Buying a wi-fi router these days is no easy task. Long gone are the days where one model rose above the rest: now there are routers with different features, some that focus on range, others that focus on speed, and still others with advanced features like NAS support and traffic shaping options. This week we’re going to take a look at five of the best Home wi-fi routers, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which wireless routers you thought were the bestfor customization, range, signal strength, and features. You responded with more nominees than we could feature here, but a few models really rose out of the pack and were your clear favorites. Here they are:

The polls are closed and the votes are counted! To see which of your top five picks took the prize, head over to our weekly hive five followup post to see and discuss the winner!

Linksys WRT54G Series

The venerable Linksys WRT54G has long been one of the most hackable wireless routers on the market, and while they’re a little trickier to come by these days, they’re still widely available and if you can get your hands on one, you won’t find another router that supports both the DD-WRT and Tomatoalternate router firmwares better and more smoothly. Even though it’s an 802.11g model and lacks 802.11n, and the range and speed of some of its more modern rivals, it’s a rock solid router with a well earned fan base. It may be end-of-life from Linksys’ perspective, but they do keep a well-updated support pagededicated to it. There’s a reason this model has its own entry here.

Apple Airport Extreme/Express

A number of you nominated the Apple Airport Extreme and Airport Express for their simple configuration, minimal design, and remarkably low price point for what you get. It’s not terribly hackable, and you’re not going to buy an Airport model and go home planning to install custom firmware, but you will be able to slip an Airport Express in your pocket or suitcase and be able to set up or extend a wireless network anywhere you go (or plug it into any set of speakers to make them Airplay compatible), and you will be able to set up an Airport Extreme in a matter of minutes and have a cozy dual band 802.11n blanket over your whole house. The Express sports a pair of 10/100 Ethernet ports on the back, and the Extreme boasts four gigabit Ethernet ports for other devices. Both offer USB ports for connected devices like printers or (in the case of the Extreme) NAS devices. If you want a truly fire-and-forget router, the Airport Extreme is a good choice.

Netgear n Series (WNDR Models)

Netgear has come a long way, and its N-series (also known by their model numbers, WNDRXXXX) wireless routers are proof. PC Mag issued the N750/WNDR4000 an Editor’s Choice award (and I’m a happy owner of one!) and the N900/WNDR4500 is one of the most powerful and speedy dual-band 802.11n home routers on the market today. Many of Netgear’s N-series routers are compatible with DD-WRT, but even if you’re not the type to flash your router’s firmware, Netgear’s own firmware offers quality-of-service controls, advanced access and parental controls, support for dynamic DNS, advanced wireless security options, and offer support for NAS devices and printers connected via USB. They range in price, and many of the better ones are definitely on the high-end, but in this case you get what you pay for.

ASUS RT Series

You may not think of ASUS when you think of wireless routers, especially if you haven’t purchased a router in several years, but the ASUS RT series, specifically the ASUS RT-N56 and RT-N66 models, combine great features and sharp looks into a networking package that offers dual-band 802.11n, support for connected devices like printers and NAS devices via USB, and some of the strongest signal strength and range available. Plus, most of ASUS’s models support builds of DD-WRT or Tomato, so if you want even more control over the router’s features, it’s readily available to you. The RT-N66 even has detachable antennae that you can swap out for higher-powered versions that you can either buy (like the Mohu Bounce) or build yourself.

Linksys E Series

When Linksys started to phase out the WRT54G series, they started to direct customers to the E Series—their easy-to-configure (and sharp-looking) replacement models. Every member of the E Series is an 802.11n router, and many of you praised them—specifically the E4200—for their blend of features, simple setup, range and signal strength, and the fact that many of the E-series routers are compatible with DD-WRT, so you can flash the firmware and get even more features once the router is set up the way you like. Linksys’ price point is attractive as well, and even if you opt not to flash the firmware, you can very affordably buy a router that takes moments to set up and needs little maintenance after the fact. It doesn’t hurt that many of Cisco’s routers specifically support household features like VoIP and traffic shaping for things like torrents, putting some relatively advanced features in the hands of people who may have been intimidated by them before.

Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them to an all out vote to decide the winner!

No honorable mentions this week, as the next one down the line had fewer than half the nominations of the least nominated member of the top five, but if you think your favorite model got shortchanged, let us know why in the comments below! Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it’s not because we hate it—it’s because it didn’t get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it’s a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email attips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photo by nrkbeta.

No matter how much effort you put into getting enough sleep every night, there are going to be days when you wake up exhausted. You’ll still have to survive the work day, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. Here’s how you can get through your day and actually be productive, too.

Before we get started, let’s get one thing straight: this isn’t going to be a cakewalk. When you’re really tired, working is tough no matter what you do. that said, there are ways to help make the day easier and actually get things done. You’re not going to feel bright and cheery, but you can avoid turning into a zombie. We’ve looked at quick fixes for feeling tired, but in this post we’re going to examine what you can do to help yourself during the entire day. Essentially, your goal will be to give yourself extra energy and avoid behaviors that will make your exhaustion worse. With a little bit of effort you’ll be able to avoid passing out.

Be Diligent About What (and How Much) You Eat and drink

When you’re tired, food is a difficult affair. You need to eat enough to provide your body with the energy it needs to get through the day, but you also need to be sure you don’t overeat or you can end up feeling worse. Exhaustion makes somewhat harder to tell when it’s time to stop eating. Rather than waiting for your stomach to give you the signal that you’re full, pay attention to the food you put on your plate. Only take as much as you’re going to need to eat and nothing more. Eat that, and drink plenty of water. If you end up getting dehydrated during the day you’ll worsen your situation as well.

When you’re choosing what to eat, you’ll want to start out with a healthy breakfast. The food that starts your day can have a big impact on the rest of it. Avoid sugary foods—which you should do all day anyhow—and stick to things like eggs and whole grains. Focusing on proteins and fiber, rather than carbohydrates, will serve you better. Basically, your goal is to eat how you’d probably eat if you were opting for a healthier diet. That doesn’t mean you can’t have carbohydrates, anything with sugar, and so on, but that your focus should be on healthier food that will provide your body with easy energy. Aim for a balance and it’ll make it easier to get through the day.

Perform a Few Quick and Simple Exercises to Get Your Blood Flowing

Not all exercise will wake you up. Some will wear you out and expend the energy you need to keep going. But doing small amounts of specific exercises during the day can help keep your blood flowing and help you stay alert when you’re tired. The easiest option is pushups. Just do three sets of as many pushups with 30 second breaks in between. Do as many as you can in each set. This shouldn’t take you more than five minutes, you shouldn’t sweat too much in the process, and it’ll wake you up. If pushups aren’t your thing, however, check out this simple core routine instead.

Work Standing Up

We all know that sitting down all day is bad for us, but standing up isn’t an exciting prospect for most people. You’re probably used to working in chair because it’s more comfortable. When you’re tired, you don’t necessarily want to be comfortable—you just don’t want to fall asleep. This is another good excuse to work in a standing position. You may not have the desk for it, but generally there’s a way you can shift your workspace so that you can keep your monitor and keyboard at standing height. You’ll have a much harder time falling asleep on your feet, rather than your butt, so find a place to stand and work that way for the day. It might feel too uncomfortable at first, as you’re already tired, but after a little while you should adjust all the same.

Use Caffeine Intelligently (if Necessary)

Caffeine is what most people use to stay awake when they’re tired, but overuse can lead to problems like headaches. If you’re a frequent coffee drinker, or you consumer caffeine regularly, this section isn’t going to help you. Caffeine is only really a useful tool if you use it sparingly and intelligently. If you’re not a regular consumer, starting your day off with a reasonable amount of the stuff (around 65-100mg) can help prevent you from feeling more and more tired as the day goes on. This is because your active brain is constantly producing adenosine as a byproduct of its activity. When your adenosine levels are high enough, your brain knows it’s time to get some rest. Caffeine can, essentially, impersonate adenosine and bond with its receptors, putting off your brain’s job of letting you know it’s time to sleep. This works perfectly well if you’re not a constant consumer of caffeine, but won’t do so much for you if your body expects it. The important thing to remember is to avoid caffeine in the later hours of the day, as you are going to want to sleep eventually. So long as you utilize the stuff before 2:00 PM, and not after, it can help.

