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The Linksys E3200 is the next in line after the top-notch Linksys E4200 in Cisco Systems’ new and refreshed E series of Wireless-N routers. Inferior to the E4200 only in its lack of support for the three-stream (3×3) 450Mbps standard, the E3200 is designated to replace the previous Linksys E3000, and it indeed makes a worthy upgrade.

Like all routers in the new E series, the E3200 is both pretty to look at and easy to use thanks to the included Cisco Connect software. While novice users will love the software’s no-brainer approach to network setup and management, experienced users may want to skip it entirely and use the responsive Web interface to take advantage of the router’s advanced features.

In real-world testing the E3200 proved itself to be among the fastest true dual-band Wireless-N routers. We found it also offered long-range and stable wireless signals. At its street price of around $140, the E3200 makes a formidable contender to the recent Editors’ Choice-winning Asus RT-56U.

Design and ease of use
The Linksys E3200 shares the eye-catching styling of the rest of Cisco’s new Linksys E series, such as the E1500 or the E4200. Although it’s not wall-mountable, the router has a flat design with an internal antenna and is about the same size as the compact E1500.

Like all today’s high-end routers, the E3200 comes with four Gigabit LAN ports and one Gigabit WAN port on the back. The former are for wired clients like desktop computers, and the latter is to connect to an Internet source, such as a broadband router. Also on the back you’ll find the push button for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature and a USB 2.0 port to host an USB external storage device. We wish that the WPS button were on the side or front of the router for easier access. The USB port will not work with a printer, unfortunately.

On the front, the new E3200 doesn’t have the usual array of status LEDs. Instead, like the rest of the E series, it has just one white light in the shape of Cisco’s logo that blinks when the router’s booting up (or when something is not right) and stays solid when everything is in order.

The router doesn’t come with a manual, just a CD with the Cisco Connect software. As long as you know how to insert this CD in a computer’s optical drive, you’ll be able to set up the router. Cisco Connect will walk you through the setup processes, including how to hook the router up to a cable modem and the computer that you use for the setup process. After that, it will run by itself to configure the Internet connection and then prompt you to accept or change the default wireless network’s name and encryption key.

By default, the software sets up two wireless networks (one for the 2.4GHz band and one for the 5GHz band) with the same name or SSID; it’s always something easy to remember, such as BigHorse or BlueMonkey. Once this initial setup is done, you can add other computers to the wireless network via Cisco Connect with just a few mouse clicks. With devices that don’t have an optical drive, like a smartphone or a printer, the software lets you print out the settings so you can add them manually, or you can use WPS if the clients support it.

While having two networks share one name, which is similar to how Apple sets up its AirPort Extreme, makes life simple for many people, it means that you have to rely on the adapter to select the network. If you’d prefer to manually pick which network to use, you can give the networks different names via the Web interface.

With Cisco Connect you can also turn on and off the Guest network (available only in the 2.4GHz band), manage the Parental Control features, and run the included Speed Test tool to see how fast your Internet connection is. As is typical for the E series, however, the software’s functions are very limited, and it requires a live Internet connection to work. In order to set up the router for an isolated network that’s not connected to the Internet, name the two wireless networks differently, or take advantage of other functions such as the router’s network storage feature, you’ll need to log in to the router’s Web interface. You can get there by following the “advanced setup” link within Cisco Connect or by pointing a connected computer’s browser to the router’s default IP address, which is 192.168.1.1.

Note that if you haven’t used Cisco Connect at all, the default password to log in to the router’s Web interface is “admin,” with the username being left blank. Once you have changed the default password, the username becomes “admin.” If you did use Cisco Connect to set up the router, the username will be “admin” with the password being the same as the encryption key of the wireless networks.

The good news is, unlike for the original Linksys E series, everything you can do with Cisco Connect can also be done through the E3200′s Web interface. For this reason, savvy users can and should skip Cisco Connect entirely to avoid accidentally changing the router’s settings.

The good news is, the E3200′s Web interface allows you to do everything you can with the Cisco Connect software, plus it enables access to the rest of the router’s advanced features. (For routers in the original E series, such as the E3000, neither the software nor the Web interface has complete control over the router’s features and settings, and they can’t be used together.) For better control over the router, savvy owners of the E3200 can and should skip Cisco Connect entirely.

In the end, it’s best to use the Cisco Connect software if you are a novice user, and the Web interface if you are more experienced. If you want to switch back to using Cisco Connect, just return the router to its default setting via the recessed reset button on its bottom.

Features
Other than the lack of support for the 450Mbps standard, the Linksys E3200 has the same features as the Linksys E4200. The router is able to offer concurrent networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and can also simultaneously provide a third guest network on the 2.4GHz band.

