<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16490"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>do you have a home network?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>ct</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><TR valign="top"><TD align="left">
<DIV id=applyHeader>
<DIV id=firstHeader align=left>
<TABLE id=topTools border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV><SPAN class=inside-head><STRONG><FONT size=5>Cisco Valet makes home
Wi-Fi easier to set up</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=inside-head><STRONG><FONT
size=5></FONT></STRONG></SPAN> </DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--startclickprintexclude-->
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" height=25>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD class=datestamp><SPAN id=datestamp>Posted
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>document.write(niceDate('3/31/2010 12:17 AM'));</SCRIPT>
12m ago</SPAN> | <SPAN id=uslCountControl><SPAN
class=uslCommentsLink> <A title="Go to comments"
href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm#uslPageReturn"
alt="Go to comments"><SPAN class=uslCommentsLabel>Comment</SPAN> <SPAN
style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px" class=uslCommentsCount> </SPAN>
</A></SPAN></SPAN> | <SPAN id=uslRecommendControl><SPAN
id=uslRecommend:article:38040782.story> <SPAN class=uslRecommendLink><A
title="Recommend this article"
onclick="usl.Recommend('article','38040782.story','0');"
href="javascript:void('Recommend')" alt="Recommend this article"><SPAN
class=uslRecommendLabel
title="javascript:void('Recommend') CTRL + Click to follow link">Recommend</SPAN>
<SPAN style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px" class=uslRecommendCount
title="javascript:void('Recommend') CTRL + Click to follow link"> </SPAN>
</A></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></TD>
<TD align=right><!-- EdSysObj ID="SSI-B" FRAGMENTID="13417811" rberthol --><SPAN
style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" class=pageTools> | <A
href="http://asp.usatoday.com/marketing/rss/rsstrans.aspx?ssts=tech%7Cnews"></A></SPAN><!-- /EdSysObj --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--endclickprintexclude--></DIV></DIV><!--startclickprintexclude--></TD></TR><TR><TD
valign="top" align="left">
<TABLE style="FLOAT: left" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV style="Z-INDEX: -1; MARGIN-TOP: 4px" id=applyMainStoryPhoto>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=245>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD colSpan=2><A
onclick="window.open('http://asp.usatoday.com/_common/_scripts/big_picture.aspx?width=490&height=328&storyURL=/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&imageURL=http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2010/03/31/cisco31x-large.jpg','','width=490,height=328')"
href="javascript:;"><IMG border=0
alt="Simon Fleming-Wood holds Cisco's Valet, which uses a USB dongle to automatically set up your Wi-Fi router and network."
src="http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2010/03/31/cisco31x.jpg"
width=245 height=164></A></TD>
<TD vAlign=top rowSpan=3 width=20><IMG alt=""
src="http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_images/clear.gif" width=20
height=20></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=vaLink height=18 width=80><A
onclick="window.open('http://asp.usatoday.com/_common/_scripts/big_picture.aspx?width=490&height=328&storyURL=/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&imageURL=http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2010/03/31/cisco31x-large.jpg','','width=490,height=328')"
href="javascript:;"><IMG border=0 alt="Enlarge image"
align=top
src="http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_images/_inside/enlarge.gif"
width=13 height=13></A> <A class=vaLink
onclick="window.open('http://asp.usatoday.com/_common/_scripts/big_picture.aspx?width=490&height=328&storyURL=/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&imageURL=http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2010/03/31/cisco31x-large.jpg','','width=490,height=328')"
href="javascript:;">Enlarge</A></TD>
<TD class=photoCredit width=165 align=right>By Jefferson
Graham, USA TODAY</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD height=1 colSpan=2><IMG alt=""
src="http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_images/clear.gif" width=1
height=14></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=photoCredit colSpan=2>Simon Fleming-Wood holds
Cisco's Valet, which uses a USB dongle to automatically set up
your Wi-Fi router and
network.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV class=VASpacer></DIV></DIV>
<DIV style="Z-INDEX: -1; FLOAT: left" id=va></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--endclickprintexclude--><!-- EdSysObj ID="SandboxLede" FRAGMENTID="38040782" ebracke --><!--endclickprintexclude-->
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>
var storyURL = "http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm";        
</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>
var storyTitle = "Cisco Valet makes home Wi-Fi easier to set up";
var articleSummary = "The folks behind the best-selling Flip video camera want to do for home networking what they did for video: make it drop-dead easy.";
</SCRIPT>
<!-- EdSysObj ID="SSI-A" FRAGMENTID="30348882" ibirman -->
<DIV id=topSocialButtons>
<DIV class=socialContainer>
<UL id=spritemenu class=socialList>
<LI class=sharing-bg>Share
<LI id=sprite0><SPAN id=yahooBuzzBadge-form class=yahooBuzzBadge-form><A
href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=usatoday&guid=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Ftech%2Fnews%2F2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm%3Fcsp%3D34"><SPAN
style="POSITION: relative; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px; PADDING-LEFT: 20px; CURSOR: pointer"><SPAN
style="POSITION: absolute; WIDTH: 16px; DISPLAY: block; BACKGROUND: url(http://l.yimg.com/ds/orion/1.0.15.10/img/badge-logo.png) no-repeat left top; HEIGHT: 16px; TOP: 0pt; CURSOR: pointer; LEFT: 0pt"></SPAN>Yahoo!
