Connecting Mac Pro to Internet (wireless)

I recently had cable broadband (2mb) installed at home and will be setting up a small wireless broadband network. I don’t currently own a Mac Pro (but will be purchasing one within the next few weeks or so w/OS X Leopard) however I do own a PC w/XP.

I plan on connecting both the PC and Mac Pro to the internet via wireless means however I am a complete novice at wireless networking (and Mac's as a matter of fact).

I have been searching the Internet for the past few days looking for possibilities and answers and have not really had much look to be honest. I spoke to a colleague at work today who suggested the following two products through personal preference and experience with using them:

Router (marked as being Mac compatible)

Receiver

I honestly can’t see any problems with these working with my PC, however the Mac equivalent to the receiver does somewhat confuse me a little (most likely my inexperience with Macs on a whole).

I'm tempted to purchase said products, however I'd hate to do so, get my Mac, then find out through one means or another that the router is not quite compatible as the description entails.

Overall, I'd like a bit of advice on getting the right equipment the first time round and not having to go back and forth just to get things working as intended.

In a nutshell, here are my questions:

1. Which wireless router will get the job done? Can anyone provide me with a list of routers that work fine for Mac and PC alike, either via personal experience or recommendations?

2. How would I go about sending the wireless signal to my Mac and PC? I assume that the PC will need some kind of PCI/USB receiver, but is there any specific hardware that would obtain the same effect on the Mac?

3. Apple branded products - Airport Extreme Card? I read somewhere on the Apple website that this was only compatible with older Macs and not the newer Mac Pro's, yet it is an option for a custom build machine in the Apple Store. Regardless, would this be my only workaround for getting Internet on my Mac Pro? Would I then need the Apple branded router to take advantage of this or not?

I look forward to hearing your responses. Many thanks in advance!

my first ? is are you getting a new mac or used because if it is new then it will have wifi already and wont need a card. also if you are getting a new mac then it will have wireless N and those links above are all for wireless G products. if your going to be buying that stuff you might as well get the latest technology since N is 14X or so faster at transferring data than G is.

however if money is a big part of your choices then you can get the G cheaper.

ok so not knowing the answer to what type of mac you are getting i will answer your questions.

1. almost every modern wireless G or N router will work with mac and pc. they both run on 802.11. there is more to this like 5ghz versus 2.4 but you can google and read all about it if you really want to know but for your needs it isnt that important.

2. your link above to the desktop card (receiver) should will work fine as long as it is the proper interface for your desktop. i do not know what you have but the link above is for a PCI interface adapter so you will want to make sure you have that type. i dont have my windows machine handy but you should be able to right click on my computer on your desktop and hit properties and then go to device manger and see what type of slot you have or you can open it up and look

3. if it is a mac pro then it will have built in wifi

if your mac pro is going to be new or fairly new and has the ability to use wireless N then if it were me i would go with the extra $ and get a wireless N router and desktop adapter (receiver). it is most likely something you are not going to upgrade for a long time and you might as well get what is available now.

i am a HUGE fan of apple routers and i would get the apple extreme wireless N router but it is pricey $179 starting price if you get it without the available hard drive built in. you can get N cheaper but as i mentioned i am a fan of apple routers and they have always performed well for me and have great coverage.