Guest networking is a great solution when you want to share your Internet connection with others but want to keep them from accessing your local resources such as files or printers. The E3200′s Guest networking feature allows a maximum of 10 clients. While this is enough for home use, it may be too limited to supply Internet for public use, as at a cafe or restaurant.

The E3200 has simple support for network storage; for example, you can share the content of an USB external hard drive (formatted using either NTFS or FAT32), with user account restriction. By default the admin account has full access, including the ability to create more user accounts. It also has a built-in UPnP Media Server that supports streaming digital content, such as photos, music, and video, to other UPnP-compliant devices, such as set-top boxes and game consoles.

For file sharing, the E3200 supports Windows SMB, so you can browse the share folders easily while using a network browser such as Windows Explorer. You can also turn a folder on the attached USB hard drive into an FTP site.

The E3200 also has the E series’ simple, yet robust, parental control content filtering system. This feature, which you can manage with Cisco Connect or the Web interface, allows you to restrict the Internet access of particular computers on your network.

Finally, the E3200′s Web interface also gives access to the router’s Applications Gaming feature, which lets you set port forwarding and triggering for specific applications such as games, remote desktop, or FTP and HTTP servers. You can also assign static IP addresses to networked computers, making port forwarding much more relevant and easy to do. If you want to create a VPN connection, FTP access, or a remote desktop connection to a computer in the network, you will find the above handy and convenient.

Like most recent routers, the Linksys E32000 supports all available wireless encryption standards, including WEP, WPA-Personal, and WPA-Enterprise. The router supports Cisco’s VPN PassThrough for all existing VPN protocols, including IPsec, L2TP, and PPTP, meaning with the router at home, you can use a VPN client to access your office network.

Performance
The Linksys E3200 did very well in our tests in both wireless bands, but, as with similar routers, its network storage feature didn’t impress us much.

In the 5GHz frequency tests, the router registered 95.3Mbps for close-range throughput, which puts it in the top three on our chart, below the E4200 and the Asus RT-56U. At this speed, it can finish transmitting 500MB of data in about 42 seconds. At a range of 100 feet, the E3200 scored 53.8Mbps, about average compared with the other routers on the chart.

In the 2.4GHz frequency tests, the E3200 took the second place on the close-range throughput test with 61.3Mbps, just a tad slower than its brother E4200, which scored 61.4Mbps. It scored 40.4Mbps and 55.04Mbps respectively for the 100-foot and mixed-mode tests, making it the second best on both charts. The mixed-mode test is designed to show how the router performs at close range when working with both Wireless-N and legacy wireless clients at the same time.

The Linksys E3200 also did well in our 48-hour stress test, not disconnecting once during that period. It offered great range, too, in our tests at about 290 to 300 feet for both 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands.

Like almost all routers with built-in network storage features we’ve reviewed, the E3200 won’t impress anyone with its throughput when hosting an external hard drive. We tested this with a computer connected to the router via a network cable using Gigabit Ethernet and the scores were generally low, at around 60.4Mbps for writing and 64Mbps for reading. These speeds only allow for minor data sharing, such as documents and small photos, and maybe some music streaming. For a viable network storage solution, we’d recommend a dedicated NAS server.

NAS performance (in Mbps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Read  

Write  

2.4GHz Wireless-N Performance (in Mbps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Mixed mode  

Range  

Throughput  

5GHz Wireless-N Performance (in Mbps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Range  

Throughput  

Service and support
Cisco backs the Linksys E3200 with one-year limited warranty, which though short from a user’s point of view is standard for routers. Cisco’s toll-free phone support is available 24-7, as is online chat with a support representative. The company’s Web site hosts software, driver, and firmware downloads as well as an FAQ section.

Conclusions
Fast, good-looking, easy to use, and with a good set of features, the Linksys E3200 makes a good router for both novice and experienced users who want a fast home network. With a less limited Guest networking feature and better storage performance, we would have given this router an Editors’ Choice Award.

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2011 Acura MDX Advance

Seating seven and weighing in at a whopping 4,551 pounds, the 2011 Acura MDX is the last vehicle you’d expect to see ripping up the pavement on your favorite mountain road, but that’s exactly where we took this 300-horsepower beast to put its active suspension and SH-AWD technology to the test. The results we came back with were surprising to say the least.

What’s more, this physical powerhouse is also a tech powerhouse, with an array of safety technology to keep you and your six passengers entertained on roads less twisty.

Surprisingly nimble seven-seater
Under the hood of the 2011 MDX, you’ll find the same 3.7-liter V-6 engine that can be found in the TL and TSX sedans. However, the heavier MDX needs a few more ponies to get the job done, so Acura gave it a 20-horsepower boost for a total of 300 hp. The added weight and more aggressive tune pull the MDX’s fuel economy down to 16 mpg city and 21 mpg highway. We managed a combined 13.8 mpg during our testing, but that’s probably explained by the, well, spirited manner in which we drove during our testing. We’re sure that the average driver would fall right in the middle of the EPA’s estimates.