Buzz</SPAN></A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite16><SPAN
class="spriteImage sprite16"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('mixx')"
href="http://mixx.com/submit/story?page_url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&partner=usat"
target=mixx>Add to Mixx</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite5><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite5"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="window.open('','facebook','width=642,height=436,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes');uoTrack('facebook')"
href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&title=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=facebook>Facebook</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite18><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite18"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('twitter')"
href="http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20%40USATODAY%20Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up%20http%3A%2F%2Fusat.me%3F38040782"
target=_blank>Twitter</A></SPAN></LI></UL>
<DIV class=social-wrapper>
<DIV id=social-treeview-wrapper>
<UL class="share-nav treeview">
<LI class="expandable lastExpandable">
<DIV class="hitarea expandable-hitarea lastExpandable-hitarea "></DIV>More
<UL style="DISPLAY: none" id=spritemenu class=socialList>
<LI id=sprite13><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite13"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('farkit')"
href="http://cgi.fark.com/cgi/fark/farkit.pl?u=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&h=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=fark>Fark</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite1><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite1"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('digg')"
href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&title=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up&topic="
target=digg>Digg</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite4><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite4"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('reddit')"
href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&title=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=reddit>Reddit</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite12><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite12"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="window.open('','myspace','width=800,height=600,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes');uoTrack('myspace')"
href="http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=postto&u=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&t=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=myspace>MySpace</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite14><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite14"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('stumbleupon')"
href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&h=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=stumbleupon>StumbleUpon</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite15><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite15"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="uoTrack('propeller')"
href="http://www.propeller.com/story/submit/?url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&title=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up"
target=propeller>Propeller</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite17 class=last><SPAN
class="spriteImage sprite17"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
onclick="window.open('','linkedin','width=520,height=570,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes'); uoTrack('linkedin')"
href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm&title=Cisco%20Valet%20makes%20home%20Wi-Fi%20easier%20to%20set%20up&summary=The%20folks%20behind%20the%20best-selling%20Flip%20video%20camera%20want%20to%20do%20for%20home%20networking%20what%20they%20did%20for%20video:%20make%20it%20drop-dead%20easy.&source=USATODAY.com"
target=linkedin>LinkedIn</A></SPAN></LI></UL></LI></UL></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=socialContainer>
<UL id=spritemenu class=socialList>
<LI class=sharing-bg>Subscribe
<LI id=sprite-my><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite-my"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-TechTopStories.xml"
target=myyahoo uotrack(="" myyahoo="" )="">myYahoo</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite-ig><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite-ig"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-TechTopStories.xml"
target=igoogle uotrack(="" )="" igoogle="">iGoogle</A></SPAN></LI></UL>
<DIV class=social-wrapper>
<DIV id=social-treeview-wrapper>
<UL class="subscribe-nav treeview">
<LI class="expandable lastExpandable">
<DIV class="hitarea expandable-hitarea lastExpandable-hitarea "></DIV>More
<UL style="DISPLAY: none" id=spritemenu class=socialList>
<LI id=sprite-nv><SPAN class="spriteImage sprite-nv"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
