Why should I get Airport Extreme instead of a competitor?

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I really don't see much reason when some other 802.11n routers are cheaper.

Can anyone tell me some reasons???
 

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I really don't see much reason when some other 802.11n routers are cheaper.

Can anyone tell me some reasons???

I haven't found many good reasons. Off the top of my head, the only thing I can really cite is the USB drive/printer sharing features. Other than that, IMO it's a bit overpriced considering that it...

1. Only has a three port switch
2. ...and that switch is not Gigabit Ethernet
3. No external antennas (I'd like to be able to mount high-gain antennas).
4. No third-party firmware available (in case you want to hack or enhance it)

Still, that USB sharing capability is a pretty compelling feature - but for the price, it's sub-par.
 

bobtomay

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Bought a D-link with Gigabit last week $120 at circuitcity, found this write up on it yesterday in a comparison to the Airport Extreme. And it actually looks nicer than that picture shows.
 
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I really like the USB sharing for the extra $50.00 i paid.
 
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The Airport Extreme will look nicer if it's stacked with a Mac Mini and/or an Apple TV :)

The D-link looks like a great device, and it's got a USB port too. There's no mention on their site however of what its capabilities are, but the fact that there's an LED to indicate USB connectivity implies that it supports turning an external drive into a NAS, just like Apple's.
 
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the extra $$'s I paid were well worth the simple setup and ease of use.
 

dtravis7


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aside looks... I should have saved my money. No real firewall...

I was going to post that but felt someone would get upset. All it has is NAT. NO SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) and for that price I expect a REAL hardware firewall with SPI and not just NAT. That was the main reason I did not purchase one.

About NAT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation

About SPI

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,290660,sid7_gci886233,00.html
 
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Is the black MacBook 802.11n capable?
 

dtravis7


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Is yours Core Duo or Core 2 Duo?

C2D's are all N capable.

C2D. I tried to find where I can find this specs in the MacBook but can't find it. Would anyone know? Thanks ...
 

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C2D. I tried to find where I can find this specs in the MacBook but can't find it. Would anyone know? Thanks ...

Click on the Apple menu, then click "About this Mac". Under processor it will either say "Intel Core Duo" or "Intel Core 2 Duo". If it's the latter, then you have 802.11n capability - but to unlock it, you'll need to purchase the 802.11n software update from Apple.
 

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