Power flows from the MDX’s 3.7-liter engine through a six-speed automatic transmission with a Sport program and paddle shifters for manual gear selection. From there, torque is transferred to either the front or rear wheels through Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system (SH-AWD). This system not only biases torque between the front and rear axles, it features a torque vectoring system on the rear axle that sends power to the outside wheel in a turn, increasing grip, control, and rotation. The end result is a nimble ride uncharacteristic of a vehicle the size of the MDX.

Helping the MDX’s agility is an active magnetic suspension that is able to adjust the dampening characteristics of the SUV’s suspension many times per second in order to provide the highest-quality ride. The suspension’s two modes, Sport and Comfort, give you the choice of emphasizing performance or a supple ride.

Shifting the MDX’s transmission into Sport mode, we pushed the SUV up one of our favorite mountain roads. Paddle shifting allowed the MDX to hold its revs and prevented awkward midturn shifts. Finding ourselves hot on the tail of a fellow enthusiast in a Volkswagen GTI, we were impressed by how well our 4,550-pound beast stuck to the rear bumper of the nimble hatchback. Of course, with almost 100 horsepower more, you’d expect the MDX to keep up with the VW on the straights, but on twisty roads such as this one, raw power loses to handling. Still, there we were, keeping up the chase through the mountains. There was a noticeable bit of body roll, but the MDX felt planted through the gentler turns and the SH-AWD system brought the vehicle’s tail around nicely in the more aggressive switchbacks.

Reaching the top of the hill, we paused to give our arms a break from sawing away at the steering wheel, when we noticed that during the entire trip up the mountain, the MDX’s adjustable suspension had been in its Comfort mode. Switching the suspension into its Sport setting to match the transmission, we again tossed the MDX into the twists and turns of the mountain road–this time headed downhill. The difference in the handing characteristics of the SUV was immediately noticeable. The body roll we noticed on the way up was drastically reduced, allowing the MDX to stay flatter in the turns and enabling the SH-AWD system to really scoot the ute’s tail end around as we powered through turns at speeds that a seven-passenger SUV shouldn’t be capable of. We found ourselves grinning as we dove into bends carrying more and more speed before our fun was abruptly brought to a halt by a flashing amber light on the instrument cluster.

Safety tech
No, the warning wasn’t from the traction control system, which was surprisingly transparent in its actions. It was from the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS). This forward-facing radar constantly monitors the road ahead of the MDX to warn drivers of potential collisions. If there is no reaction to its flashing lights and sound, the CBMS will apply the brakes automatically and cinch the driver’s seatbelt in preparation for a crash. Apparently, the rapidly approaching trees and rock wall on the outside of the switchback we’d been aggressively diving into had caused the system to falsely trigger enough times that it was second-guessing itself and displayed an error code. Driving was not impeded in any way by this error and a quick halt and restart of the vehicle cleared the error code.

We decided to take it easy on the ride back from the mountain and chose a highway route. Switching the gearbox back into its normal automatic mode and the suspension back to Comfort, we took this opportunity to test out the safety features of our MDX’s Advance Package. The active cruise control (ACC) system uses the same forward radar as the CMBS (which is also part of the Advance Package) to monitor and maintain a safe distance between the MDX and the vehicle ahead of it. At its tightest, the system still kept a full two car lengths between our front bumper and the car ahead of it, which is great for safety. However, when used in moderate traffic, the system was pretty aggressive in slowing the vehicle to maintain that gap, leading to a jerky ride. Additionally, the system will only slow the vehicle to about 35 to 45 mph before it simply shuts off and stops accelerating (other systems, such as that of the Infiniti FX50, will bring the vehicle to a complete stop and reaccelerate). This makes Acura’s ACC system less than ideal for heavy traffic situations.

Also part of the Advance Package is the Blind Spot Information System, which notifies drivers that a vehicle is in the MDX’s blind spot by illuminating an LED near the appropriate side-view mirror and flashing that LED if the turn signal is activated. The system makes no attempt to prevent the driver from merging into an obstruction and doesn’t operate at low speeds, so it isn’t useful in stop-and-go traffic situations.

The Advance Package also brings pre-tensioning seat belts that prepare the passenger in the event of a crash, autoleveling xenon headlamps, the Active Damper adjustable suspension mentioned earlier, and ventilation for the perforated leather sport seats. OK, that last bit isn’t exactly a safety feature, but it is nice to have.

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By Hannah Sampson, McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers

In Print: Sunday, May 8, 2011

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MIAMI

The great European cruise migration of 2011 has run into headwinds.

