Linksys Frustration - E4200
I have a linksys E4200 router. I have been trying literally for months to get this thing to work the way I want it to. I just have some issues with the entire system that seem like they should be so easy / obvious but aren't that way at all.
First of all, I want to have the USB port on it connected to both a printer and a networked hard drive. This is just simply not possible. It should be as simple as attaching a USB hub to the usb port and then attaching the devices you want, ie) multiple hard drives, printers whatever. NOPE!!! The E4200 does not recognize USB hubs... FAIL
Next problem is with the network sharing of a hard drive. It does share very nicely. Works well for sharing files off the connected hard drive. where it fails, is that it is not easy to be able to write files to the hard drive. I dont know if this problem is localized to Mac operating systems, (a quick google search seems to indicate that the issue is present on all systems). It shouldn't take someone who is actually quite technologically inclined months to figure out how to do something that seems like it should be as simple as changing a setting. No combination of settings through the grossly outdated user interface works.
In theory, this router looks really awesome, but in actuality, it fails to meet my expectations. If you don't need a router IMMEDIATELY, then I would say wait for now, and hopefully either linksys or another company will make a truly next-gen router with USB 3.0 support, usb hub support, simple UI, and powerful media player capabilities.
