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Linksys WRT56GL

I personally think right now is a bad time to have to buy a new router. I'm not comfortable spending $150 on draft N technology, but spending $50 on a mere G device seems like a waste. I am in the same boat as you and I may end up going with a very inexpensive G device made by buffalo as a stop gap to making the move to N. The Buffalo device is the WHR-HP-G54 and is one of the highly recommended models that supports the DD-WRT firmware. (http://www.dd-wrt.com)

I can't speak to the print server aspect of your needs as my printer happened to have ethernet onboard.

Not only can the Airport Extreme do all those, but David Pogue did a review (see link) and found the apple to be the only one to live up to its specs. It lead me to purchase one and has been a great router that wont be completely obsolete in a year. Worth my $180 any day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/technology/12pogue.html

Asus sells a router if you can believe it. As far as functionality it is miles ahead of the competition. Really top notch router that just doesn't get the press of a linksys. It is isn't as pretty as airport Extreme but you will apreciate it if you check out the reviews.

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=12&l2=43&l3=0&l4=0&model=1277&modelmenu=1

Don't forget about the Airport Express which supports both wireless printing and streaming music from iTunes to your stereo (an awesome feature we take advantage of daily).

We use one both in our apartment and up at our lake house and find the reception excellent even at 50 feet from the house.

The Linksys WRT56GL is a great router if you're a bit geeky (like me). It uses the Linux OS and you can upgrade the firmware to unlock all manner of powerful configuration and tuning options.

If that isn't you're cup of tea, probably best to go with the Airport.

The AirPort also supports wireless steaming using WinAmp and/or MediaMonkey and a free / low-cost plugin (depending on how many options you want or need).

AirPort Express, that is.

The Extreme unfortunately does not support such multimedia goodness.

One note on the airport express...it doesn't work with all printers, unfortunately. We have an HP all-in-one 7100 and the airport express doesn't work with it at all. But it does work with our HP photojet printer. Other than that quirk, I love it. I've had 2 Linksys routers go bad on me over 3-1/2 years. We still have one Linksys that's alive and kickin' but I worry that it's only a matter of time.

i also have an airport extreme. I upgraded because I had problems with my wireless network in some rooms (my walls are made of metal lathe). The new router is an N type which has better range and is backward compatible. it is also faster with my Mac book pro (also N compatible). I also use it with a hard drive hooked up to it (they refer to it as an air disk) Not perfect (issues with the new backup software that comes with leopard) but it works fine. The software (at least the mac version) is a dream to use. I recommend it.

sunspot42,

Do you mean that the airport extreme is good for live streaming such as music?

I'm trying to figure out how I can listen to BBC1 via my macbook, wirelessly, and through my stereo.

i use both the extreme and the express for sharing an external drive, sharing a printer and streaming itunes to the amp... they work well together and we do both windows and mac. streaming music never skips, printing is flawless, and the shared drive is easy...

salty_dogs,

do you use real player on the mac?

I think BBC1 uses real player to play their music but I've heard it's problematic for macs, not sure if that is true.

I highly recommend the Airport Express. I believe up to 10 computers can join the wireless network you create, you can print wirelessly with a USB printer, play your iTunes music wirelessly anywhere in your house! to it, not to mention it's small and compact. I have two - one at home that is constantly connected and one that I carry with me whenever i am on the road! Airport Extreme does the same job, except more powerfully; you can connect up to 50 computers and the range is much stronger.

I have the Airport Extreme. We use it for wireless printing and wireless access of our LaCie external hard drive. And we use it in conjunction with our Airport Express for sending tunes to our speakers. We are quite pleased with the setup. We debated about spending the money for the Extreme, and actually returned one. But we eventually decided it was worth the money.

I have one of the basic linksys models that was about $50. I can't speak to all the techie aspects of it. All I can say is that I have my HP all-in-one hooked up to it and my cable internet and it works fine. I've had no problems and satisfactory service.