href="http://www.netvibes.com/subscribe.php?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-TechTopStories.xml"
target=netvibes uotrack(="" )="" netvibes="">Netvibes</A></SPAN>
<LI id=sprite-ma class=last><SPAN
class="spriteImage sprite-ma"> </SPAN><SPAN><A
href="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/AddFeed/?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-TechTopStories.xml"
target=myaol uotrack(="" )=""
myaol="">myAOL</A></SPAN></LI></UL></LI></UL></DIV></DIV>
<UL class=whatsthis>
<LI class=socialFoot><A title="What's this"
onclick="document.getElementById('sclBtnInfo').style.visibility='visible';document.getElementById('Adv6').style.display='none';usatAj.ahah('sclBtnInfo', null, 'http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/socialhelp-v1.htm', null);"
href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-31-cisco31_ST_N.htm#open-share-help"></A></LI></UL>
<DIV id=sclBtnInfo></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>
        if (typeof(articleSummary) == 'undefined'){
                var articleSummary ="";
        }
        <!-- yahoobuzz script -->
        var articleSource = "USATODAY.com";
        var yahooBuzzArticleId = 'usatoday:'+storyURL+'?csp=34';
        var yahooBuzzBadgeType = 'text';
        
        <!-- twitter script -->
        var twtUrl = 'http://usat.me?'+tagID+'';
        var maxLength = 140 - (twtUrl.length + 1);
        var twtSource = 'RT @USATODAY'
        if (storyTitle.length > maxLength) {
                storyTitle = storyTitle.substr(0, (maxLength - 5))+'...';
        }
        var twtLink = 'http://twitter.com/home?status='+encodeURIComponent( twtSource + ' ' + storyTitle + ' ' + twtUrl );
        <!-- myspace script -->
        function GetThis(T, C, U, L)
        {
        var targetUrl = 'http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=postto&' + 't=' + encodeURIComponent(T)
        + '&c=' + encodeURIComponent(C) + '&u=' + encodeURIComponent(U) + '&l=' + L;
        window.open(targetUrl);
        }
        var sclListTop = "";
        sclListTop +='<div class="socialContainer">';
        sclListTop +=' <ul id="spritemenu" class="socialList">';
        sclListTop +=' <li class="sharing-bg">Share</li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite0" ><span id="yahooBuzzBadge"><!-- this element will be replaced --></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite16"><span class="spriteImage sprite16"> </span><span><a href="http://mixx.com/submit/story?page_url='+storyURL+'&partner=usat" onClick="uoTrack(\'mixx\')" target="mixx">Add to Mixx</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite5"><span class="spriteImage sprite5"> </span><span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+storyURL+'&title='+storyTitle+'" onClick="window.open(\'\',\'facebook\',\'width=642,height=436,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes\');uoTrack(\'facebook\')" target="facebook">Facebook</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite18"><span class="spriteImage sprite18"> </span><span><a href="'+twtLink+'" onClick="uoTrack(\'twitter\')" target="_blank"'+'>Twitter<'+'/a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' <div class="social-wrapper">';
        sclListTop +=' <div id="social-treeview-wrapper">';
        sclListTop +=' <ul class="share-nav">';
        sclListTop +=' <li>More';
        sclListTop +=' <ul id="spritemenu" class="socialList">';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite13"><span class="spriteImage sprite13"> </span><span><a href="http://cgi.fark.com/cgi/fark/farkit.pl?u='+storyURL+'&h='+storyTitle+'" onClick="uoTrack(\'farkit\')" target="fark">Fark</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite1"><span class="spriteImage sprite1"> </span><span><a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url='+storyURL+'&title='+storyTitle+'&topic=" onClick="uoTrack(\'digg\')" target="digg">Digg</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite4"><span class="spriteImage sprite4"> </span><span><a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url='+storyURL+'&title='+storyTitle+'" onClick="uoTrack(\'reddit\')" target="reddit">Reddit</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite12"><span class="spriteImage sprite12"> </span><span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=postto&u='+storyURL+'&t='+storyTitle+'" onClick="window.open(\'\',\'myspace\',\'width=800,height=600,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes\');uoTrack(\'myspace\')" target="myspace">MySpace</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite14"><span class="spriteImage sprite14"> </span><span><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url='+storyURL+'&h='+storyTitle+
        '" onClick="uoTrack(\'stumbleupon\')" target="stumbleupon">StumbleUpon</a></span></li>';        
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite15"><span class="spriteImage sprite15"> </span><span><a href="http://www.propeller.com/story/submit/?url='+storyURL+'&title='+storyTitle+'" onClick="uoTrack(\'propeller\')" target="propeller">Propeller</a></span></li>';
        