North American brands increased their presence in Europe this year hoping to charge higher fares and grow their audience. Royal Caribbean International has 11 ships — half its fleet — in Europe this year, up from eight last year. And Carnival Corp. has 25 percent of its capacity for North American brands in Europe this summer, compared with 17 percent last year.

But the high cost of air travel and unrest in popular ports of call, including Egypt and Tunisia, have dampened demand, forcing cruise operators to turn to discounts to fill the ships.

“It’s always follow the leader,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, of cruisecritic.com. “Somebody decides the market is going to be hot so they all go into it, it gets congested, the prices go down. It was no surprise whatsoever it happened in Europe.”

Last month, officials with Royal Caribbean Cruises said they had managed to boost demand for cruises after a slump in Europe by lowering prices. The impact of fuel costs, the disaster in Japan and upheaval in Northern Africa and the Middle East prompted the world’s second-largest cruise company to lower forecasts for the full year by 15 cents per share to a range of $3.10 to $3.30.

Last month, Carnival Corp. also lowered its expected earnings for the year, largely due to fuel increases and costs associated with itinerary changes forced by the Middle East unrest. Carnival Cruise Lines debuts its new ship, Carnival Magic, in Europe this week but will bring it to its year-round home port in Galveston, Texas, in November.

Royal Caribbean’s reduced earnings expectations came amid good news for the company, which reported net income of $91.6 million, a nearly 5 percent increase over the same period last year. Net yields, or revenue generated per berth per day, increased 4 percent.

“The various natural and human events that are happening in the world began to have an impact on us near the end of what was otherwise a successful first quarter,” Royal Caribbean International president and CEO Adam Goldstein said in a conference call with investors.

Higher fares in other areas including Alaska and the Caribbean offset the slumping prices in the Mediterranean, officials said. The company hopes to raise fares even more in the future.

“Going forward we’re concentrating on being a little less of a value,” said Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain. “You should expect to see us toeing the line on costs but pushing harder than ever to enhance our pricing.”

That’s part of the reason Royal Caribbean changed the schedule for one of its ships, Navigator of the Seas, which was to sail 14-night Eastern Mediterranean cruises through early 2012. Instead, it will be in the Mediterranean only until fall — a situation Goldstein described as “unique.”

“We will perform substantially better by bringing this ship to the Caribbean than we could have by remaining in Europe for the winter,” he said. But he added that the cruise operator is confident that Europe will perform well next year, when 12 ships will be positioned there. Sister company Celebrity Cruises will have its largest European deployment with six ships in 2012.

For this summer, huge deals on European sailings are numerous — for those who can afford to fly there.

The new Carnival Magic has 12-night cruises available from $849, said Stewart Chiron, a Miami cruise expert and CEO of cruiseguy.com. Celebrity’s Solstice ship has 12-night sailings from $899.

The discounts, he said, are seen across all cruise companies. “It is the times.”

Mike Driscoll, editor of the weekly trade publication Cruise Week, said the European sailing season started strong before being derailed. U.S. travelers, he said, just don’t want to shell out a bundle for air travel so they can take a cruise.

“If you’re paying $1,500 for airfare for a $1,099 cruise, it’s like why bother?” he said.

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How We Almost Lost Our Atomic Marbles

May 8, 2011

Richland, Washington (Home of “The Bombers”), has never shied from showing pride in its nuclear heritage. But its loyalty was recently tested when the local museum stopped selling “atomic marbles” in its gift shop. There was fear that the iconic souvenir might be bought out by opportunistic profiteers.

According to director Ellen Low of the CREHST Museum (Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology), atomic marbles are made by lowering normal marbles into a tank with radioactive cobalt-60. Gamma radiation kicks around the marbles’ electrons and changes their clear glass to a honey brown/gold color (Hint: the longer the exposure, the darker the marble). For years the museum sold the marbles out of a gumball machine, then later in single packages. “We thought that the machine might be a little bit dangerous because small children might mistake them for gum,” said Ellen.

One museum employee started using the marbles to make necklaces and earrings. The jewelry was sold in the gift shop along with the single marbles. Then one day a young woman came in, saw that the marbles were sold cheaply compared to the jewelry, and bought a lot of marbles. She said that she would use them to make and sell the same kind of atomic accessories herself.

Protective of its employee, concerned that its marble supply might be exhausted by bulk-purchase nuclear entrepreneurs, the museum stopped selling its single marbles. The only way for tourists to purchase the marbles was to buy the necklaces and earrings. “It was Marble Wars,” said Ellen.

But the public was displeased. Phone calls were received, according to Ellen. The local newspaper weighed in with an editorial. “We listened to what they had to say,” Ellen said, and the museum crafted a compromise: it has resumed sales of individual atomic marbles, but will limit them to two per person. “Nobody’s gonna buy more than a couple for personal consumption,” said Ellen. “It keeps everybody happy.”

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