Plan a Well-Timed Power nap

Just because you’re at work doesn’t mean you can’t find a little time to sleep. Hopefully your boss is understanding enough to let you escape for 20 minutes to take a quick nap, but even if not you can still fit one in. Napping at the wrong time of day can throw off your circadian rhythms, but if you keep that nap to 20 minutes and take it between 1:00 and 3:00 PM you can actually boost your cognitive ability without screwing with your sleep schedule. Presumably you have a lunch break, so go take a 20 minute nap in your car (or somewhere more comfortable if you’ve got it) and take your lunch back to your desk. You can eat it there feeling a little less exhausted.

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Whether you have a little one who loves to play Picasso all over your walls in crayon, or you’re just watching a younger sibling or friend of family and they’ve all but wrecked the paint with a stick of Burnt Sienna, the fix may be as close as your fridge. Grab the mayo, we’re going to work.

The oils in the mayo do wonders to break down the wax in crayon. Just dab a little over the crayon lines, wait a few minutes, and then come back with a damp cloth. It may take a little pressure, but the mayo and the crayon should both come off in one fell swoop. that’s all there is to it.

If you still have trouble with that stuck on crayon, we’ve shown you how to remove it with bread, and even white vinegar, so take your pick for what works best for you. Have any other creative crayon removal tips? Share them in the comments below.

Dear Lifehacker,
I’ve spotted some amazing deals on Craigslist, but I also know people sometimes get screwed (out of money!) on Craigslist. How can I weed out the scams from the legit listings and make sure I get the best buys?

Signed,
new Craigslister

Dear NC,
Craigslist is a terrific resource for nabbing great deals on everything from furniture to bicycles to electronics—but it’s also full of duds and scams. Although not all listings on Craigslist are fraud attempts, it’s smart to take extra precautions when buying fromany stranger online (whether on Craigslist or eBay or another buy-and-sell site). Here are a few things you can do before and during the sale to make sure you don’t get ripped off.

While Searching: Watch Out for Red Flags in Craigslist Listings

The risks: getting suckered out of your money, giving up personal info to a scammer, and losing your faith in humanity

How can you spot a Craigslist scam? Many of them feature the same telltale signs:

• An abundance of spelling and grammatical errors. A typo here and there is forgivable, but when a listing is riddled with poor English, it’s an indication an overseas scammer posted the ad using automated translators—or the person behind the ad just doesn’t care about the listing. Either way, you probably want to stay clear.
• Generic product photos. Look for real photos instead of the typical product pics or photos found elsewhere on the web. It’s hard to believe the seller actually has the item in question if he’s using PR photos.
• Ad posted in multiple places. Sellers are only allowed to post their ad in one city. If you see the same ad posted word for word in a distant city, that’s a huge red flag. You can search all Craigslist sites at once with previously mentioned Search All Craig’s or more recently highlighted Craiggers. Search Google for the ad wording to see if it’s been posted elsewhere or check the Craigslist Scammers blog dedicated to just this purpose.
• Too good to be true. The biggest telltale sign of a Craigslist (or other) scam is if the ad promises a ridiculously good deal. When you’re buying from sellers seemingly desperate to get rid of their used stuff, it’s hard to know what’s a true offer or just bait for your personal info. Know what your product is selling for (see below) and, if you have any doubt, pass on it.

Craigslist offers other common sense rules to avoid scams, including only meeting in person for local listings, never wiring any money, and never giving out any personal or financial information.

