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Chewn · Mar 15, 2003, 10:01 PM

Hey guys could you help me out on finding a router. K i have an ibook and i was wondering if their would be a difference between the routs on the market. personally i donot care about security and stuff, just as long as theres good perception and fast internet, do you guys have anyideas/
?Thanks

aaanorton · Mar 16, 2003, 01:01 PM

Click me.

ghporter · Mar 16, 2003, 04:02 PM

The only thing you have to worry about in selecting a router (wired, wireless, or both) is what method you need to use to set the thing up. A few products had a program you ran from your computer to configure the router, but that's pretty much in the past. Just about any router you find on the shelf (or online) will have a browser-based setup. You just plug in the default IP address of the router in your browser (plug in the router and plug a cable from your computer into it first, of course), and you can configure the whole thing.

And you should be very interested in security, because if you aren't, somebody could do some bad things to your computer (yes, even a Mac) and they could do very bad things with your Internet connection, for which you get blamed. I've heard of bad guys using unprotected wireless networks to find and download illegal materials (kiddie porn, copyrighted media, and so on). When the Feds get into the picture they go straight to the guy that got hijacked. It isn't hard to secure your wireless net; just ask here when you have problems.

Chewn · Mar 16, 2003, 06:06 PM

Yeah thanks a bunch GHPorter, yeah i shuld be a bit worried about security, now that you say that, i live in canada and i doubt that anything like that will happen, esp, that i live in a well respected neighbour hood, but thanks for the warning,
K i have brought it down to 2 routers that i will wan to buy, we have pcs and mac at home so it'll be ok if i only can access the router from a pc.
i figure:
Linksys Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless
and the D-Link DI-614+, so guys which one should i get?? or if you think there is a better one between the two just tell me,,:-)
Thanks guys...and GHPorter....

John Strung · Mar 16, 2003, 10:58 PM

It depends on whether wireless AppleTalk support is important to you. Not all wireless routers support AppleTalk. If you use the router only for sharing an internet connection, then you don't need AppleTalk. Similarly, if you want to file share, but all your computers are at least OS 9, you don't need AppleTalk. However, you do need Appletalk if you want to share a Appletalk printer.

See:

http://www.macintouch.com/wirelesslanreader13.html

See also

http://www.ibookzone.com/linksys.shtml

and

http://www.macworld.com/2002/07/reviews/routers.html

Chewn · Mar 17, 2003, 01:33 AM

Ok John, thanks so much, after reading though lots of posts in mac intouch I still figure i'll get one of these

Linksys Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless
and the D-Link DI-614+

More so the D-link, because after reading some stuff about the linksys like how it could not work on DHCP, or i mean i would not pick up, but i kinda found out how they fixed it, also i'm just switched to mac in the last 4 months, could you tell me what apple talk is? yeah normally i just move my files over to the windows puter and print, or just hook it directly to the ibook via usb. We have 3 Windows and one mac so for sure those would be hooked up by the router via cat5. and jst the mac wirelessly. Well so far the mac community has been a awesome help.. thanks again....:-)

John Strung · Mar 17, 2003, 11:20 AM

AppleTalk is the older networking protocol that Apple used pre-OS X. It now uses TCP/IP instead, but there are still some legacy Apple printers that require AppleTalk for networking. Doesn't sound like it will be a problem with your setup.

aaanorton · Mar 17, 2003, 11:56 AM

I would still recommend the Netgear MR814 that I linked to over the others you mentioned. I have yet to read any complaints about it.
Another idea is to look at Apple's Airport Extreme. It's more money, but if you have a supported printer, it will share it on the network. It will work with your other PCs, but you'd also need to get a cheap switch for the additional ports. Like I say, more money, but once you go networked-printer, you'll never go back.

Chewn · Mar 17, 2003, 03:17 PM

Thanks guys, yeah wireless printing sounds good, but i don't really what to spend that much more money for and option that is not very important to me though, and I look in the Netgear MR814 an too me it seems kinda "cheap" but if it can do the job then it'll be fine, there selling not to bad on eBay, i'll check there, so this is my final decision, anyone objects just holler, thanks again guys...

oh.. is the MR314 just a better version? and is the MR814 a bit old? yeah thanks again..

aaanorton · Mar 17, 2003, 03:34 PM

The 814 is the newer version of the 314. Just get it from Buy.com. Follow the link I provided. It's 49 bucks after rebate. I doubt you'll find a better price anywhere, including eBay. Plus it would be brand new. This is a serious, full-featured unit. Nothing cheap about it, other than the price...

Chewn · Mar 17, 2003, 05:46 PM

Well, Norton, after looking at reviews of the MR814 for myself it does seem to be a worthy product, yeah BUY has it cheap but i live in Canada, and shippin is way to high, i will try on eBay there are lots for sale new. Thanks so much again

Athens · Mar 17, 2003, 06:10 PM

Chewn if you get a SMC you need to update its firmware to work with Rogers or Shaw assuming your on cable, otherwise they have decent routers, I found LinkSys to have the best reliability, Dlink was ok. Those are the 3 that I have tested.

designbc · Apr 25, 2003, 04:06 PM

Well, with the MR814 I can share a printer, right?

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Apr 25, 2003, 10:11 PM

Anything but a Linksys.

The netgear MR814 is great.

l008com · Jul 8, 2003, 12:44 AM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Anything but a Linksys.

I second that!

