Thanks all. I really appreciate your input. I'm leaning towards the Belkin N600 Wireless Dual Band router. I currently own a Belkin and have never had any trouble with it, so figure I'll stick with what I'm happy with. The downside is all of the reviews without fail mention how bad tech support is no matter what brand you get. I wonder when companies are going to wise up and realize that is one reason folks don't buy their equipment.

I was able to flush the dns on both the xp and vista laptops. But I still can't connect either laptop wirelessly to the "fmaily room" network (which is still unsecured). I cannot access the Nat,spi or firewall soI don't know if that's the problem. Both laptops show a strong signal (full bars) to the family room network - but don't connect. They do connect via wired connection (does this mean I have so far created a network switch). On both laptops I selected "family room" as the preferred network to connect to. But both connected to my Lynn network (from the opposite corner of the house - with only a weak signal). On the Vista laptop it says Windows cannot connect to "family room" - and when asked to connect to family room, it said "Windows association failed due to an unknown reason." When I selected "diagnose and repair, it said Windows did not find any problems with your Internet connection." Then I tried one further thing. I saw on the Vista laptop that it still listed the family room network as having WPA2 security - so i changed what the laptop had for listed for family room network to reflect no current security settings. Then I tried to connect again. It wouldn't connect. Then I clicked repair/diagnose - and it said "this network is marked as a "hidden" network and is either not in the range of this computer or the wireless settings saved on this computer do not match the settings of the network." It is in range of the network - 3 feet away and receiving a full strong signal. So perhaps the network settings do not match the router or access point (although I'm not sure where to look to check this since I think I set it all up to match). The other thing is says is "if you own or set up this network, reset your wireless router or access point and try connecting again." Should I try this? Does it mean unplugging SMC access point, linksys router and modem - waiting and replugging them in? If so, in what order? Or does this mean resetting the SMC completely and starting from scratch? So now what? Jane - I realize that Mikie's the guy - and I very much appreciate his help. Those links helped me get clearer on definitions, but don't really get specific enough to address these set up complications. Thank you. Lynn.

I just got a new hard drive installed in my main box to load the new Mepis8 distro on, I have been running Mepis Linux for years now and love it, one of the great things about Mepis is how well it will run things right out of the box. I have a dual boot box with an older ubuntu+kde and Mepis7 also along with boxes running xp pro, xp home, and windows 7. I think learning to use Mepis was easier than learning the new windows 7. I do not think there is an age limit or knowledge limit for using linux I know many seniors that have gone to linux so they do not have to worry about all those infection problems and looking for programs to protect them. In linux you can get darn near anything you need right in the package manager, if it did not come pre loaded on the live cd. the new linux distros are made for GUI use, use of command line is not as essential as it was. Some people want to learn command line and go on and on about using it, I have found that when I have a problem I can generally find a way to fix it with out command line. Plus the linux community forums are fabulous and helpful. I prefer using it because it is faster, has everything I need built right in, and it is safer. Is it right for everyone maybe not but same goes for new versions of windows or switching to Mac it all takes a new learning curve. I however do not preach linux, I think it is a personal choice but picking up a free live cd of a distro and putting into the cd drawer and running it on a pc is an excellent and safe way to see what linux is all about without touching their windows and with no install, just like playing a cd, and everyone should have a live cd in their possession for when they have a crash and need to access their info from the drive. We have many linux users here at GW, some decided to give it a try after seeing it mentioned here. I enjoy occasional conversations with others that made the jump.

Let's see if I can explain in the limited time I have; if I don't finish, I'll come back later or tomorrow. Have hubby's last chemo & radiation today. In my office I have a dual boot Windows machine - running XP (pro I think) and Vista. I also have the Mac. I have not tried to put Windows of any flavor on the Mac; it was on my list of things to do. I was going to buy the program verses what's on the Mac. My pain management Dr did it; he had some issues with drivers. Not sure if he did XP or Vista. The Mac worked fine at 1st. I was able to Network; I was able to access the Windows machine both sides. When on the Windows PC; I was able to access the Mac from both. I'm not sure what changed and when but eventually I wasn't able to access either puter - I made user accounts on Windows (both sides) and now am able to access Windows (both sides) from the Mac. The problem is accessing the Mac from Windows. Granted, it very well may be me; because I haven't been as "heavy" into building & using the computer since we moved. The most I do is work with pictures; for that I use Windows because the Mac photo program confuses me. I like Windows much better all the way around because of ease of use; software works & I can do things without reading a manual. With the Mac, I feel so stupid some days. I haven't installed anything except firefox.. forgot how. lol It's so simple too from what I remember but I have to get the dummy book to do it again. lol One thing that will not work on the Mac is my Microsoft Works. All of my medical databases are made with works. I looked for a Mac plug in (reader) but they don't have one. I also don't want to have to replace my full Office suite.