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WHEN YOU NEED to setup a wireless router, you usually need it badly. Maybe there's an email waiting somewhere in Internet limbo, but your laptop only connects wirelessly. Or maybe you share a broadband connection with someone, and going online means you hog all the bandwidth. In these cases, the most compelling feature on the Buffalo WHR-G54S Smart Router is that it works—right away, without any fuss and without having to read the manual.
There are two reasons for this. The router uses a new technology that automatically senses whether you are using a cable or DSL modem. Unlike most routers, you never even have to see a configuration screen. Secondly, the router's speed and range when working with even a run-of-the-mill Mac laptop is beyond excellent. An iBook G4, for example, sped along nicely at 22Mbps all the way to the front mailbox of a suburban home, which was about 600 feet.
With that speed, you can copy an entire MPEG-2 movie over 802.11g in about 15 minutes. Older routers that don't use the Buffalo WHR-G54S speed-boosting technology only run at a peak of 12Mbps, and typically cover only about 200 feet. As far as Mac support goes, your mileage will vary. Buffalo Technology doesn't make a matching PC Card that works with the PowerBook line; if the company did, you might get 45Mbps transfer speeds and even better coverage. Without the card, you can't use Buffalo's unique AOSS (AirStation One-Touch Secure System) that automatically enables security. This is because there's no driver. With a PC, you can press a button on a router, click a button in the Windows XP driver and—boom—you're cooking with 128-bit encryption. Instead, on a Mac you can configure the router encryption manually and connect with Apple's AirPort utility.
Still, the Buffalo WHR-G54S is one of the fastest, smartest and easiest-to-configure routers around. It's a smart choice for anyone who needs a network now.
–JOHN BRANDON
WHR-G54S 125 High-Speed Mode Wireless Smart Router: 
Buffalo Technology | www.buffalotech.com | $90
Pros: Excellent speed and range, easy to configure.
Cons: Some PC-only features won't work with the Mac.
Requires: OS 9.1 (OS 9.2.2 recommended) or OS 10.1.5 or higher
macHOME recommends: OS 10.2 or higher
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