AirPort Utility 6.0 for OS X Lion retools interface to match iOS counterpart

AirPort Utility 6.0 for OS X Lion retools interface to match iOS counterpart

Freshly available in Software Update are AirPort Utility 5.6 and AirPort Utility 6.0. AirPort Utility 5.6 is a minor update to its predecessor which "Resolves an issue with using network passwords stored in the Keychain," while AirPort Utility 6.0 is a major overhaul of the user interface that matches its iOS counterpart in both appearance and basic functions. In fact, AirPort Utility 6.0 is so similar to the iOS version that it essentially looks as though its been back-ported.

While AirPort Utility 6.0 certainly looks snazzy and features an interface that novice users will find much easier to navigate, AirPort Utility 5.6 is still around for a reason -- AirPort Utility 6.0 can't be used to administer older, 802.11g-only base stations. People like me who still have an old school 802.11g AirPort Express on their network will have to use the older version of AirPort Utility. This is a confusing and unfortunate oversight on Apple's part, and hopefully this is something the company is able/willing to address later on.

Just from my brief interaction with AirPort Utility 6.0, I can definitely say I'll be reverting to 5.6 for reasons other than hardware incompatibility. The graphically-driven interface feels nice and natural on iOS devices, but it feels far too dumbed-down on the Mac. Critically, in AirPort Utility 6.0 the entire program is unusable if you happen to be updating firmware on any one base station; administering any other base station is impossible if you're updating firmware on any AirPort device on your network.

For novice users with supported AirPort devices, AirPort Utility 6.0 will be a much easier way to administrate their wireless networks. The rest of us may prefer to stick with the old interface; I know I will.

AirPort Utility 6.0 for OS X Lion retools interface to match iOS counterpart originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Bugs with Airport Utility 6.0

Hi

Just a note for anybody who's interested, because this bug cost me a day and should never have passed QC.

I have two partitions on my TimeCapsule: a "Data" partition that acts as a regular (albeit primitive) NAS so that the Fam can share files and store some data ex-HDD ; and a "Backup" partition that performs the normal TimeMachine function.

Unlike Airport Utility (AU) v5.x, AUv6.0 has a bug where it recognises the two partitions but won't let you give them different names. In fact, update anything on the TimeCapsule via AUv6.0 and it will change the name of both partitions to the same name (e.g., "Backup") with the second partition name suffixed with a "(2)".

Irrelevant, I know, but the way this bug expresses itself in choosing which partition name to duplicate is kind of weird. Under my TC HDD structure the "Data" partition is first on the partition map and and is 1TB; and the "Backup" partition is second and is 2TB. File sharing is by account and the regular user login loads up the "Data" partition. Nonetheless, for some reason AUv6.0 doubled up the "Backup" partition name and renamed my "Data" partition "Backup(2)".

You can fix it by re-installing AUv5.x, but there's a glitch: unless you completely remove AUv6.0 first the bug remains. If you just try and trash the app (Airport Utility.app) you get an error message along the lines of "Airport Utility is really important to OS X and you can't delete it". Therefore you need to use something like Amnesia or MacCleanse, if that works, or otherwise use Terminal.

To use Terminal to remove AUv6.0 you'll need to login to you Mac under a login with Administrator privilages, and enter the appropriate password as requested. The Terminal commands are:

Then re-install AUv5.x (I'm using AUv5.6 and it is fine).

Hope this helps y'all.


Cheers


MDL