access connections, should i install it or not?

[skanky]

back in the day i would install all of the extra apps just because. access connections was one as i thought it was highly useful that it could turn off the wireless when im connected using a cable, saving that tiny bit of power and it seemed to be quite more straightforward in setting up location profiles.

however i had no end of troubles with it, back then i had a t42 and a t41. i installed the same version, on the t42 it would make the login process hang for about a minute where as the t41 was fine and other weird inconstiencies like that. after lots of faffing about and i eventually had to use different versions for both machines which had acceptable boot times and kind of left it at that, meaning i wouldnt always have the latest drivers..

back to the present, i brought a spangly x201s and wondered if there was any reason to install access connections back on there. as i'm leaving windows to handle all that, sure the wifi radio is still on when the wired is connected but have set the wired connection to have priority for traffic anyway.

there are a few small niggles i have with win7 in that it doesnt easily display the signal quality, even my dell has a utility that puts an icon in the tray and changes colour on signal quality. also if i install it, it'll be something that cuts into my ssd/memory footprint by needing to load another app.

any thoughts?

[Tõnis]

I think you'll get a whole gamut of opinions and experiences when it comes to AC. You'll either love it or hate it. I've had good experiences and bad experiences. The Lenovo 3000N100 in my household is using Windows to manage connections right now, and it's working great. I just reloaded the OS on my R61 and decided to give AC a shot for the first time on this machine -- I've had the machine for about 3 years -- and it's working great. It's connecting to my home wireless network better than Windows ever did. I mean, without fail. No "connection has limited connectivity" or need to repair the connection. YMMV.

[killer]

+1 for Tõnis's posting. Try it and see. AC works well on most machines. If it doesn't you'll find out almost instantaneously, in which case just uninstall it.

[sir_synthsalot]

On Windows 7 I find connecting to a network is a lot faster without AC. I find it bloated and slow. To me it's not a very useful utility since Windows has the same functionality built in.

[skanky]

On Windows 7 I find connecting to a network is a lot faster without AC. I find it bloated and slow. To me it's not a very useful utility since Windows has the same functionality built in.

downloaded the latest version from system update, installed, rebooted, put my wireless details in, rebooted.

hmm, not impressed by any means, network+sharing center shows the wired connection connecting to my home network as it should do, but it at the same time shows the wireless trying to connect to an unidentified network even though AC is set to "switch off the radio when not needed."

unplugged the network cable and its not even connecting to the wireless at all, even with the correct settings. error code 163851, thats my curiosity satisfied, AC isnt worth the trouble.

[bill bolton]

since Windows has the same functionality built in.

Not by a very long chalk... but if your connection needs are very simple, you may not see the value in AC.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[corona]

I finally gave up on AC. I had it in various versions on a number of Thinkpads, and it was always buggy. The last straw was when I was unable to get it to work on my university's secure network. Their IT people wouldn't help me, either. I surely don't miss it (along with the other ThinkVantage junk I got rid of).