[yasashisasy0nara]

I'm about to switch to Comcast Cable and I would like to know what I'm suppose to do in order to have my PC & Mac sharing the cable line so both can go online at the same time. I assume I will need a router, but will any router do? What router do you people suggest? Will all routers be compatible with PC sharing broadband with a Mac? Will this be difficult? Thanks

[Iamanamma]

Hi,
I used to share Roadrunner between a G4 and a PC every day until my sweetie picked up a used G3. It was easy. We have a little four port D-link router, he configured it through his browser, and everything has been just peachy ever since. There were never any problems caused by us being on two different platforms, and we surf simultaneously all the time.

[d00d]

Any standard router should work (it doesn't matter that you're networking a Mac and a PC, or a Unix server and a Mac, or any other internet device; they all use the same standards inherint in the Internet). My household uses a Linksys router to much success.

[braindoc]

All of the recommendations above are excellent. I would add that when looking for routers look at what 'other' features you might want or need.
-- Going wireless, a combination wired/wireless router is just a little more expensive but since all the recent Macs are wireless capable and if you have Windows, adding wireless is neither difficult nor too expensive. The most popular standard now is the 802.11b. The speed afforded by this standard is more than adequate for internet browsing, even with broadband. It's shortcoming is if you have to transfer large sized file it is longer than wired ethernet. The big advantage is moving your machines around without restringning all the ethernet cables. I noticed a starting package of router and NIC at Costco is now only $80.
-- Print server, this feature is great if you want to share printer. That said, you have to be careful as to the ports on your printer. As far as I know the only router that'll support USB print sharing is the new Apple Airport Extreme Base Station. However, due to the cost of the ABS, unless you need the 802.11g standard I would look at other products. I meand for the price of the ABS you could get a router and a coupla' inkjet printers and not have to share. I use SMC wired/wireless routers with built-in print server (7004AWR). My routers are connected to the shared printers via the parallel ports of the printers. I do use multiple inkjets, All-In-One, and laserprinters as part of my network. The built-in print server will add about $50-60 to the price of the router. A similar stand-alone print server is just about the same price now.