3rd party 801.1g router compatability with Airport Extreme?

[tiktokfx]

Hi; Just got my 12" PB and figured I might as well get Airport, though my house is completely wired for ethernet anyway and I'll tend to just jack in most of the time.

However, with spring not so far off I may just find myself working on the laptop outside, so having a wireless access point would be a nice thing. Spending a couple hundred on an Apple base station doesn't do much for me though, as I don't need it as a router (already have a Sun that handles all the network traffic), and spending that much for an access point for just one computer pains me.

There seem to be very few reviews of third party WAPs that are geared towards use with Macs though. Anyone have experience with any of the other 802.1g routers, and how well they'll perform with AirPort Extreme?

 

[Counterfit]

I have a LinkSys WRT54G, doesn't suit your needs, but the wireless portion works just fine. As long as the WAP follows the standard, there should be no problem.

 

[tiktokfx]

I don't really care if it happens to have a router built-in; for some bizaare reason 3rd party wireless routers always seem to be cheaper than just a pure wireless-to-ethernet bridge. Just meant didn't need the router in terms of Apple's base station.

LinkSys seems to get the most points for reliability and standards-conforming in PC reviews; the speed tests on their 802.1g products always seems to be sub-par compared to others; any impressions on how much that actually holds true?

 

[fradac]

Netgear WGR614

I have had this for about 6 months and it works as a charm. since you have the Sun Machine doing the NAT and you don't need a router. you can get just the Access Point instead. but the router can be bought cheaper than the WAP.


the link to the netgear router is
http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=174&view=


and the WAP is

http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=170&view=


i saw the router on amazon for about $60 after rebate. the WAP is about $80. so your decision. hope it helps

 

[MoparShaha]

I'm using a Linksys Wireless-G Access point with my 12" PB. I don't do much networking with it, so I cannot tell you if it holds up to 54 Mb speeds. The range is excellent however, and my connection to the internet is just as fast as my wired ethernet.

 

[QCassidy352]

keep in mind that unless you are going to be filesharing between computers on your network, 802.11b vs. 802.11g will make not a bit of difference. That is, using a WAP that only supports "airport," not "airport extreme," would be just as good. I use a 802.11b WAP with my 12" PB and it works great. As I said, filesharing over the network is the only place it could make a difference.

 

[MacAficionado]

SOT Question

I just got a loaned iBook from a friend and it has Built in Airport card.

I do not have a wireless network at home, but I decided to turn Airport on on the iBook to see what heppened. It appears a neighbor of mine has a wireless network and I'm surfing on it.

Is that illegal or just bad?

Thanks

MA

 

[MoparShaha]

I don't think it's illegal, but it could be frowned upon. Personally, I think it's OK. Whenever I find an unencrypted network, I use it. It's not my fault the person who owns it isn't smart enough to protect it. That said, I always excercise good judgement and respect the person's connection. I've run into situations where I've been able to access adminstrative options on the network, and as fun as it would have been to toy with them, I left them alone.

 

[tiktokfx]

Originally posted by QCassidy352
keep in mind that unless you are going to be filesharing between computers on your network, 802.11b vs. 802.11g will make not a bit of difference. That is, using a WAP that only supports "airport," not "airport extreme," would be just as good. I use a 802.11b WAP with my 12" PB and it works great. As I said, filesharing over the network is the only place it could make a difference.

Oh, I know. I do lots of graphics work. I need the bandwidth.

 

[tiktokfx]

Thanks for all the comments.