true Digital Hub

the power of xthe power of x
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Would anyone like to see a new Airport Base Station device? I remember hearing talk a couple months back but it has since quieted.



I for one would like to see a new device, give it a WAN and 4-LAN ports supported by a descent firewall, and a stronger wireless system supporting faster transfers and longer distances (at least comparable with most other products out there.) Also a possible good idea IMHO would be 2-Firewire ports giving you the option of file sharing without needing an actual server base (and the drive options most people would want with the ability to upgrade.) Perfect for sharing you music & video collection with the family. If they could make this affordable, (say $250-300 tops.) Hell if it was $350 and added a USB print server, that would be slicker than snot on a pump handle! I'd like some input.



[ 04-22-2002: Message edited by: The Power of X ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Combining Wireless and Wired Networks with HD storage in one product is a Killer Concept but that pricepoint would be VERY difficult to meet for at least the forseeable future. The Achilles heel of faster Wireless(802.11a) is that the fasters speeds are there but the distance is reduced by a factor of a third in many cases. Apple could do well to create a Setop Box that includes most of these features...maybe adding Bluetooth. USB printer Sharing makes no sense as you might as well go Wireless with that as well.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    airslufairsluf Posts: 1,861member
  • Reply 3 of 10
    bigcbigc Posts: 1,224member
    [quote]Originally posted by AirSluf:

    <strong>I like the printer sharing idea. I think quite a few folks would co-locate an Airport USB print server with the printer. Mine sit right next to each other right now, but I have several other computers/users around the house that could use that nicely. Same with the faculty Base Station at school, the profs are always grumbling about having to go back up to their office to print out things when in a meeting, or emailing it to the guy in the office next door. The overall expense would probably be less than a dedicated wireless print-server AND the Airport Base Station.</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Does bluetooth have enough bandwidth to allow printer sharing? Be nice with a powerbook and the new Unix printer apps that apple bought
  • Reply 4 of 10
    the power of xthe power of x Posts: 105member
    What about the idea of using a central storage location for music and other sharable files? I think considering Apple integrates firewire into just about every product the make (especially highlighting the iPod), that could make the router an especially useful networking tool.



    I just had another idea pop into my head as I was thinking about this concept, I know it's a little more far fetched. A CATV tuner built-in able to let maybe 4 people watch TV through this box (if CableTV bandwidth is suffient for such a product.) I know it's a little bit out there but I am just throwing ideas on the table for a Apple integrated device/ set-top box.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    [quote]Originally posted by Bigc:

    <strong>





    Does bluetooth have enough bandwidth to allow printer sharing? Be nice with a powerbook and the new Unix printer apps that apple bought</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I'm not terribly sure, but I thought Bluetooth was something like 1Mb/sec. I've seen a lot of people 'round here wanting Bluetooth in the iPod and other devices... I'm guessing they either a) don't know how slow Bluetooth is, or b) I'm completely wrong
  • Reply 6 of 10
    tkntkn Posts: 224member
    Network Attached Storage is usually as expensive as just buying another computer with the same hard drive array so it rarely if ever makes sense. However an Airport drive you just plugged in would be kind of sweet.



    I have a D-Link 713p which has 4 wired ports and print server capabilities which is pretty nice but the print server feature completely sucks. I picked it up for about $150. You can get an SMC Barricade which does the same for just over $100 if you look at dealnews.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    bradbowerbradbower Posts: 1,068member
    Four ports and support for both the current speed of 802.11 and the faster one would be great, and could maybe justify the pricepoint.



    (And don't bitch at me for being cheap, I know Apple has never been cheap, but I bought a base station and now I really question if it was such a good investment, considering other wireless access points with more features, that are nearly half the price.)



    Network storage isn't gonna happen, CATV doesn't even sound plausible plus Jobs hates television so that isn't gonna happen, but an integrated print server would be REALLY great. Stick a USB port on that sucker, and connect it to a printer, and share it about the network... I'd love that. Schools would too, I'm sure. However, I'm not so sure Apple is heading that direction.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    bjnybjny Posts: 191member
    <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=001565"; target="_blank">http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=001565</a>;
  • Reply 9 of 10
    bradbowerbradbower Posts: 1,068member
    [quote]Originally posted by BJNY:

    <strong><a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=001565"; target="_blank">http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=001565</a></strong><hr></blockquote>;



    Thing is, that's also the cable modem. There's no way Apple could make that on their own, and they could never make it a good deal just rebranding it (even if Motorola would let them), plus most cable ISPs only support a single model of cable modems anyway. But if Apple could take the hint and tack on a print server, there's no denying that would be nice.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    the power of xthe power of x Posts: 105member
    Does anyone else agree that more than 1 LAN port is a good thing? I use 2-3 everyday. Less periferals is better, especially when you can plug everything into your UPS. I think they should add at least 2-3 ports to their unit (to become even with most others), and adding a USB print server would be the cat's meow. Also make it available to use across the multi-platform spectrum, that would broaden the buyer group. How does $250 sound? Now that would actually be competitive. Have a second model with the dual firewire ports for file serving and make that $400-450? That doesn't sound too unreasonable.



    (I'll drop the idea of the CATV, that's a little much; I forgot, on the Mac platform we to take baby steps.)
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