Written by Philip Roy | 14 May 2009

There's no denying we live in a PC-dominated world. Luckily, a lot of the gear available to PC users works fine for a Mac user....but it's disappointing to see PC companies not acknowledge Mac compatibility. In recent discussions in the forum, as I neared a decision to purchase a new modem/router, I was pleased to see the Linksys WAG160N have a "Mac" compatible sticker on the website. But after getting the gateway, I'm more than pleased...I'm thoroughly impressed with just how Mac-friendly the whole process was. It's the best experience I've had with hardware like this so far.

I'm going to start with the install process that shows how Mac and user-friendly the process was. The package came with a CD that is both PC and Mac compatible. What I really liked was that on picking up the gateway and deciding to plug in the ethernet cable, the gateway ports were covered with a neat removable sticker that said "Insert CD and run first". This was great...a really clever way to let users know the process to follow.

On inserting it into the Mac, the CD has a very simple app that you double-click. You are then faced with a series of screens on the application that launches (a collection of images can be seen below) that guide you through the process of getting set up.

What the application did was piece by piece, wire and cable by cable, guide me through the process of plugging in the power cable, plugging in the broadband cable and more....all with brilliantly illustrated animations. What amazed me was just how comfortable it made me feel...move to a screen, do the one simple thing it asked me to do, click "Next". I'm not trying to oversell this, but I've had some poor experiences in the past with setting up gateways, but this was so well done, I feel I could have easily sent the gateway to anyone and be confident that they'd get set up properly.

Once you get past the process of plugging in the cables and the application checking all is OK, it's on to setting up your gateway's settings.

Again, I was really impressed with how the application guided me through the process, including offering advice on wireless settings, adding in passwords for the gateway and wireless network etc. It was superb to see the advice on wireless security put in such simple terms. Images of this part of the process can be seen below....

Admittedly, some of this might be something you need to talk with your ISP about, but for the first time I didn't feel overwhelmed...I almost thought "is that all?". It was then a matter of applying these settings and the gateway was ready to go. From that point I decided to access the web-based admin system. For those that don't understand what I mean, many gateways have an administration component built into the hardware that is web based. You simply open a web browser, go to a specific IP address (such as 192.168.1.1), login and then you can alter some of the settings for the modem.

Again, having set up about 6 or so gateways, I'm thoroughly impressed by the clarity of the Linksys system. I like the layout. I don't feel confused where to find things and comments associated with things all make sense. In the image below, you can see one of the Wireless set-up screens.

I know (again) it might be over stating things, but even in the screen shot below, where you can add wireless MAC (no...not Apple Mac, but this MAC) addresses to allow or deny access to your wireless network, I was really pleased to see explanations. I just feel that some other systems would have just put "Block" or "Permit" with no explanation at all, but Linksys doesn't...and it just makes you feel more comfortable about what you are doing.

I consider myself relatively experienced with gateways these days, but I was just amazed that within 10 minutes (including unpacking etc) I was off and running....happy, comfortable I'd done all the right things, and....I have to say....kinda thinking my web browsing seems a tad faster than before?? I'm not complaining if it's not the case, but maybe I'm just experiencing the first rush of new toys/technology?

Performance
Unfortunately, I didn't do any web browsing tests with my previous gateway before changing over, so it is a little hard to provide too many results. I also live in a small flat on a smallish property, so the wireless reach and strength can't really be tested unless I go into my neighbours yards.

Luckily, I had previously installed the Speedtest.net Speed Test app (available here) for iPod Touch and iPhone 3G, and had an old test from 4 months back. In January, I got a download rate of 2187 kbps and upload of 137 kbps. With the new gateway, 2337 kbps download and 130 kbps upload. Now I'm not a tech geek, but these seem relatively similar in result.

Going to the www.speedtest.net website, I get (on my iMac) 5.87 Mb/s download and 0.14 Mb/s upload....but I don't have anything to compare that to with the previous gateway.

At the stage of writing this review, I've been using the gateway for less than 48 hours, but so far, I'm really really pleased with its performance, easy of set up and use...and, I have to say, its look....it's a nice tidy unit, especially since it doesn't require aerials sticking up to go wireless!