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite17"><span class="spriteImage sprite17"> </span><span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url='+storyURL+'&title='+storyTitle+'&summary='+articleSummary+'&source='+articleSource+'" onClick="window.open(\'\',\'linkedin\',\'width=520,height=570,left=0,top=0,resizable,scrollbars=yes\'); uoTrack(\'linkedin\')" target="linkedin">LinkedIn</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' </li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' </div>';
        sclListTop +=' </div>';
        sclListTop +='</div>';
        jQuery("#topSocialButtons").append(sclListTop);
</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>
        jQuery(".share-nav").treeview({control: ".treecontrol",animated: "medium",collapsed: true});
jQuery(function() {
        jQuery.ajax({ type: "GET", url: "/marketing/rss/settings.xml", dataType: "xml", success: BuildSubscribeButtons });
});
function BuildSubscribeButtons(xml) {
        // Build SSTS array
        var url = document.location.toString();
        var urlArray = url.split("/")
        var nurl = "";
        for (i = 3; i < urlArray.length - 1; i++)
        {                                
                if(i<urlArray.length-2){
                        nurl += urlArray[i] + "|";
                }
                else
                {
                        nurl += urlArray[i];
                }
        }
        var feedid = "";
        var feedname = "";
        var idx = 1;
        while (feedid == "" && idx>0) {
                idx = nurl.indexOf('|');
                jQuery(xml).find('add').each(function(){
                        if (jQuery(this).attr('key') == nurl) {
                                feedid = jQuery(this).attr('value');
                        }
                });
                if (feedid == "") {
                        nurl = nurl.replace(/(.*)\|(.*)/,"$1");
                }
        }
        jQuery(xml).find('add').each(function(){
                if (jQuery(this).attr('key') == feedid) {
                        feedname = jQuery(this).attr('value');
                }
        });
        if (feedname == "") feedname = "usatoday-NewsTopStories.xml";
        var sclListTop = "";
        sclListTop +='<div class="socialContainer">';
        sclListTop +=' <ul id="spritemenu" class="socialList">';
        <!-- divider -->
        sclListTop +=' <li class="sharing-bg">Subscribe</li>';
        <!-- subscribe buttons -->
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite-my"><span class="spriteImage sprite-my"> </span><span><a href="' + 'http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/' + escape(feedname) + '" uoTrack(\'myyahoo\')" target="myyahoo">myYahoo</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite-ig"><span class="spriteImage sprite-ig"> </span><span><a href="' + 'http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/' + escape(feedname) + '" uoTrack(\'igoogle\')" target="igoogle">iGoogle</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' <div class="social-wrapper">';
        sclListTop +=' <div id="social-treeview-wrapper">';
        sclListTop +=' <ul class="subscribe-nav">';
        sclListTop +=' <li>More';
        sclListTop +=' <ul id="spritemenu" class="socialList">';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite-nv"><span class="spriteImage sprite-nv"> </span><span><a href="' + 'http://www.netvibes.com/subscribe.php?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/' + escape(feedname) + '" uoTrack(\'netvibes\')" target="netvibes">Netvibes</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' <li id="sprite-ma"><span class="spriteImage sprite-ma"> </span><span><a href="' + 'http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/AddFeed/?url=http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/' + escape(feedname) + '" uoTrack(\'myaol\')" target="myaol">myAOL</a></span></li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' </li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' </div>';
        sclListTop +=' </div>';
        sclListTop +=' <ul class="whatsthis">';
        <!-- what's this -->
        sclListTop +=' <li class="socialFoot"><a href="#open-share-help" onClick="document.getElementById(\'sclBtnInfo\').style.visibility=\'visible\';document.getElementById(\'Adv6\').style.display=\'none\';usatAj.ahah(\'sclBtnInfo\', null, \'http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/socialhelp-v1.htm\', null);" title="What\'s this"></a></li>';
        sclListTop +=' </ul>';
        sclListTop +=' <div id="sclBtnInfo"></div>';
        sclListTop +='</div>';
        jQuery("#topSocialButtons").append(sclListTop);
        jQuery(".subscribe-nav").treeview({control: ".treecontrol",animated: "medium",collapsed: true});
}
</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT src="http://d.yimg.com/ds/badge.js"></SCRIPT>
<!-- /EdSysObj -->
<DIV id=byLineTag class=byLine>By <A class=linkedBylineName
href="http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=273">Jefferson
Graham</A>, USA TODAY</DIV>
<DIV class=inside-copy>The folks behind the best-selling Flip video camera want
to do for home networking what they did for video: make it drop-dead easy.</DIV>
<P class=inside-copy>Today, networking giant Cisco releases its first consumer
router, the $99 and $149 Valet, that promises to take the hassle out of setup
