Apple Time Capsule MB764LL/A 500GB Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi All,
Please take a look at my review of the Dual Band Airport Extreme: Apple MB763LL/A AirPort Extreme Dual-band Base Station I have pasted it below this review for your convenience.
Since I have already reviewed the airport extreme, I will not go into details on the routing/wireless/speed options of this time capsule...they are the exact same product and I assure you, you can get great details from my review below.
Time Capsule remains as an exciting niche product that houses a hard drive in its body. The capsule can be purchased with a 500gb and or a 1TB hard drive. Note: the hard drive is not user servicable.
The primary reason for this device to exist was so that MAC users could easily backup their OS X machines using time machine directly to the router. For that it is the ultimate product.
Why then do I give it a 4 out of 5?
Simply because my experience with the hard drive has been that it regularly disconnects and drops connected users....which to me is a flaw when Time Machine is trying to backup my computer. Yes, I have restarted from scratch, reloaded the firmware, etc...but to no avail. I have also spoken to applecare and will be trying a replacement capsule in the days ahead to see if the problem can be alleviated.
I still give this a 4/5 due to my belief in the routing engine and software that sets up and maintains these devices. My review on the airport extreme base station will solidify my 4/5 reviews.
This product is worthy of a 5/5 review once the hard drive issues are ironed out. I hope I am alone in this problematic situation but time will tell. Ironically, my older time capsule has been running for about a year without any issues....so I am hopeful I have a one off problem.
As always, please leave me comments with suggestions, questions, etc.
Below is my review of the dual band Airport Extreme Base Station:
Hi All,
True to my gadget envy, I acquired one of these dual band extreme base stations to see if they held up to the hype. Sure enough, Apple has improved an old mediocre product with a new more powerful hardware engine and improved software abilities.
Features:
802.11 A/B/G/N DUAL Band radios at 2.4ghz and 5ghz simultaneously.
Gigabit Ethernet ports 1x Wan and 4x Lan.
Guest wireless network.
Disk sharing via USB connected drive.
Access to shared disk via MobileMe (apple mobile me subscribers on os x).
The box comes with the router, the power cord, software cd, and documentation....limited documentation.
Time to test.
Setup: Setup of an apple base station is unlike any other in that you cannot access the setup portal via your web browser. You must install the Apple Airport utility (both mac and windows) in order to set the router up. The software is built very well and provides the typical ease of use known to MAC users. You simply walk through a setup wizard and define simple options for your internet connection, your wireless network, etc, etc. NOTE: When setting up your wireless networks you are able to hit the options button so that you can define a 5ghz network as well (example, main wireless network called wifi, the 5ghz is called wifi (5ghz)). Very easy to setup and get going. You are also able to easily define a SECURED (wpa/wpa2) guest wireless network....which simply means that if you have a visitor they can use wi-fi but not get to any of the computers on your home network. Very Secure....and a great feature to boot.
I was using the old Apple Base Station and kept switching between it and a d-link wireless n router.... I got one of these primarily due to dual band and guest access.
Yes, there are other routers out there that can do this for a bit of a lower cost...but the elegance of the Apple Airport Utility make this a router that can be setup without too much hassle. The software will also identify problems in the setup and have you correct them before it uploads them to the router. These abilities alone make this a router for the non-geeks to be able to setup a robust networking environment at home.
Wireless: As I mentioned before, I am comparing this to an older model apple base station that was single band and worked in the N range. Also compared this against a D-Link DIR-655 which is a 2.4ghz Wireless N router. The section on speed below will detail my wireless experience.
Speed: I have Comcast cable modem service which gives me about 15-25mbps down and 2mbps up....I live in an area where there are probably 5-10 subscribers...so my speed is generally GREAT and never experiences a slow down. The first thing I do when I play with a new router is do a speed test....the new base station is comparable to the others and gets the same exact download/upload speeds over ethernet. There is one exception....using the wireless on this unit yielded BETTER results then the older model and the d-link. Normally when doing a speed test over wireless I get about 12-15mbps and 2mbps up....with this router I was able to successfully hit the 20mbps mark and 2mbps UP. WIN WIN!!!! So I figured that this may be an anomaly and thus proceeded to test a download from Microsoft - a 3.4gb file - which normally downloads anywhere between 900kpbs and 1.2mbps. Surprise.....with the new base station I stayed at 1.3mbps and it did not hiccup even once. The same was true when downloading via a wireless connection, albeit the speed was 1.0mbps....faster then I have ever gotten before. WIN WIN again!
Disk Sharing - Not much to be said here...I attached a Western Digital USB hard drive 320gb and shared it. You simply go into the Airport Utility software and setup sharing of the hard drive and define which password should be used. You can either use the password for the router or setup a separate password to use with Disk Sharing. Speed is dependent upon wired or wireless. I tested while transferring 3 files...one was 2mb one was 100mb and one was a 2.5gb file. The two mb file of course went over before I could blink...the 100mb transferred over in about 3-4 minutes...the 2.5gb took about 15 minutes. The first transfer test was with ETHERNET connectivity. I did the same tests over wireless and found that the times doubled...naturally since wireless is a bit slower I expected that and had no issue with the times.
Mobile-Me - I have not tested the mobile me features just yet but will be testing them in the days ahead and post my results here.
So far I feel this router has hit perfection and will now find a permanent spot in my home...at least until something better hits.
Please do leave me comments with suggestions on the review and or any questions you may have.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple Time Capsule MB764LL/A 500GB

