AirPort Express & AirTunes

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in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
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  • Reply 1 of 55
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    From www.maccentral.com



    Quote:

    Jobs unveils AirPort Express at "D" conference

    By Jim Dalrymple [email protected]

    June 07, 2004 1:00 pm ET



    Apple Computer Inc. CEO, Steve Jobs, on Tuesday aimed to further solidify his company's hold on the digital music market with the release of AirPort Express at the "D: All Things Digital" conference in San Diego. AirPort Express will act as a portable 802.11g base station for traveling, but it will also connect consumers' home stereo with their iTunes Music Library.



    "We looked at the most popular place people listen to their music," said Jobs during his keynote at "D." "The first place is on the computer; Second is the iPod; The third place is in the car -- right now the solutions out there aren't very good but we are working with some folks on that; the next place is in the home."



    Hosted by The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, "D" brings together the leaders of the digital revolution to discuss the most pressing issues in the digital arena. Speakers at this year's "D" conference include Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Carly Fiorina, Larry Ellison and others.



  • Reply 2 of 55
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Does this replace the Airport Extreme Base Station? It's less money and I don't see how it differs, other than having more features.
  • Reply 3 of 55
    agent302agent302 Posts: 974member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by iDave

    Does this replace the Airport Extreme Base Station? It's less money and I don't see how it differs, other than having more features.



    No it doesn't replace Airport Extreme. It's actually missing a couple features. It only supports up to 10 wireless connections (as opposed to 50 for the full fledged base station) and it's lacking the LAN port so that you can't use it as a router. And obviously it doesn't have a modem.



    http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/specs.html



    The part about it I like best is that I can use it to extend the range of my current network really easily. I have a AEBS without the antenna port, but with an Airport Express, it'll actually cost me less money (should I decide to get one), than the full AEBS and an antenna.
  • Reply 4 of 55
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    I hope this catches on. It's a great little thing they have there. I'll probably pick one up to connect to some new speakers soon enough. This is what I've been waiting for for my living room.
  • Reply 5 of 55
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Yeah it appears to have the same range as the big base station, but it doesn't have the antenna capability. I can see most home users getting this thing rather than the big base station. Good, the big base station has been too expensive for too long.
  • Reply 6 of 55
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by agent302

    No it doesn't replace Airport Extreme. It's actually missing a couple features. It only supports up to 10 wireless connections (as opposed to 50 for the full fledged base station) and it's lacking the LAN port so that you can't use it as a router.



    Please excuse my ignorance. What does a router do for you that this thing can't?
  • Reply 7 of 55
    cindercinder Posts: 381member
    All I can say is, holy crap.



    I hope this thing will be easily 'linkable' with my existing non-Apple wireless router.
  • Reply 8 of 55
    sunreinsunrein Posts: 138member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by agent302

    No it doesn't replace Airport Extreme... and it's lacking the LAN port so that you can't use it as a router.



    All that means is that it won't work as a wired router. Of course it's a router. It's a wireless router.
  • Reply 9 of 55
    agent302agent302 Posts: 974member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunrein

    All that means is that it won't work as a wired router.



    That's what I meant. So you can't use it in as the main base station in a mixed wired/wireless environment.



    For example, right now my computer is connected to my base station wirelessly while my roommates computer is connected to the Base Station through the LAN port. We couldn't do this with Airport Express.



    For my uses, Airport Express could be an excellent addition to the base station. If you don't need anything wired, then Express could be a replacement.
  • Reply 10 of 55
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Can the audio go both ways? i.e. can I play my iTunes on the stereo AND archive say, casette tapes or AM radio?(My recever has optical in and out.)
  • Reply 10 of 55
    othelloothello Posts: 1,054member
    how great is that for garden parties!



    laptop with party shuffle safely tucked away inside. a pair of speakers outside with one of these and an extension lead.



    and for my house of course...



    99 uk pounds is a bit but worth it i think



    apple are truly geniuses!
  • Reply 12 of 55
    sunreinsunrein Posts: 138member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by agent302

    That's what I meant. So you can't use it in as the main base station in a mixed wired/wireless environment.



