This is either a sneeze, a word you use when you want to confuse the sales rep
at the local Best Buy, or it's all the different kinds of wireless you can get
for your devices. Probably that last one. Let's start with this. Wireless
standards are mostly backwards compatible. So, while you might have a
laptop with wireless and 300 megabit and a smartphone like the HTC1 with wireless
AC, your AC router or your N router will work with both devices. So, if you don't
feel like watching the rest of this video, just go buy a router with good
reviews on Amazon.com and you'll be fine. If you do want to learn more,
first up is speedgrade standards. These start with
802.11 and a suffix. Often a speed
number is thrown in by the manufacturer, and you might see something about
concurrent dual band, which amounts to a theoretical doubling of the speed
normally associated with that standard. However, you will only realize that
performance benefit with devices that also support concurrent dual band. These
speed numbers don't really represent what you'll see in the real world,
though. Wireless is subject to protocol overhead and performance reductions
caused by distance, obstacles, and interference. In fact, sometimes
reducing these factors can do more for performance than buying better gear at
all. Now, with that said, a dualband router can help even if you're not able
to use concurrent dual band. Because if you have 5 GHz capable devices, 5 GHz
signals are less susceptible to interference from cordless phones,
microwave ovens, etc. So, while maximum range is actually slightly reduced at 5
GHz, signal integrity can be better.
Third party firmware compatibility is another big selling point. DDWRT is an
example of a firmware that can unlock additional, sometimes enterprise or
prograde features on your router. Check if your router is compatible on their
website before buying if you want to tinker with it. Some router
manufacturers, however, will avoid your warranty for flashing unofficial
firmwares. So, watch out for that. QoS or quality of service systems such as
WD's automated FastTrack Plus or Lynxys's manually configured options can
allow you to prioritize certain PCs, applications, or even types of network
traffic such as video streaming, voice clients, or gaming over others, which
can be very handy for multi-PC households. Many routers also have USB
ports, so you can add a hard drive to them for centralized file storage or PC
backups. It's no substitute for a real NAS, but it's better than nothing a lot
of the time. And don't forget about the
wired connections on your router. Honestly, this should be what you're
using for anything that isn't a tablet, smartphone, or ultrabook. Find a way to
get gigabit, even if it means spending a couple more bucks. Unless your PC is
very old, it will support gigabit, which is 10 times faster than 1000 for
transferring files in the real world and usually many times faster than wireless
because of that interference malarkey I was talking about before. Last step,
well, this is just the first step. Again, after you decide what features you need, go to a trusted retailer
website and read user reviews. We personally love the EA4500 from Lynxys
and we're moving to an EA6500 soon for wireless AC support. But everyone's
experience may be a bit different and even from a trusted company, I usually
won't buy a router unless I hear a few solid testimonials. Speaking of
testimonials, here's one for audible.com. Go to audible.com/techquicking. Get a free
audio book for signing up. Yay. I was so offended by The Hobbit movie, I thought
it might be beneficial to go through a cleanse and read through The Hobbit book
again by J.R. Tolken. The unabbridged version on Audible is only 11 hours
long, which is about how long that one scene with the dwarves and the
dishwashing and the singing seemed to last. No, but seriously, the movie
wasn't that bad, but it certainly wasn't the book. Head over to
audible.com/techwicki to get your free audiobook now. And unlike my Twilight
recommendation a couple weeks back, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this one. Don't
forget to like this video, leave a comment about it for the Techquickie
team under the video, and as always guys, don't forget to subscribe to
Techquickie.