Gadgets: A router with quick, easy setup

Seeking to be a larger presence in the living rooms of media-consuming Americans, Western Digital recently expanded its product line, which had consisted primarily of storage drives, to offer routers.
The routers are intended not only to connect devices throughout the home to the Internet, but also to create a wireless home network for the high-speed delivery of content.
Many peripherals come with 1-2-3 setup instructions that really have a dozen more hidden steps. This time, the engineers at Western Digital must have been working overtime to assure a smooth setup. The setup for one of the routers, the My Net N900, was quick and easy.
The router's dual bands mean you get twice the bandwidth, with speeds of up to 900 megabits per second, which is great for streaming high-definition movies and playing online games. And Western Digital's FasTrack feature (so fast, it only needs one "T") prioritizes content, putting movies and games at the head of the line.
The My Net N900 router sells for about $180 at most electronics retailers.
FURBY MAKES AN ENCORE, THIS TIME WITH AN APP
Furby, $60, www.hasbro.com
Furby is back.
After 14 years and a lengthy hibernation, one of Hasbro's most famous toys is reappearing this fall, with new technology, a hefty price tag ($60) and an app connection. This Furby is more huggable, with soft fur that hides touch sensors, and more expressive, with rubbery ears that twitch and a pair of backlit LCD eyes with mechanical eyelids that blink, look around or respond to the sounds picked up by Furby's onboard microphone.
According to Don Cameron, a Hasbro engineer, novelty is an essential part of Furby's appeal. "You never know what Furby might do or say."
If you missed the '98 Furby phenomenon, the reason the 5-inch robot is beloved by children and despised by quiet-seeking adults is that it learns and changes, like a real child, talking the entire time. The only way to make the babbling stop is to leave the room or remove one of the four AA batteries.
NEW YORK TIMES
about the writer
At the center of the potential post-pandemic rebound is the Kickernick Building and its new owner’s gallery.