As with other Cisco Press books, Home Networking Simplified places an emphasis on Linksys networking hardware to the exclusion of all other products. Since Linksys is a subsidiary of Cisco, this is not surprising, and the authors do explain this bias in the foreword to the book. This emphasis on one manufacturer does have some drawbacks though. Sadly the authors do not go out of their way to explain that other networking hardware may have different default settings than the Linksys gear they are describing. A simple blurb informing users that they should check their manuals for the proper settings if using non-Linksys gear would have gone a long way towards increasing user-friendliness.

The security and advanced procedures sections of the book are very well written, and succeeded in holding our attention despite our familiarity with the procedures being talked about. The authors seem to have an excellent grasp of these topics, and effortlessly explore a variety of concepts and procedures.

We were surprised and pleased to see the variety of additional projects the authors tacked onto the end of Home Networking Simplified. Video surveillance, VOIP and home media centres are all topics that should be of interest to the typical computer user that has got the hang of networking, and they are explained clearly and in considerable detail here. These sections certainly add a significant amount of value to the book.

The early chapters of the book, dealing with networking technology and basic networking procedures, are slightly awkward. The authors obviously know the subject matter, but it appears that their professed goal of not dumbing-down the information too much and insulting/under-informing readers has made these sections more difficult than they should be.