[tulip] LinkSys 10/100 EtherFast PC Card PCMPC100 Version 2.0 Fails

[Kenneth J. Hendrickson]

Donald Becker wrote:
>> Cc: root@LinkSys.com, postmaster@LinkSys.com, hostmaster@LinkSys.com,
>>     webmaster@LinkSys.com, support@LinkSys.com, sales@LinkSys.com,
>>     slin@LinkSys.com, mailroom@LinkSys.com, ksohl@LinkSys.com
> 
> Perhaps you shouldn't send this to everyone in the world...

Perhaps.  But my anger got the best of me.  I'm still angry!
Read on to see why.

>> Subject: [tulip] LinkSys 10/100 EtherFast PC Card PCMPC100
>>          Version 2.0 Fails
> 
> This isn't a tulip card.  This is a NE2000 clone.

The tulip diagnostic program indicates that this might be a Tulip clone,
specifically an "ADMtek AL985 Centaur (Linksys CardBus)".

All of the LinkSys PCI cards that I recently acquired (along with the PC
Cards and 100 Mbps Switches) are Tulip clones.

I bought the card thinking it was a 100 Mbps card.  That's what the
labeling on the box says!

> Sending a report to the linux-tulip list isn't appropriate.

Sorry.

Perhaps contacting the Attorney General of my state and of the federal
government and complaining about deceptive, deceitful, and fraudulent
product labeling *is* appropriate.  It appears to be necessary in this
case.

> > LinkSys 10/100 EtherFast PC Card PCMPC100 Version 2.0 Fails
> > It only works at 10 Mbps.  Please help if you can.
> 
> I don't have a PCMPC100 card, but I can guess the problem.
> 
> This is a PCMCIA card, not a CardBus card.
> PCMCIA is a 16 bit ISA-like bus that is slow.  Very slow.
> It's usually connected to an ISA bus, and is constrained to
> be slower than the bus it is connected to.
> CardBus is a 32 bit PCI-like bus.  Since the socket controller can be
> implemented as a buffered bus bridge, it is usually as fast as a
> regular PCI bus.

The packaging indicates that the card is capable of 100 Mbps.  If it
can't do 100 Mbps, then this is deceptive, deceitful, and fraudulent
labeling.

> Get a "200" series card, which is a CardBus 21143 or ADMtek Centaur
> chip.

No.  I will not buy from a company that uses deceptive labeling on their
boxes!

The labeling on the LinkSys boxes that I have (EtherFast 10/100 PC Card;
Model No. PCMPC100) CLEARLY indicate that the PC Card is capable of 100
Mbps, half or full duplex.  In fact, it says that they card will do "up
to 20 Mbps or 200 Mbps".

I'll buy from another vendor that doesn't use such deceptive labeling. 
Do you have any recommendations for 3Com, D-Link, or other (non-LinkSys)
100 Mbps cards?

Please recommend vendors who have an entire product line, including
switches, PCI cards, and Cardbus cards.  I need to convert several
10 Mbps networks to 100 Mbps.  All hardware must work out of the box
with available Linux drivers.

-- 
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We are upping our standards ... so up yours.        Ken Hendrickson N8KH