NosniboR80 · Jul 10, 2003, 11:18 AM

how about Asante? An Apple Guru in Tyson's Corner suggested Asante to me. What do y'all know about it?

aaanorton · Jul 10, 2003, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by NosniboR80:
how about Asante? An Apple Guru in Tyson's Corner suggested Asante to me. What do y'all know about it?

Factually, Asante is my brand of choice. I recommend the Netgear units cuz they're so damn cheap (They're also very easy to set up and seemingly reliable. I've set up a few for friends.). I had a FR3002AL for over 2 years which worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, I accidentally cracked it doing some house work over here. So I just bought a new FR1004AL. This has the dual external antennas and I get even better reception than my old 3002AL (not surprisingly). All of Asante's product's have FULL APPLETALK SUPPORT, which I like.
There's a $20 rebate form on their site which expired on 6/30/03, but I was told there would most likely be a new one up some time this week or next. I was also told that if there isn't one posted, I'd still be able to use the old one. So you might want to try schmoozing one of the reps on the phone.
Anyway, I really like Asante and their products and HIGHLY recommend them. And their techs are very Mac savvy.
I bought mine from TheNerds.net for just about 100 bucks, before the rebate.

willab · Jul 10, 2003, 01:24 PM

I like the Dlink Di 614+ used a bunch of them.
(refurb)
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/de...sp?dpno=155659
$30

aaanorton · Jul 10, 2003, 01:50 PM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
There's a $20 rebate form on their site which expired on 6/30/03, but I was told there would most likely be a new one up some time this week or next.

OK, here's an update. I just got an email telling me the new rebate would be up on Monday.

NosniboR80 · Jul 11, 2003, 11:34 PM

awesome! Will that apply to the wireless router that I bought on Tuesday? Thanks for the reply - I'm glad to hear someone confirm this guy's recommendation.

castle3 · Jul 25, 2003, 02:13 PM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
The only thing you have to worry about in selecting a router (wired, wireless, or both) is what method you need to use to set the thing up. A few products had a program you ran from your computer to configure the router, but that's pretty much in the past. Just about any router you find on the shelf (or online) will have a browser-based setup. You just plug in the default IP address of the router in your browser (plug in the router and plug a cable from your computer into it first, of course), and you can configure the whole thing.

And you should be very interested in security, because if you aren't, somebody could do some bad things to your computer (yes, even a Mac) and they could do very bad things with your Internet connection, for which you get blamed. I've heard of bad guys using unprotected wireless networks to find and download illegal materials (kiddie porn, copyrighted media, and so on). When the Feds get into the picture they go straight to the guy that got hijacked. It isn't hard to secure your wireless net; just ask here when you have problems.

i have a linksys router transmitting to my ibook airport. shouldnt the ibook firewall prevent some sort of invasion? also how do i know that this is all working? i ve been in my network preferences and have checked to make sure that my network is closed but since the drivers that came w/ the router didnt work w/ my ibook (PC drivers, figures) how do make a network that certainly makes me the administrator and other wireless users that pickup my signa have to imput some sort of password to enter my "network"? any advise would help. thanks!!!

sniffer · Jul 26, 2003, 08:08 AM

I have the d-link di-614+ early rev. with two antennas. It works reliable to me, but it took me a while to find a default configuration that works stable. I've been configured two of these, and I know about a third with the same issue. The out of the box configuration isn't always correct. But after fixed that it has been rock stable ever since. (100% uptime so far) It was a very valuable buy for me since I got it brand new for about half the price of the airport station.

renpar61 · Aug 29, 2003, 11:43 AM

Originally posted by sniffer:
I have the d-link di-614+ early rev. with two antennas. It works reliable to me, but it took me a while to find a default configuration that works stable. I've been configured two of these, and I know about a third with the same issue. The out of the box configuration isn't always correct. But after fixed that it has been rock stable ever since. (100% uptime so far) It was a very valuable buy for me since I got it brand new for about half the price of the airport station.

Can you be more specific about the configuration? I also have the D-Link and having some problems w/reception. I bought an additional antenna (DWL-R60AT) to power it up but with little results...

ghporter · Aug 29, 2003, 09:22 PM

Originally posted by castle3:
i have a linksys router transmitting to my ibook airport. shouldnt the ibook firewall prevent some sort of invasion? also how do i know that this is all working? i ve been in my network preferences and have checked to make sure that my network is closed but since the drivers that came w/ the router didnt work w/ my ibook (PC drivers, figures) how do make a network that certainly makes me the administrator and other wireless users that pickup my signa have to imput some sort of password to enter my "network"? any advise would help. thanks!!!

Driver-scmiver! That disk has an "easy setup" configuration program, that's all. The router comes out of the box ready to go, and all you need to do to configure it is to jack into it with an ethernet cable and enter its default IP address in your browser-almost always 192.168.1.1. Then go through the manual step by step and setup page by setup page to do whatever configuration you need to do.

mike one · Sep 1, 2003, 01:58 PM

it looks like most wireless routers support 4 hardlines, but how many wireless devices can be used at the same time? this info is hard to find on companies sites. of particular interest is the asante wireless router...
t.i.a.

l008com · Sep 1, 2003, 02:29 PM

As far as I can tell, your only limit is the number if IP addresses there are, so you can have about 253 total connected devices, including up to 4 wired ones. I think thats how it works though I could be mistaken.