Linksys Wireless-G Music Bridge (WMB54G) , which lets you stream music from your laptop to your stereo. It worked like a charm, when it worked; unfortunately the product doesn’t play well with all recent Wi-Fi routers. Controlled by a simple desktop utility, the Music Bridge wirelessly diverts all PC audio from your networked Windows computer straight to your home stereo.

When running the screenless device on a network outfitted with a standard 802.11g router, wizard-based adjustment of the Music Bridge’s Wi-Fi settings went smoothly. After hooking up the device to stereo receiver using the supplied cable, everything can be stream from Windows alert sounds to iTunes tracks from your 802.11g-equipped notebook.

This shipping version of the Music Bridge worked poorly with Belkin Pre-N Wireless router based on Airgo Networks’ original MIMO technology. No fix exists at this time, but Linksys says that newer Airgo-based products, such as Linksys’s SRX400 router, don’t have this issue.

Also, to switch between PC and stereo-system sound, you must first shut down all music player software on your PC or you risk disabling all Windows audio on PC and stereo. Linksys says it is adding a warning to future releases.

Still, if you survive the setup and don’t demand flawless playback, this clever device provides an aff ordable means of enjoying digital music on your home stereo.