Weekend of April 3, 2020 – Hour 3

Tech News and Commentary Dave and the team discuss fitness trackers show people are moving less during the coronavirus lockdown, MIT researchers developing a device that harvest energy from WiFi signals, Instagram and misinformation, Facebook's employee bonuses, and more. Our guest this hour: Brian Moody, Executive Editor - Autotrader Scott in Jackson, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and is calling in via the App and asked: "I am upgrading my router which is 6 years old. I have upgraded to wireless cameras, several smart TV'S and so forth. I want to make sure I have the right router for what I need. I have three models which I purchased but not opened so I can return them. Linksys AC1750, AC 2200 and Netgear Nighthawk AX3000. Which one would be best for me? I have a two story home. I really need some direction." http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/04-03-2020/04-03-2020-H3S4.mp3 Scott, the Netgear is the best one of the bunch. Any modern router should be able to handle the devices you mentioned, but invariably cheaper routers will need to be restarted more, or suddenly drop the speed, or struggle to keep up with more devices, usually buying a better router does pay off. The routers you bought are all gigabit and should be capable of handling the bandwidth your cameras and other devices are going to need, but the Netgear AX3000 has the best rating of the three in terms of signal strength. You could also return all three and buy a relatively inexpensive multi-point, mesh system like Google WiFi. It will probably cost you a little more for 2 devices than these will, but probably not that much more and having a separate access point to serve the upstairs area can improve your connection. That’s only something to consider though if you have cause for concern about being able to get a good signal upstairs, or if your home is very large, often a single router is all that is really needed, so you may very well be able to save the money and still get good coverage with one of the devices you already have in your hands.