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Airport Extreme

post #1 of 21
9/23/10 at 11:56am
Thread Starter 
Is the Airport Extreme router a recommended router to buy at this time?
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post #2 of 21
9/23/10 at 12:00pm
I like my AEBS.

Do you need it for wireless? How are you going to use it?
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post #3 of 21
9/23/10 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

Is the Airport Extreme router a recommended router to buy at this time?

No, it loses signal when you touch it.

It's a router. You plug it in and use it. I'm incredibly confused how it could be recommended or otherwise. It does what it does, and well.
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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post #4 of 21
9/23/10 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

No, it loses signal when you touch it.

It's a router. You plug it in and use it. I'm incredibly confused how it could be recommended or otherwise. It does what it does, and well.

Mr. Confused, I'm more interested in whether or not there might be any scuttlebutt concerning updated model. I know what a router is. I also now that I'd try to hold off on replacing what I'm now using, if it looked like it might worth doing, at this time. That is why I asked in the manner that I did.
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post #5 of 21
9/23/10 at 3:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

Mr. Confused, I'm more interested in whether or not there might be any scuttlebutt concerning updated model. I know what a router is. I also now that I'd try to hold off on replacing what I'm now using, if it looked like it might worth doing, at this time. That is why I asked in the manner that I did.

Zin,

I have the older AEBS at home and a newer dual band one at the office. The dual band one is awesome. My older AEBS doesn't seem to perform as well with an erratic signal strength.

Get the dual band AEBS.You can buy it now without much worry, I don't think anything new will be coming along for a while.
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post #6 of 21
9/23/10 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

I like my AEBS.

Do you need it for wireless? How are you going to use it?

For some stuff I need wireless (iPod, iPhone, etc.), for some stuff I use can wireless, or wired, (my iMac), and for some stuff, I need a wired connection (my wife's G4 Quicksilver). My laptop has assumed room temperature, so routers are not an issue there, in fact let's not even talk about that.

I print wirelessly from my iMac (wired from the G4) to a wireless capable printer. My issue is my current router, a bargain from draft n model from Newegg, that went for $29.99 w/free shipping, a year and a half ago. It just keeps screwing up the wireless side, unless I recycle it every couple of days. If I don't cycle the router, making the wireless side work, a stooooooopit one line email from my iPhone can take as much as ten minutes, or more to send! Experience has taught me that this sort of behavior is a prelude to the router going completely south without further warning. So, I thought maybe this is a good time to replace this old Netgear with an Airport Extreme. I think the last update on the Airport Extreme was close to a year ago, so there may be some well founded rumor running around about an updated model to replace the current release.

Yep, I know that anyone that knows anything solid has signed an NDA, and the rest is BS, but, sometimes rumors can have a bit of credibility attached. I really don't want to wait until this old Netgear completely craps out before I get a replacement, so it's a fine line that I'm trying to walk.
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post #7 of 21
9/23/10 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

Zin,

I have the older AEBS at home and a newer dual band one at the office. The dual band one is awesome. My older AEBS doesn't seem to perform as well with an erratic signal strength.

Get the dual band AEBS.You can buy it now without much worry, I don't think anything new will be coming along for a while.

I'm looking at a refurbed Airport Extreme from the Apple Store because it saves me a cool $50 over the new model. Both have a one year warranty, unless you buy it with a new Mac and AppleCare, then you get 3 years of warranty which includes the router.

Thanks for the reply, it pretty much agrees with my own deductions, but it never hurts to ask.
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post #8 of 21
9/23/10 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

Mr. Confused, I'm more interested in whether or not there might be any scuttlebutt concerning updated model.

What would they change it to? It's already dual band and 802.11n. 50 users at a time, three gigabit Ethernet ports...

802.11ac won't be finalized for a few years. A new AirPort family is extremely unlikely.
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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post #9 of 21
9/23/10 at 3:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

What would they change it to? It's already dual band and 802.11n. 50 users at a time, three gigabit Ethernet ports...

802.11ac won't be finalized for a few years. A new AirPort family is extremely unlikely.

There are things that can be done to upgrade the Airport Extreme. Another Ethernet port, another USB port, web based access, the ability to run only one frequency band at a time, the list goes on. Maybe you aren't aware of the features that the competition is offering.
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post #10 of 21
9/23/10 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

There are things that can be done to upgrade the Airport Extreme. Another Ethernet port, another USB port, web based access, the ability to run only one frequency band at a time, the list goes on. Maybe you aren't aware of the features that the competition is offering.

I wouldn't expect another ethernet port... Apple prefers to think "wireless".
I also wouldn't expect another USB port ... Apple is about minimalist design, and they figure if you're part of the 1% that would use a second USB port, you can add a hub.
The Airport software (rather than browser-based) gives Apple the ability to provide software updates easily, and is more secure. I doubt they'll change that.
You CAN run one frequency if you like, the settings are all there in the Airport setup software.
Apple doesn't have any competition in the router market... they provide what they provide. They know windows folks won't buy it, they know bargain hunters won't buy it, but the customer base that DOES buy it would barely consider anything else.

That's just the way Apple seems to operate. I wouldn't expect any sort of "update" till there is a major feature to add, and there just isn't one right now.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #11 of 21
9/23/10 at 5:46pm
how long before this new "white noise" spectrum released by the FCC get to consumers?? this super wifi ???
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I APPLE THEREFORE I AM
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post #12 of 21
9/23/10 at 7:29pm
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Originally Posted by NOFEER View Post

how long before this new "white noise" spectrum released by the FCC get to consumers?? this super wifi ???