When You’ve Found an Item to Buy: Vet the Seller and Know Your Product

The risks: wasting your time buying a fake or a broken item or something other than what you’re expecting; paying too much for it

Let’s say you found what looks to be a legit deal—the photos are unique and the listing doesn’t look like typical Craigslist scams. Now it’s time to ask some questions and find out more about the seller and the item.

Ask detailed questions about the item you want to buy over multiple emails or calls.Does the laptop come with all the installation CDs and has a virus scan been done on it recently? For an apartment rental, what’s included in the rent or what amenities are nearby (you can verify this with Google Maps)? What problems or issues with the item has the seller had? Why is this person selling the item? What’s the exact model number of the item? Asking questions like this not only gives you more information about the product, it verifies the seller has firsthand knowledge of it.

For whatever you’re buying, also look up ahead of time common problems with the item and how to spot a fake. Google “common problems with [X product]” or “how to spot a fake [X product]” to find the right questions to ask and things to look for when testing out the item in person (see below). You can also check for recalled items at several government sites.

Look the seller up. Search the seller’s email address and phone number on both Craigslist and Google. Look up the seller’s name on Facebook and White Pages services (see if the address matches, too, if you’re given one).

Check if the price is right. Although a lot of items on Craigslist may be great deals, sometimes the prices really don’t make sense. In a Priceonomics study, people sold their used TVs on Craigslist for 14% less than the same TV was selling new, but a 30% discount for headphones. The 14% discount, Priceonomics says, isn’t enough of a deal for the hassle of possibly buying a dud. Sellers, apparently, were pricing their items based on the original prices they paid—not the market value at the time, which made them price their used TVs too high. Check out price guide Pricenomics to find acceptiable price ranges and recommended used prices. You should also check the going prices for that specific model/item on Amazon and other retailers. Want an even better deal? If you’re ready to haggle, use the 15-to-20 percent rule to find a more reasonable price (sellers may be adding in this haggling price too).

At the Exchange: Meet Safely and Inspect the Item

The risks: getting robbed or physically hurt; not noticing problems or missing features until after you’ve parted with your money

Ready to buy? Now comes the most anxiety-ridden part: the exchange.

Meet in a public location, such as a bank or coffeeshop. Craigslist says meeting in person will help you avoid 99% of scam attempts on the classifieds service. Meeting face-to-face can still be risky though, so to avoid the chance of being robbed, meet in a public place—preferably one with lots of witnesses and security cameras. A bank lobby, Gizmodo suggests, is perfect because you and the seller can withdraw and deposit cash without having to carry it around. If a bank lobby seems too odd to conduct your personal secondhand buying business, a hotel lobby, busy gas station, coffeeshop, or similar location would work (and these also usually provide ATMs for easy access to cash). (Note: Buy & Flip advises not using a parking lot, mall, or fast food restaurant because people aren’t actually paying attention there. I think Starbucks or Barnes & Noble may be perfect because of how busy these locations are and you have outlets for testing electronic items.)

Bring a friend. Go with a friend or family member for additional protection. He or she can also help you evaluate the item in question.

Kick the tires. Make sure you test everything and try using the product before you pay for it. For a used computer, check the ports, make sure you have the license keys and admin account information, confirm the battery life is what’s expected and all the specs match, and look for things like massive dust buildup. Before you buy a cell phone, make sure it can be activated by verifying the electronic serial number or ESN with your cell phone provider or atCheckESNFree. If you’re buying a car, make sure all the paperwork is available (registration papers, titles, and maintenance information) and look for other stolen car signs. If it’s got a plug, plug it in to see if it works. Push all the buttons, and try all the features.

After all your sleuthing and research, hopefully you’ll end up with a proud purchase.

Love,
Lifehacker

P.S. See our Definitive Craigslist Guide for the Recession and How to Avoid Getting Scammend When Buying or Selling Online for even more advice. Or share your tips and experience with us in the comments.

Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker.com.

photo remixed from an original by bioraven (Shutterstock)