It had so much potential, this PC/TV wireless transmitter/receiver called the AirLink. Similar to the WAVECOM we reviewed earlier, the AirLink gathers the digital data coming out of your computer, converts it to NTSC (TV signals) and sends it to a radio transmitter (operating at 2.4 GHz). The transmitter sends the signal to a receiver (up to 100' away) that's attached to your TV or VCR. The unit also comes with a wireless keyboard and pointer and an infrared (IR) unit that picks up the signals sent from the keyboard to the TV's IR sensor, feeds it to an antenna on the receiver and then back to your computer.

Everything sure looks really good. The transmitter/receiver units are handsome and well-made and come with all the necessary cables, adapters, batteries, a comprehensive manual and a Quick Start sheet. The wireless keyboard, called an AirBoard, is just as cute and cuddly as it can be.

So, what don't I like about the AirLink? Oh, I don't have enough powder and shot in my blunderbuss to Swiss cheese this sucker. How do I loathe thee, let me count the ways:

1) The documentation is confusing and poorly designed. When are tech companies going to start hiring actual designers and graphic artists to produce their manuals? All the info is here, but the drawings and the text are very poorly designed and laid out. Everything looks the same. There's no information priority. The Quick Start sheet, as info-dense and butt-ugly as the rest, would have been all I needed if things had gone smoothly. They didn't. I always marvel, when installing hardware and having a time of it, how others--newbies and others not as tech savvy as I--must feel, knee deep in hardware, tangles of cable, multiple installation disks, tools, software drivers, and all the rest of it, poring over confusing instructions. When that guy in Seattle (or wherever) shot up his computer last year, did anyone really question why?

2) The tech support guy I got on the phone was very impatient and downright rude, even though he knew I was writing a review of the product. He didn't even wait to find out if I was a luser or not. He just assumed I was 'cause I'd called tech support. He found my problem and said that it should be clear from the Quick Start sheet what I'd done wrong. It's not. Oh, it's there on the sheet alright...you can INFER from the sheet what I did wrong, but CLEAR? Oh no, spudboy. Far from it.

3) Once I switched the cable around properly, I encountered my next snag. I have only one RS-232 port, used by an external modem, and one PS/2-type mouse port. The IR unit needs RS-232. But it says in the AirBoard manual that you can run the IR unit into the PS/2 port if you have an adapter. Ah hah..maybe something will go my way...I have such an adapter. No can do, says Mr. Attitude from tech support. The AirBoard is made by another vendor and bundled with the AirLink. Under other circumstances it can use the PS/2 port, but not with the AirLink. I'll have to give up my external modem to use it. I do have an internal modem, which would be fine IF I WANTED TO POKE AROUND THE NET AT 14000-FREAKIN-BAUD! But that's OK, I tell myself, trying to calm down. Others might have an extra RS-232 port (which it does point out on the box, BTW) and at least I can use the modem to try out the unit for this review. Yes?

4) NOOOOO. Now I discover software conflicts. The error message says I need the standard Win35 driver for my monitor. I check. What do I have? The standard Win35 driver. I try and retry. Shutdown. Futz. Restart. Futz some more. No change. But that's OK, I tell myself. I'll just lose some data around the edges of the TV display. And I can use the software controls that came with the unit to move the screen over a bit (so I can access all the icons on the left-hand side). I can fix this later, call the tech guy back and get insulted some more tomorrow. At least I can get this set up enough to check out everything...begin the evaluation for this review. I press on, and sure enough, my computer desktop shows up on the 25" TV downstairs. A cool breeze wafts through hell...

5)...and just as quickly, disappears. The text on the screen is unreadable. Even with your nose pressed to the toob, you can't make stuff out. Back to the manual. They have a chapter on improving readability. I make all of the recommended changes: big font, basic colors, no wallpaper. I'm genericizing my computer. I've already had to disconnect my modem, unplug my keyboard (you can't use both the keyboard and AirBoard without an A/B switch) and switch from the PS/2 mouse driver to a serial mouse driver (and you need an A/B switch here too, if you want to use the computer directly). Help, I'm turning my PC into a eunuch!

6) But, it'll all be worth it, I unconvincingly tell myself, if I can just get this thing working, write up the stinkin' review, and then stuff this demon spawn back into its hellhole. I go downstairs to check out my handiwork (I've been making a lot of trips up and down the stairs.) Not bad. The screen still doesn't fit, but the text is much more readable. But what would someone who actually wanted to use this technology on a regular basis do (like I now use the WAVECOM between my cable hook-up downstairs and my PC's TV card)? Would you want your PC in Mr. Magoo jumbo text mode 24/7, or have to switch the display configurations back and forth (along with the A/B switches for the mouse and keyboard)?

7) And then I come to the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back. The last bad zipcode that sends disgruntled postal worker for his uzi. The last inch of rain that sends the condo sliding into the canyon. Oh, you get the idea. The humpin' pointer doesn't work! It tracks offscreen whenever you let go, it jiggles and disappears, it's almost impossible to control it. The pointer also sends interference to the screen whenever you move it. I find nothing in the manuals for either the AirLink or the AirBoard to address these problems. After more painful minutes of futzing and wrestling with the pointer stick (and numerous hobbles up and down the stairs to see if things are better with the AirBoard at close range to the IR receiver, which they are), I manage to get the Monopoly game that came with the AirLink open. Ah...maybe my son and I can play a game together, says the eternal optimist. After all, "turn-based" games are a big selling feature for the AirLink. But alas, it was not to be. Even in Mr. Magoo mode, the text is far too small to read on the Monopoly gameboard (and crucial parts are offscreen). We spend more time trying to find out if the gameboard can be enlarged, or moved to a better position on the screen. The info may be there, but I didn't find it. And, at this point, I don't care to. I'm tired, I'm disgusted, and I'm threatening to tell the world about it.

Hello world!

Maybe after I cool down...maybe after another session with the tech nazi...maybe with more time studying the manuals, I will discover that the AirLink is, in fact, a worthwhile piece of hardware...FOR ME TO POOP ON!

[And when you think about it, just how useful is such a wireless link between your PC and TV, anyway? If you want to watch TV while you surf the Net, get a TV card for your PC. Being able to play computer games on a big screen TV is a great idea, but at what cost to you and your computer interface? I'm sure the pointer and the screen fit problems could be dealt with by another call to AirLink's tech support, but after my harrowing experience, I'm not anxious to give it a second try. Are you?]

- Gareth Branwyn [1/9/98]