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Apple Quietly Releases 802.11n Capable Airport Extreme [Updated]
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Wonder if Apple's thinking that there's not a huge demand to wire their wireless Macs into a high-speed access point?
That is true, but I am in a small apartment, though its not a large building. This is the cheapest power bill I've had from the various apartments I've had. I was pointing out moreso that the rates in his/her must be much cheaper.
Anyway, I doubt that there is much difference between leaving a Mac on 24/7 and leaving it off for a few hours at night, power wise.
It seems odd that it doesn't have it but it probably amounts to the fact that very few peripherals (scanners and printers mainly) have anything more than 10/100 Base-T connectivity. Apple are expecting that almost all of the computers you have now already have wireless capabilities.
- There are several different incompatible broadband standards: ADSL, SDSL, and DOCSIS (cable modem) are the most popular. And this doesn't count satellite, fiber, WiMAX and other kinds of broadband services. If Apple shipped a base station with a built-in modem, what kind? If they pick one, customers with other services will be incompatible. If they include them all, you're paying for several unused modems. If they ship many different models with many different kinds of modems, you create a tech-support problem - many customers will buy the wrong kind and will not know what they did wrong.
- Different carriers run different signaling on their services. The modem may need to be configured for an ATM PVC, a frame relay DLCI, a PPPoE connection, or something proprietary.
- Many broadband carriers ship their own modems, that are pre-configured for the service, and lock you out of the configuration. It may not be possible to attach a generic modem to your particular service.
- Although many broadband carriers provide modems with WiFi access, the wireless and router capabilities are often inferior to what you can get if you buy your own. For instance, the modem/router Verizon bundled with their FiOS service in my neighborhood doesn't allow you to disable administration over the wireless segment and has no support for WPA2 encryption. I'd rather disable its wireless support and use my own router.
As for cheaper, look at the feature set. Can you find, for under $180, a device that bundles a DSL modem with 802.11 pre-n WiFi, a print server, and a file server? After searching a few retailer web sites, I only found one product that comes close. It is an n-speed router with a built-in file server and GigE ports. It does not include print-server capability, and costs more than Apple's product. It doesn't include a modem either.
I was also looking for n-speed routers with GigE ports. I only found one product other than the Linksys product mentioned above. It cost $150, and has no file sharing, no printer sharing, and no modem. (Actually, I couldn't find any 802.11n products with modems built-in.)
- You forgot to mention it is fugly too. It says its a G-ether switch but the specs say different. No 5GHz mode.
Less fugly, still no 5GHz mode.
right, i have another question....
my modem is incompatible with intel macs, does that mean that it will also be incompatible with an intel mac communicating with an airport express base station? going wireless looks like it could be expensive.
my modem is incompatible with intel macs, does that mean that it will also be incompatible with an intel mac communicating with an airport express base station? going wireless looks like it could be expensive.
I suppose that's a matter of opinion. Doesn't matter to me. My routers sit in a closet anyway.
The store's spec sheet is partly wrong. Linksys's product page says GigE.flopticalcube said:
Are you sure it really is incompatible? Or is it the more likely scenario that your broadband provider doesn't want to support Macs and is saying it's incompatible?
If your modem connects to your computer (or LAN) via Ethernet, then it is almost certain that it is compatible. Either it will "just work", or will work with some simple configuration, or you'll have to set up PPPoE on the Mac.
If it is a USB-connected modem, then yeah, it probably requires a special device driver. See if you can replace it with one that attaches using Ethernet.
If you have an Ethernet-attached modem, using it with a router (any router, whether Apple's or otherwise) is simple. Attach its Ethernet port to your router's WAN port. Attach your Mac to one of the LAN ports. If you have too many computers, you can attach a hub to one of the LAN ports and attach computers to the hub.
Of course, your computers can also talk WiFi, but you may need a wired connection to set up the router. Many models require a wired connection in order to access the configuration pages until you explicitly configure them otherwise. And I recommend that you don't configure this - this way, if someone breaks your WiFi security and gets your admin password, they still won't be able to view/change your router settings.
Anyway, once the physical connections are made, most consumer routers are configured using a web interface. Point any web browser at the router's address (usually 192.168.1.1 if you don't change it), log in to the router, and configure it. Depending on your broadband provider, you may be able to do nothing, you may have to configure DHCP and/or IP addresses, set up MAC address cloning, or set up PPPoE. The specifics will depend on your service provider.
Once the router is set up, your computers just talk straight IP to the router and should not need any special configuration. The router will assign a private IP address (which will be mapped to your ISP-provided address). The modem and service provider will not know or care that you are on a Mac. The router terminates your end of the connection, which is all most ISPs ever care about.
Isn't this one of the worst things about any tech company? Look at all of us bummed about the OBVIOUS lack of gig-E, yet all the engineers who design and make the thing don't seem to think it's important despite every single new Mac shipping with Gig-E?
Ah well, 1st gen kit and all the rest of it.
By the end of the year they'll be a 1000-T version.
By the end of the year they'll be a 1000-T version.
Wow all I can say is this thread has dropped into craziness. This doesnt even make sense. I guess everyone will see when it finally comes out.
Except there isn't any mention of WDS support or Airport Express support at all.
Are they just dropping that?
From the Apple site: 802.11n
"The new AirPort Extreme technology is fully compatible with 802.11a/b/g computers and other devices, such as AirPort Express."
Yes no mention.
Not the only one, but there aren't many others right now.Linksys is the only manufacturer with 802.11n and GigE? Oye.
See what I posted in a previous message:
This is D-Link's DIR-655.
So there are at least two brands. But not a lot right now.
I have no idea right now. But I am sure that there will be an option out there.
Slightly off topic, in the MBP and MB, there is a slotted AE card or is it integrated with other components? I.e., is there the possibility of an internal N upgrade for these Rev A machines?
Why the Oye? I've been using the 100mbit variant (WRT300N) for months now problem-free. It even supports third-party firmware, as should the 1000mbit variants shortly, if not already.Linksys is the only manufacturer with 802.11n and GigE? Oye.
Not true. The card is slotted. However, I doubt the Core Duo models have 3 antenna leads, so another may need to be added for the card to work as well as it can. 802.11N cards have 3 antenna connectors on them, whereas 802.11g cards typically have 2.