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Just got my new Airport Extreme, and must say... yay!

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Finally, a router that isn't a total pile of crap. I tore down my previous "set-up" with my linksys N router that was encrypted but stuck with some password I couldn't change (when I went to save the settings, it couldn't load the save page) while only giving off 2 bars of signal even 3 feet away from it. From this, I had a wired connection to Katie's eMac, and another split off to an unsecured wireless G access point that actually gave off a full 4 bars of signal.

So I scrapped all that, cleaned up the guest bedroom a bit, and installed my new set-up. I popped the Airport Extreme down, dropped in a 4 port USB hub, threw on the new hand-me-down laser printer I picked up so we can do most of our bulk printing on that, if she needs color, I have the ink jet right underneath it, also networked, and 2 network storage drives.

All set up in less than 3 minutes, and guess what? It just works.

How come more companies don't realize they can suck more money out of you if their product is less infuriating than average? Make the thing work, make more margin!

Anyway, yea. This probably could go in the networking forum, but then nobody would read it.
 
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The AEBS is with out a doubt the best router I have owned also the longest lasting so far.
 
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Gotta love a dual band router rated for up to 50 simultaneous connections. Pwn.
 
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Fantastic, glad to hear this. I just ordered a 2TB TC so i hope my setup is as smooth as yours.
 
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When i got mine i got some stick on furniture feet for a bit of cooling - seems to help.


Click for full size
 
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Thanks for the feet for cooling idea. That's pretty nifty.

********************

And to the original poster I have a question for you. Well a few actualy if that's ok. :) I am in the market for a new router. And your original post was nice to read.

Do you think the AEBS is good value for money when compared to other routers? As it is on the high end of router pricing.

How har is the furthest computer you have away from the AEBS? And how many bars signal are you getting?

And do you getting the same upload/download speeds with the AEBS when compared to your old setup? Or is it more or less?

And lastly. Would you in your personal opinion suggest this AEBS over a wired router?
 
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My home network is made up of wired and wireless. I got a wireless router that has my XBOX,WII,Internet,Blu-Ray all connect via cat5e and then one cat5e that runs to a 5 port network switch that then controls all my computers. The wired works perfect, but the wireless always seems to be around 20% - 45% even when 4 feet away watching tv. So yes, I have been looking at buying the Airport. This just helps confirm my soon to be buy. I am trying to switch everything in our home to Mac. Just be alot faster if we had 30k to spend on them :\
 
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Sure thing, 8th Ark...

I work at Best Buy too, so this will probably be pretty helpful as I do this sort of thing all day. I actually talked another guy (a windows user) into checking them out today. Told him that he'd have to install the apple protocols from the disc (which it will do automatically once he loads it, but some windows nerds complained about bonjour being loaded). Anyway, your questions...

1) The AEBS is a great value for my money so far. The N router it replaced (a Linksys WRT160N version 3) worked for only 3 hours before totally crapping out on me the first time (it was sporadic at first, now consistently only 2 bars), this thing has already given me a whole day, plus extremely easy setup for my networked devices (2 printers and 2 network drives). That plus the Apple guarantee that if it does crap out, I know they won't give me any crap and will replace it (just like every other time I've ever worked with Apple customer service) makes it easily worth the 180 bucks (163 for me, yay employee pricing!). Heck, even for a comparable N router from netgear you're looking at 169 for their dual band range max setup.

2) I only live in a 900sq foot condo, so this probably won't be much help, but I have it on the front end of the building, and usually sit 25 feet away. :p It's 4 bars, baby. Even out on the balcony which increases the total to like 40 feet. Then again, my G access point did that for me too. :)

3) Better speeds up and down, I think the fact that its rated for more devices helps out in this area, because it seems to route information very quickly. The only thing is data transfers over the network can be a bit sporadic, but of course that's the case. I'm seeing like 15MB/s at the max, with an average of 10MBPs while transferring data to and from network drives, which is on par with what initial testing of the device revealed when it was first released. :)

4) Depends what you use it for. If you like really good really easy wireless access, then yes. If your life companion really hates the look of loose wires (like mine), yes. If you want a ridiculously easy network printing and storage solution... yes. If you don't mind running wires to all of your machines and use every machine for hardcore gaming (and own more than 3 gaming rigs) then no. Otherwise... heck yea.
 
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I initially said I was seeing 10MBPS while writing to the network drive. That's when I'm connected to another computer on the network :p The AirDisks I'm seeing write speeds of 2-6mbps. Read is slightly faster.
 

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DR, I have read horror stories connected to most of those new Linksys N routers with the built in antennas. Low signal, frequent lockups, ETc. The older Linksys with the Linux firmware were great routers but these newer ones though are junk!
 
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Yea, they're pretty effin' terrible.
 
