Wireless networking equipment

[jubalskeiki]

I had a few questions about setting up a wireless network for my family. I have mainly been looking at two different routers. The Linksys WRT54 GS and the Buffalo WHRHPG54. I am not too worried about coverage. The house is plywood and drywall (no concrete of any kind) and only about 3000 square feet of coverage would be needed. The thing I am concerned about is I was looking at practicallynetworked.com and saw something that concerned me. They were reviewing the two routers I am looking at and one of the categories was support roadrunner protocol. Does this mean that only certain routers would work with RR or is that talking about being able to decrypt the signal they send out?

We have a router now, but it needs resetting about every 2 hours or so or the wireless stops working. The connection is there, and I can access the router, but I can't go from the router to the internet. I would like a solution that would be less bothersome.

EDIT: We have a few older computers sitting around collecting dust and who knows what all else. I have thought of using that for a router. The two big obstacles are I don't know much about linux, and I don't know what hardware to use for the wireless side (I know theoretically what I need, but have no idea what it is called or where to look for it). I know what I need is a wireless card that can act as a router essentially.

If all I needed was ethernet I would be fine (I could probably figure out the linux part). Howver, we have two laptops that move all over the house and so ethernet would not be the best solution. I have looked on google (possibly not hard enough, but I am not sure exactly what I am looking for...I tried running wireless linux router) and found nothing useful.

 

[jubalskeiki]

Ok, additional question. I have a gigabyte ethernet adapter in my computer. Are there any wireless routers that allow gigabyte connections....or would I need a switch between the modem and the router to get that too work? This is probably a really noobie question. I just don't know much about the equipment side of networking. Also how big of a deal is the humidty range...I understand that condensation could cause a short, but how often does that happen. I live in Hawaii, and I can't really control the humidity.