Powerline ethernet networks

First of all let me admit I am wireless shy. I don't want to introduce wireless in my home. There are two reasons for this.

1. I use a laptop as a desktop. I have attached a monitor and keyboard to my laptop.

2. I don't want to spend $100 on wireless card for my XBOX 360.

All I want to do is to get my XBOX 360 on the internet so I can get on XBOX Live and play some old XBOX games. I thought of running a long cable from the router to the XBOX. Not realistic. So I started searching out for options. While just browsing a local electronics store I came across this great product Netgear Powerline ethernet bridge.

You just plug one of the bridge in an electrical outlet and plug in a RJ45 cable in it from one of the LAN ports in the router. Take the other one and plug it in any of the electrical wall outlets and you are on your way to high speed internet access and that too without unwieldy and unsightly long wiring.

It gives speeds up to 85MBps so it should be more than sufficient for your browsing needs.

Possible downside: These devices are really expensive. Each one costs $60 plus taxes. Although you can by a two pack for $100 plus taxes to get started. But compared to running long cables and the effort involved in it, this is really appealing. Plus this is totally portable, I can take it anywhere with me and use it.

Possible downside # 2: Security. What if someone else gets a similar device and plugs it in their house? Will it get an IP address from me? What stops the internet signals from traveling from one house to another? I don't have answers for these questions yet, but will test this from my friend's house who lives next door. Netgear provides a CD with security software which will encrypt the signals and assign a user and password to it. I will test that also and see how it turns out.