not plan on changing any time soon.

I bought one of these 9 months to a year ago and have found it to work very well. No problem with installation (windows 98) on an older IBM Thinkpad laptop. The light indicators are quite helpful. I like the dongleless setup, but I do still have fears of it getting broken. The inclusion of the two cables, one telephone, the other network was helpful although both are short. I have successfully used both the modem and lan card simultaneously with great success. So no problems yet. I would recommend it. I have had good experiences with other Linksys network (PCI) cards previously on both Linux and Windows.

This modem/network combo card is perfect. This card is simply no hassle. Installation was a cinch, I have had no problems with its operation. Primarily, I use my laptop to study for law school. Therefore, I am either at home or in the library. At home I use the modem and at the library the network. Simply plug in the line and connect.

I bought and installed this card in a Micron Transport NX laptop. It was absolutely painless! The instructions were easy to follow and after I followed the instructions, BOTH the modem and LAN connections worked, first time!-- no fuss, no bother! And, like icing on the cake, the card comes with full size sockets for both phone cord and Ethernet 10/100 BaseT, PLUS there are indicator lights for both connections to give feedback to you about the connection. It's a terrific tool at a terrific price. I highly recommend it!