    For example, right now my computer is connected to my base station wirelessly while my roommates computer is connected to the Base Station through the LAN port. We couldn't do this with Airport Express.



    For my uses, Airport Express could be an excellent addition to the base station. If you don't need anything wired, then Express could be a replacement.




    Just wanted to clarify for those that couldn't make the logical leap between wired/wireless routing.



    I've got a mixed environment myself with game consoles (xbox and ps2) that need wired connections. This will help out with getting music to the living room stereo and the bedroom stereo. So cool.
  • Reply 13 of 55
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    I've placed my order.
  • Reply 14 of 55
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunrein

    Just wanted to clarify for those that couldn't make the logical leap between wired/wireless routing.



    I've got a mixed environment myself with game consoles (xbox and ps2) that need wired connections. This will help out with getting music to the living room stereo and the bedroom stereo. So cool.




    Gimme an audio mini-jack on the standard Airport Base Stations and I'll be happy.



    All my stuff is one one unit: XBOX, Wega TV, DVD player, Stereo, ABS and netgear wired router.



    If regular Airport Base Stations had audio mini-jacks then I could just go straight to my stereo from the base station and share my music from my laptop at my desk.



    I can't quite justify Express for my setup. Too much redundancy just to get the audio functionality. So my main question is perhaps will all future Airport Base Stations also include audio mini-jacks? I think regular Airport Base Stations with audio mini-jacks could coexist happily without impacting sales of Express.



    It would be nice to know that when I do replace the Airport Base Station (I'm only using the dual ethernet version, not extreme), it'll have an audio jack.
  • Reply 15 of 55
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    Gimme an audio mini-jack on the standard Airport Base Stations and I'll be happy...So my main question is perhaps will all future Airport Base Stations also include audio mini-jacks?



    I suspect they will since Apple wants to take over the audio world with iTunes. I hope that we will eventually be able to play audio wirelessly with other applications such as DVD Player.
  • Reply 16 of 55
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    Can the audio go both ways? i.e. can I play my iTunes on the stereo AND archive say, casette tapes or AM radio?(My recever has optical in and out.)



    I would assume no, but wouldn't that be a killer feature?



    re: audio jack on future Aiport Extreme



    I wouldn't be surprised if it does get revised to have this at some point, but it's probably not a priority.
  • Reply 17 of 55
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    By the way, I do love the new Airport Express. My trying to justify it for my own setup isn't meant to denounce it.



    This is coming from a guy that uses a Sony 23 " Wega on it's back as a coffee table, with my iBook on it plugged into my stereo 4 feet away, while playing XBOX on the new Wega.



    For me wireless is more for the benefit of my roomates in other rooms/on other floors. I do browse while downstairs on my iBook but not often enough were it just for myself. But usually I'm 5 feet from the base station anyway.



    What I really really want is a wireless remote, exactly like a thin iPod, screen and scrollwheel, which has no music on it but merely reads playlists and library lists from chosen devices on the network, then lets me choose the output and lets me skip, pause etc remotely.



    So in conjunction to having all the various sound and music sources running through Express/ABS (with audio mini-jack) i'd have a way to control it all.



    Why go up stairs just to switch playlists or make a change on the computer? Kick back in the living room and control it from there on and AirTunes Remote. Somewhat like what Sonos is doing (sans color screen) but not really. Better.



    BTW I look forward to Apple suing them over the scrollwheel.
  • Reply 18 of 55
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Airport Express isn't for everyone but it's fantastic for those who want to surf on the couch while listening to iTunes through big speakers and be able to switch songs, adjust volume wirelessly. Wireless printing is an added bonus for those of us who will be upgrading from older base stations.
  • Reply 19 of 55
    Combine this, Salling Clicker, and a bluetooth phone, and you've got yourself a KICK ASS living room.
  • Reply 20 of 55
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Until a remote becomes available (guessing 3-6 months?), I suspect this will also help push more PB and iBook sales...since most are too damn lazy to get up and walk over to our desktops!
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