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Originally posted by Mojo: I have owned two different Linksys wireless gateways/routers. The first thing to keep in mind is that Linksys does not provide support to Mac owners, so unless you happen upon a Linksys tech support person who knows something about Macs, you will be on your own. It may not be an issue if you know what you are doing and all goes well, but the lack of support may come back to bite you should you run into problems. I never felt very good about giving my money to a company that refuses to support Macs (and seems to be proud of it) but I was beguiled by the price difference... Linksys products use a web browser interface that enables the user to configure the router. Since Linksys products are developed first and foremost for PCs, firmware upgrades can only be done using a PC or the shareware program MacTFTP. If you are going to use MacTFTP, you should plan on another expense of $12 to register the software. Don't think that you will be able to skip firmware upgrades...doing so may compromise the router's ability to function properly. The Linksys routers work okay as long as you do not enable WEP or WPA encryption. But once you try to set-up basic security (which everyone should do, unless you like broadcasting your open network and possibly your data to others...) the configuration can get hinky. I spent way too much time attempting to get the Linksys gear to play nice with my Macs. I regularly had to reset the Linksys routers, but it became less of a problem after a firmware upgrade applied to my second Linksys router. I had to buy the newer router because Linksys stopped upgrading the firmware on the earlier model, preventing me from enabling WPA encryption when it became available. I finally opted to spend the money on an Apple Extreme Base Station after I calculated all the lost time and energy spent messing with the Linksys equipment. As one would expect, the Apple base station is a relative snap to configure, it works well with both regular and Airport Extreme cards, and you can use an Airport Express to extend the range of your wireless LAN. Wireless printer sharing is also a nice feature; I currently have an inkjet and 10 year old Apple LaserWriter 360 available to all the Macs on my network. (As far as I know, Linksys and most other third-party routers do not allow printer sharing when using Macs, so be sure to check if you plan on using this feature.) Enabling WEP and/or WPA encyrption is not a problem. And unlike the Linksys, I have not had a single dropped connection or a need to reset the base station since I purchased it months ago. Spending less money up-front may be more important to you and you may not value your time very highly. If so, then by all means purchase a Linksys. Otherwise, an Apple or a more compatible alternative is likely to be your best bet. |
Wow, THANKS Mojo.
I have no knowledge whatsoever about routers, and how to setup anything. I just want something I can setup and not have any much problems, but the Apple Base station is WAY out of my price range.
Anyone have more experience with Netgear?
I was connecting off a linksys router before from my neighbors and it worked okay.
Also, I just ordered SBC DSL, and Im second guessing if I should have purchased the network package deal with the 2wire modem/router. Anyone have that and whats the results?