5 years at best.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #13 of 21
9/24/10 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post

I wouldn't expect another ethernet port... Apple prefers to think "wireless".
I also wouldn't expect another USB port ... Apple is about minimalist design, and they figure if you're part of the 1% that would use a second USB port, you can add a hub.
The Airport software (rather than browser-based) gives Apple the ability to provide software updates easily, and is more secure. I doubt they'll change that.
You CAN run one frequency if you like, the settings are all there in the Airport setup software.
Apple doesn't have any competition in the router market... they provide what they provide. They know windows folks won't buy it, they know bargain hunters won't buy it, but the customer base that DOES buy it would barely consider anything else.

That's just the way Apple seems to operate. I wouldn't expect any sort of "update" till there is a major feature to add, and there just isn't one right now.


I was merely pointing out to Mr. Confused what could be done to update the Extreme to better match the competition. One thing that it could use is a simple on/off switch, but I'm not holding my breath. Still, one never knows what features might be added, some of which might be attractive to me, such as the afore mentioned switch.

Since there are no update rumors flying about I'll probably order an Extreme in the next week or so.
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post #14 of 21
9/25/10 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

I was merely pointing out to Mr. Confused what could be done to update the Extreme to better match the competition. One thing that it could use is a simple on/off switch, but I'm not holding my breath. Still, one never knows what features might be added, some of which might be attractive to me, such as the afore mentioned switch.

Since there are no update rumors flying about I'll probably order an Extreme in the next week or so.


Whelp, I do'd it, it's ordered (refurbed model @ $129). Peace be upon me!
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post #15 of 21
9/25/10 at 5:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinfella View Post

Whelp, I do'd it, it's ordered (refurbed model @ $129). Peace be upon me!

I think you'll like it. The dual band model has been really nice IME. In fact I think I'll replace my one at home with a dual band model at some point in the near future.
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post #16 of 21
10/1/10 at 5:04am
How is the reliability of the AE routers? My TC (first generation) works great but I am thinking about ditching it for an AE or current generation TC. The dual-band and guest network features are highly attractive. I do use the TC for my TM backups. It is too bad that a HDD attached to the AE doesn't really work (so I have read).

I do weekly full clone backups but no incremental backups (hence the TM drive). I wanted the TC because I have a laptop and rarely connect it to a USB drive (almost the scenario SJ talked about when the TC was introduced).

I suppose that I could keep the TC as well as the AE? That would complicate the network...
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post #17 of 21
10/1/10 at 8:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by webpoet73 View Post

I suppose that I could keep the TC as well as the AE? That would complicate the network...

Not all that much... you could set one up as the primary and the other as a network extender.
Or leave the wireless part of the TC turned off and just use it as a network drive/wired router.
It would take a few extra minutes to set up, but once done it will "just work".

I have two set up similarly... (both older single band models)... as an extended network... provides much better coverage throughout the house and yard that way.
From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that!" -...
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post #18 of 21
4/6/11 at 9:17pm
Just went to buy one at amazon.com and they quote shipping as 1 to 2 months, when last week it was available immediately!

New model coming? Any word or analysis from the crowd here?
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post #19 of 21
4/7/11 at 4:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyDogHasFleas View Post

Just went to buy one at amazon.com and they quote shipping as 1 to 2 months, when last week it was available immediately!

New model coming? Any word or analysis from the crowd here?

There's nothing to update it to. 802.11ac won't be out until 2014, and it's not like Ethernet ports are going to get faster any time soon.

The only thing worth updating would be Time Capsule to a 3TB hard drive.
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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post #20 of 21
4/7/11 at 8:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

There's nothing to update it to. 802.11ac won't be out until 2014, and it's not like Ethernet ports are going to get faster any time soon.

The only thing worth updating would be Time Capsule to a 3TB hard drive.

Both of my units are older models. Both units are running the 7.5.2 firmware.

I'd like to see a faster processor and better heat dissipation. My primary AEBS is having heat related issues with the traffic I'm throwing at it. I've had to add a switch to the mix to offload some of the traffic processing so the unit won't over heat and lockup. I've also experienced low throughput issues b/t my primary AEBS and my bridged AEBS even in green 802.11n 5.0GHz mode.

I'm building a Windows/(virtual) M0n0wall ITX router box to handle primary traffic routing and then relegate the AEBS to Apple specific traffic duties.

2011 13" Core i5 Macbook Pro | Intel 520 SSD | 8GB Corsair DDR3 1333 | OSX 10.7
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2011 13" Core i5 Macbook Pro | Intel 520 SSD | 8GB Corsair DDR3 1333 | OSX 10.7
iPhone 4S - AT&T

iPad 3 Wi-Fi

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post #21 of 21
4/7/11 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AHrubik View Post

Both of my units are older models. Both units are running the 7.5.2 firmware.

I'd like to see a faster processor and better heat dissipation. My primary AEBS is having heat related issues with the traffic I'm throwing at it. I've had to add a switch to the mix to offload some of the traffic processing so the unit won't over heat and lockup. I've also experienced low throughput issues b/t my primary AEBS and my bridged AEBS even in green 802.11n 5.0GHz mode.

I'm building a Windows/(virtual) M0n0wall ITX router box to handle primary traffic routing and then relegate the AEBS to Apple specific traffic duties.

Only problem is, now that Apple's making their own chips, they'll want to use their own chips. Even an A4 is extreme overkill for managing a router, regardless of the incredibly low heat and power draw.
PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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PhilBoogie
That's Google alright. For a stupid company they sure do dumb things.
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