Must-have gadgets

$170, www.linksys.com

TOD KURT
Co-founder, ThingM

Our two SoHo buildings - an office and an electronics and computer lab - are just 100 feet apart. But that didn't make it easy to get them hooked up on the same network. Installing a Cat6 gigabit Ethernet line between the two buildings would be cost-prohibitive. I experimented with different Wi-Fi solutions, but these wireless networks were plagued with interference problems and, ultimately, too slow.

Then I found the Linksys PLK200, which goes over power lines instead of through the air. Installing it was a cinch: I just unplugged the Wi-Fi boxes from the power outlets, replaced them with the PLK200, and connected computers using the included network cables.
Now all the machines can share printing and storage resources, files, and documents at speeds of up to 100 Mbps. The result is a network four times faster than Wi-Fi at a reasonable price - which, for a startup company, is like gold.