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which wireless router for my Mac?
- Thread starter eco7077
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Lets be real here... how well does that little thing work? It will honestly hold 4+ machines?
Also, any idea if it will run an AT&T microcell?
I'm in the market for a new 'N' router... mine is an old netgear 'g' router... had it a few years and it's been superb.... I was thinking of getting another netgear.
It works just fine. I've been using one for almost 3 years without a hitch. It supports up to 10 users. Besides, the OP didn't say anything about how many users they needed to support.
I gotta say, out of all the routers I've used, this Buffalo is incredible. I was suspicious at first since it was a brand I had never heard of before, but I'm blown away by it. It's by far better, and faster than my friend's nifty Airport Express. Also has a great admin interface, and Buffalo has great support on their website.
My mom has all sorts of problems with her belkin router. It always just randomly disconnects while shes using safari or chrome. I troubleshooted everything and still cant figure it out....
You can't hook a HDD up to it though? What prevents that?
Also, I understand it has 1 USB, but how many USB devices can it support?
The airport extreme will handle 10 off it's 1 USB port.
I've heard good things about Buffalo from some respected tech people I know, but have never used one myself.
Just get a linksys router. They work like a charm, and it took me 5 minutes to set it up. You can plug 4 ethernet cables into it, and it has the wireless capabilities as well.
Again, these are criteria not specified by the OP, but if you look at the link I posted and these two, it should answer most of your questions.
AirPort Express frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Uses for the USB port of Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express
One distinction that I find valuable is that unlike any other router, AirPort Express supports AirTunes, but again, that's not a criteria requested by the OP.
Yeah well I hi-jacked and was asking for me not the OP
Any reasons why it doesn't support HDD? Just not enough juice in it I suppose?
Also with the airpot extreme, when it says powered USB hub, does powering off itself count, or a completely diff. power sourced USB hub? My main goal is I'd like to plug in 2 HDD's to the router. My printer is already wifi so plugging it in does nothing for me.
No, it's just not designed to support a HDD. It's primarily for printing.
Then the AirPort Express is not for you.
Interesting.... it's a very neat idea nonetheless though. I bet it makes for a great extender for a home network.
I'll mull it over. My netgear has been superb to me thus far but it's a 'g' and on it's last leg... has to be reset every few days. About 4 or so years old I'd guess.... was before they even had 'n' out.
I guess I don't have to be lazy and have HDD's on the network, but then again, makes it great for quick backups.... hmmmm
I like the AirPort Express because
- I get a reliable, fast network
- It's very compact, so I can take it with me anywhere
- I can create a wireless network in a motel room
- I can use it anywhere to play iTunes music over any speakers
- I can share a printer over my network, whether it's a wireless printer or not (although I rarely print anything)
Yeah, it's a neat little device. Perfect for traveling... you can create a network almost anywhere.... hell you could even plug it into a 12v adapter in a car and create wireless in the car I'd imagine haha....
It's rather inexpensive as well (compared to other options)... I'll have to decide if having HDD's on the go are needed.
Airport extreme is excellent, especially if you have multiple macs. You can plug in an external hd and have remote wireless backups / shared drive. Great for remote access when you are away from home too. Highly recommended. I also use a couple expresses (at my shop) and they are great but not as feature packed as the extreme.
we have used belkin, netgear, linksys, and now the airport extreme. the latter has been the easiest and best so far. the first 3 were great when we first got them. then they just started sucking. we have many machines connecting via the extreme. zero issues in the few years we've had it.
Linksys WRT54GL
I will highly recommend the Linksys router: WRT54GL. I think now it comes with DD-WRT, the open source router software which confers incredible amount of functionality compared to the linksys software.
If I am not wrong, Newegg now ships this router with dd-wrt installed. It is also relatively inexpensive at about $55 or so.
Apple fanboys can brag all about Airport Extreme, but why pay more when you can pay less for a similar product. For me, it is also a philosophical question. I use open source software as and when I can. Open source software also tends to be developed at an exceedingly fast rate due to so many brains working on it simultaneously.
I will highly recommend the Linksys router: WRT54GL. I think now it comes with DD-WRT, the open source router software which confers incredible amount of functionality compared to the linksys software.
If I am not wrong, Newegg now ships this router with dd-wrt installed. It is also relatively inexpensive at about $55 or so.
Apple fanboys can brag all about Airport Extreme, but why pay more when you can pay less for a similar product. For me, it is also a philosophical question. I use open source software as and when I can. Open source software also tends to be developed at an exceedingly fast rate due to so many brains working on it simultaneously.
Better? Faster? I am assuming you never tried them both out in the same location.
My AEBS is 4 years old, does NOT have to be reset and I can hardly recall any issues with it. Still going strong. I will probably get a dual band model within the next year or so. Just waiting for my current model to give up the ghost!
I wouldn't hesitate recommending a AEBS to someone looking for a router. The added expense is WELL worth the lack of problems you might encounter with other routers in either set-up or maintenance. Plus the Extreme allows external HDD and printers.