But what if you’ve got an older Mac without Airport that still does the job and don’t have the expertise or the money to hard wire ethernet, there is a solution. And you need to put it a long way from your existing network.

Your house does have electricity, right? Hard to power up that computer without it. Now you can use those power lines running through your house to hook into your network.

Netgear offers the XAV101 Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter. It connects to your ethernet switch, router or hub, and allows you to access your network from a power outlet in another part of your house.

The devices are used in pairs, with one XAV101 plugged into the power outlet and an ethernet cable plugged into your network switch.

You then take a second XAV101 and plug it into another power outlet, then connect it by ethernet cable to your computer.

Is this a perfect solution? No. These devices are very dependent on the quality of the electric equipment in your house. My house is 35 years old and so is most of the wiring. There are sections of of the house that this just simply doesn’t work in. When we redid the kitchen about 5 years ago, we rewired, and the powerline adapters work fine in there. So know your house or apartment before you part with the US$130 or so that this setup will set you back to buy the kit that includes two of these devices (Netgear part No. XAVB101).

When I got it to work, the speed was quite good, better than g-speed wireless, which is what I have at my house. As always, your mileage may vary.

Please note that this is not the fault of the Netgear equipment, but a function of the old wiring in my house. If someone wants to buy me a newer house, I’ll try it there.

The Good

This setup is easy to install. The instructions are clear. The network is pretty fast. And Netgear includes the ethernet cables you need to connect. I really like it when a company provides everything you need for an installation. These devices are also secure, trading a security code that encrypts the data and locks out other devices on your powerlines.

The Bad

This equipment is only as good as the wiring in your house. Just make sure you save your receipt if there is any doubt about your wiring. And the more switches, breakers and other electrical equipment you run it through, the more chance you’ll have to knock down the signal.

The Ugly

Nothing to see here.

The Bottom Line

If you have an older Mac located too far away from the network switch/router and you don’t have Airport on the Mac, this is a viable alternative. The price may seem a little steep until you consider finding the correct Airport card for your old Mac and adding a wireless access point can add up to a lot of money. This ties right into your existing network.

Macsimum Rating: 7 out of 10.

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