Mini vs. Airport... yes I am asking that question

now the mini is 499.. i would probably get the 699 model if i decide to do this any way.. but the airport extrme is 199 and all it does is act as a access point... now can't I plug my internet into the mini and then use the airport in it to broadcast my signal to my powerbook and one pc computer... or is this not possible... Is it not as strong as the airport or is it mostly made for recieving... This seamed like a good idea to me not having a router and using a computer instead because this would allow me to more easily vny my mac from school... If the signal is not as strong coming from the mac mini as it would be coming from an airport, would it be possible to set up the aiport to "boost" the signal coming from the mac... this is all questions that I have since I already have an airport and the price of the mac mini does not bother me at all... I am just going to use it to hold me over on the desktop part of my room until i a top of the line power mac right before i go to college next fall... so my question remains.. can I use my mini that i am planning on buying as some kind of access point for my network in my house...

sorry for going on in the paragraph above.. I tend to go on when I think i could possibly have a good idea, lol

You could, just share the internet connection you get from the ethernet port. You would have to setup an Adhoc wireless networks between all you computers. For ease I would just get a cheap wireless router from a local store.

I already have an apple airpot extreme and 2 expresses, I was just wondering if I could replace it with the apple... thank you mynameis

With Tiger you can broadcast over the airport extreme so you could make your mini a base station but I dont know if it is as strong as the base station but that doesnt really matter because you have the Express and that can be used to extend the range.

ok thankyou benjammindaines that was one of my most important questions if I could extend the range or not with the airports that I already have..

You are able to share Internet but you are not able to completely configure your wireless. Most important you have to broadcast your SSID. Some might not mind this, I for one use the airport card in this manner, but I would prefer to have a base station to allow for a non broadcast network. In a multi user environment you must leave the machine on that shares the connection. Once again not a big deal forme, as mine is never off, but some folks could have an issue.