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To DarkestRitual:

Thanks for your answers. A lot really they helped a lot.

1. Thanks. From what you say it is roughly good value for money. Yeah I am a little partial to Apple products cause of their "they just work" nature.

2. Thanks. I'd be like 5-8 metres distance from computer to router. That's roughly 16-26 feet. But for me that dustance is diagonally upwards. Think of it as in AEBS downstairs and imac upstairs. But from that you say it should work just fine for me. Even with my computer room door closed I hope. No reason I just want to test it. Not for vanity reasons just cause my computer room is next to the toilet. And I shut the bathroom and other room door and open the bathroom window till the stink from my business has passed.

3. That's heaps of speed. Since I can only get like 512K a second thanks to only having ADSL1. The Government near me will not upgrade my local telephone exchange for ADSL2. So it'll way out speed my crappy net connecton. So I can get every k of that 512K just fine :).

4. I live on my own. No life partner for me. I just think a cord hanging in the air going down the stairs is a little dangerous. And I keep forgetting about it and my computer chair rolls over it. That does not affect it but I'd like the long cord to be gone.

And plus it's make a good wi-fi hotspot for a future ipad if I decide to get one.

Thanks for your advice. I will save up and get one :).
 
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Honestly what really sold me after I had bought it and set it up was how in order to get 2 network drives and 2 network printers, all I had to do was plug in my 4 port Belkin hub, install printer drives, and plug everything in. Time Machine recognizes my Mac OS Journaled drive on the network, so I'm doing wireless backups to the air disk (only 160GB, but still good to have a copy of stuff kickin' around - I manually backed up all my music and then some when I made a remote network iTunes library on the bigger disk, so no problem with size) and it's pretty sweet.

Now that I know my middle of 3 younger sisters is coming to Ithaca College in the fall, I can't wait to get her set up with a MacBook, and if she ever needs anything for school as far as printing and ****, she can come over to the condo. I'll probably get a sweet dorm room set up for her too. :)
 
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Now that I know my middle of 3 younger sisters is coming to Ithaca College in the fall, I can't wait to get her set up with a MacBook, and if she ever needs anything for school as far as printing and ****, she can come over to the condo. I'll probably get a sweet dorm room set up for her too. :)
Hi m8,
Just a thought, but as you're going to be kitting kid sis out, have you considered an AIO for her?
I currently use the Epson SX515W, which has USB, 10/100 Ethernet and wifi connections, as standard. I'm not sure what the equivalent US model is, but the 515W got some great reviews on the web and I can't recommend it highly enough. :Cool:
 
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Yea, might have to get her a nice all in one for her dorm. We aren't quite sure on the set-up yet, but maybe it'll get done well. :)
 
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Well here is a little info I think every one should know. I did not know it till today even myself. I learnt something new.

The AEBS is not a router. It's just a wireless base station. So you have to have yourset up in this way still. Wall socket -> your router -> AEBS -> wirelessly to your mac/other devices.

I wanted to remove my old router from the setup. As it's so old and just plain uncool. Still works well mind you. But I learnt today in an Apple reseller store from a very nice bloke that worked there that the AEBS is not a router. Just a little information for people thinking they can replace your wired router with this, you can't. THis just is an extra device for wireless capabilities.
 
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If by AEBS you mean an airport express, then yes. The Airport Extreme Base Station is a dual band wireless N ROUTER. I can prove it. There are 3 gigabit ports on the back, i have a motorola surfboard cable modem (no routing capabilities), and I have 2 computers simultaneously running the internet. It's a router.

If someone told you that the airport extreme base station isn't a router, they are either mentally challenged, or had no idea what you were talking about.
 

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The Airport Extreme Base Station is for sure a router. Both the round one and the new flat one. Has DHCP, Hands out address's, had NAT. Only thing I wish it had was SPI along with NAT in the firewall.

I wonder if DR is right and you are thinking Airport Express?
 
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That's my best guess, anyway.
 
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If someone told you that the airport extreme base station isn't a router, they are either mentally challenged, or had no idea what you were talking about.

airportextreme.jpg


That is what I was talking about. And yes the man in the store told me that was not a router, just a wireless base station. it seems the man in the store did not know what he was talking about. The store being JB Hi-fi.'

So I can replace my router with this? I thought that was the case, and it seems you both are saying the same thing. Just this useless store asistant made me think a different thing. So thanks to the both of you.

I had the AEBS (Extreme) in my hands in the box in the store. And his few words made me put it back. I was so close to buying it. So now I can go back to the store and tell him how wrong he is and I can buy it.

Final question.

Can I have my setup like this:

Wall outlet -> AEBS (extreme) -> wirelessly sending data to my imac upstairs.

That's what I always wanted to do. Stupid store sssistant. But if that's the case as I think it is then I'll go back and buy it.
 

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