and automatically puts a home wireless network together.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Cisco bought Pure Digital, the parent company of the Flip
line of video cameras, a year ago for $590 million.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>The Pure Digital team, led by former CEO Jonathan Kaplan,
is intact and now oversees both video and home networking products at Cisco.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"We're in the same exact place we were with video," says
Kaplan, now senior vice president and general manager of Cisco consumer
products. "Eighty percent of routers are sold to experts, and the 20% of the
mainstream who buy them end up returning them because they're just too hard to
use and set up."</P>
<DIV id=tagCrumbs></DIV>
<P class=inside-copy>To set up the Valet, a USB dongle is inserted in the USB
slot on the computer. Passwords and Web keys are automatically set via Cisco's
software.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>To add additional computers to the network, insert the USB
into each machine.</P>
<P class=inside-copy><B>Room to grow </B></P>
<P class=inside-copy>There are two Valet models: a $99 version for small to
midsize homes and a $149 one for larger homes that require a bigger signal.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"With the Flip, we took everything away that we didn't need
on the camera and made it really simple, with very few buttons," says Kaplan.
"Same thing with home networking. Does the average consumer care about what kind
of security they have, or just that they have it? Do they want 40 choices of
port mapping, or for us to just choose one for them?"</P>
<P class=inside-copy>To set up the network manually, users can bypass the
automatic settings, click the advanced tab and make individual decisions.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Research firm IDC says that only a third of U.S. homes have
a home network. That leaves room for growth. Kaplan says home networking
potentially could be a much larger business than video.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Sales of routers are flat. Last year, 11.4 million units
worth $735 million were sold. IDC predicts sales of 11.5 million units this
year.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"Cisco has 10 years of consumer frustration to overcome,"
says IDC analyst Jonathan Gaw.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>But Kaplan says consumers' appetite for a new generation of
TVs, Blu-ray players and even clock radios that can connect wirelessly to the
Internet will help bring him new customers.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"These apps will push people to buy the new routers," Gaw
agrees.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Gaw says putting all the heavy lifting into the USB dongle
was a smart move.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"Normally, if you were going to install a secure wireless
network, you'd have to create a password for the router, change the name of the
router and create a password for the wireless part of it," he says. "Now that's
all preset in the key. You don't have to type in anything. ... This is a
significant step."</P>
<P class=inside-copy><B>Marketing the Valet </B></P>
<P class=inside-copy>Cisco has been in the business of selling routers for
years, via its <A title="More news, photos about Linksys"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Linksys">Linksys</A> subsidiary,
and will continue making more complex boxes for the tech savvy, Kaplan says.
Competitors include <A title="More news, photos about Netgear"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Netgear">Netgear</A>, <A
title="More news, photos about D-Link"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/D-Link">D-Link</A> and <A
title="More news, photos about Belkin"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Belkin">Belkin</A>.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>New Linksys routers are due out this week, too.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Kaplan pared the line of 12 routers down to four.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Prices range from $79 to $179.99. Features include the
ability to have two separate networks run via one router.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>To get the word out about the Valet, Cisco is launching an
extensive national advertising campaign beginning this week.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>"We will spend more to market the Valet than the entire
category has in five years," says Simon Fleming-Wood, senior director of
marketing. "Tens of millions of dollars. This will be the first mass-market
networking product."</P>
<P class=inside-copy>Ads will begin appearing beginning this weekend, first in
Sunday circulars, followed by broadcast television, in print, online and on
billboards, Fleming-Wood says.</P>
<P class=inside-copy>At Cisco, the Pure Digital name has been retired. Future
Flip cameras — new models are slated for later this spring — will bear the Cisco
moniker.</P></TD></TR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>