networking help

i am buying a macbook and was wondering what router to buy. will the airport base station from apple work or what? does the macbook com with a network card in it? and does the base station allow wireless internet without having to have DSL or dial-up? thanks for clearing up the confusion

 

A good quality one. Not some cheap Linksys, because you will regret it.

Yes it will work with both Macs and PCs.

Pretty much all laptops these days come with a network card, so yeah.

You will obviously need to connect the base station to your ISP, which provides the DSL/ISDN/Cable/... service. Afterwards, anything you connect to the base station will have instant access to the web (if you configure it properly).

 

I don't really recommend the AirPort Base Station. It is overpriced and underperforms. Pretty much nearly any router should work. Stick to the name brands like D-Link, Linksys, Buffalo, Netgear, etc.

 

The new Airport Extreme Base station is overpriced when compared to other routers, as for under performing, hardly.

I believe the reason Apple charges more for it, as with all of their products, is because they spend a lot of time making sure it is very very simple to set up.

I have a network going with a Airport Extreme N with a PC, and a few Macs, and not once has anyone ever lost the signal, ever, it literally takes 5 min. to set up, and that is including setting up an external HDD attached to it or printer etc. And it is just as easy to go in and set every thing up manually. So much better than those web based management systems.

It is unfortunate that it doesn't have Gigabit ethernet, but I can live with that. the overall speed is phenomenal compared to my older router. And so are file transfers to the wireless access HDD, it is pretty cool to be able to drive up to my apt. take out the laptop, and transfer a file from that HDD if I need to.

All of this is possible with other routers, but I think what you pay for with the Apple is simply ease of use.

Yes it is more expensive, but honestly, no other company seems to be offering what Apple it when it comes to ease of setup, etc.

 

Nearly all reviews I have read show that transfer speeds are slower than that of other N routers available.

 

nah, it is fast enough. maybe not the fastest. but in terms of having it up and running after taking it home, probably the top.

I have always kind of looked at most apple products like this, they are more expensive, probably not the best, but there is always something about each one that makes people want to get it over others.

it is kind of always, like, why oh why am I buying this again? hmm, here is the money, thanks, hmm I love it, haha.

 

I second a recommendation for a Buffalo router; very reliable, the default interface could use work, but that's what a DD-WRT flash is for!

I would try to stay away from D-Link if possible, had quite a few of their products and they never seem to fix what are obvious bugs in the firmware (at least not without breaking something else). Linksys are generally very good; I'm not sure how their newest N models are however...