In my trials none of the steps worked out smoothly the first time. Since the default network name and its encrypting key are rather long and hard to remember, this might drive you mad if you have to run it a few times, which, unfortunately, you may have to. However, you have to type in the Wi-Fi network information every time you run the software, even when the computer has already been set up and connected. Now, if you had to do all those steps just once, that wouldn't be a big deal. You do need to run the iSCSI Initiator by yourself and connect the computer to the Smart Hub, however, which is not an easy step for home users. And then, it will configure and start the iSCSi service of the computer, which allows the Smart Hub to work like an internal optical drive as if directly connected to the computer. After that, it offers you the option to change the default network's name to your liking. If everything goes as intended, the first time you run SmartLink, it will ask you to enter the default Wi-Fi network information printed on the back of the Smart Hub to get the computer connected. This means you can use any standard Mini-USB cable to connect the SE-208BW for use as an external burner. In my testing, however, I only needed to use one port for all computers I tried it with. The Y-shaped cable lets you use two USB ports of a computer in case using only one doesn't provide enough juice to power it. In this case, it offers no networking capability. The first USB port is used to connect it to a computer to work as a regular bus-powered external optical drive, via an included Y-shaped Mini-USB cable. On the back the device has one B female Mini-USB port and one A female USB port. The Smart Hub's DVD drive uses a pull-out tray, similar to a laptop DVD drive, with an eject button on the front. That said, the device is as compact as possible given that it has to host regular DVD disks. The Samsung Optical Smart Hub SE-208BW is about the size of an external DVD recorder. If you have an existing home network and are not really comfortable with networking, the Smart Hub, for now, might not be a good choice for you. For its price of just $130, however, it's still a fun and useful device for those who own multiple mobile devices and like sharing video DVDd between them.
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