Wireless hard drive that works seamlessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It's also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station Time Capsule works with Mac computers, PCs, iPhone, iPod touch, Apple TV, and virtually all 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi wireless devices all at the same time Protect yourself with the built-in firewall and industry-standard encryption technologies including WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP System Requirements - For Time Machine backup -Mac with Mac OS X Leopard / For setup and administration -Mac computer with Mac OS X v.10.4 or later, CD drive, and Ethernet or wireless networking capability; PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista, CD drive, and Ethernet or wireless networking capability / For wireless client access -Mac with AirPort or AirPort Extreme wireless capability; PC with 802.11a/b/g/n / For shared hard drive -Mac with Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later; PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista; Bonjour

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Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes (M9470LL/A) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, the directions stink, but there is hope for you Windows users. If you have the typical Windows wireless network setup (computer, router, laptop, access points, etc.), then follow these easy steps to get your AirPort up and running.
1. Before you go wireless, physically connect your AirPort to your router with an Ethernet cable. Plug in the AirPort, and wait until the LED turns solid green.
2. Start the AirPort Admin Utility for Windows. You now want to configure the AirPort to join your existing network "wirelessly". You should see the AirPort Base Station appear with its IP address in the Base Station Chooser.
3. In the lower right-hand corner, click on Configure... Click on the AirPort tab. In the "AirPort Network" section, Use base station to: "Join an Existing Wireless Network". Underneath that, type in your existing wireless "Network Name". You will be asked to change the password as well.
4. Click "Update" in the lower right-hand corner of the Configure window. Your AirPort will be restarted, and the LED should turn solid green again.
5. Finally, disconnect the AirPort from your router, and remove the connecting cable. You should NOW be able to plug in your AirPort anywhere to join your existing network.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes (M9470LL/A)

Enjoy your iTunes music library in virtually any room of your house. Share a single broadband Internet connection and USB printer without inconvenient and obtrusive cables. Create an instant wireless network on the go. Extend the range of your current wireless network. How many devices do you need to do all this? Just one.Presenting AirPort Express.Featuring AirTunes for playing your iTunes music wirelessly on your home stereo or powered speakers, AirPort Express brings not only the Internet but your music to wherever in your home you like to enjoy them most — whether you use a Mac or Windows PC. Unmatched in its ease of use, it delivers data rates up to 54 megabits per second, fits in the palm of your hand so you can take it wherever you go.

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Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 500 GB Storage) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using Time Machine since I upgraded to Leopard. While Time Machine is great for backing up my iMac, its a pain to have to hook up my Mac Book Pro and new Mac Book Air to an external hard drive. The Time Capsule is great for that. So long as my laptop is open and running, a backup can happen.
Make sure you remember to do your first backup using ethernet. Otherwise it is going to be slow. Apple does not want to bog down your network with backups, so when you are backing up wirelessly, it will intentionally throttle the connection sped.
This device also functions as a wireless router. I was able to remove my previous Air Port Extreme from the network. The large size is nice because you are able to share one large drive and backup several smaller computers. My iMac and laptop all backup just fine.
The device does run a little hot. The Best Way to Backup a Mac Laptop

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 500 GB Storage)

Introducing Time Capsule. Automatic wireless backup for your Mac. Time Capsule is a revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It automatically backs up everything, so you no longer have to worry about losing your digital life. Time Capsule is also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station. Every computer in your house can work off a wireless network at blazing speeds. And they can back up wirelessly to the same Time Capsule.

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Apple Airport Card - Network adapter - AirPort - 802.11b Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm using an Airport card with my iBook, and have been extremely impressed with the way it "just works". Part of the credit goes to the Mac OS X operating system of course, but such totally transparent ease of use is rare in any piece of consumer electronics.
There is one caveat: Apple's very newest machines come with slots for "Airport Extreme" instead. Since Airport Extreme cards are smaller (as well as faster), they aren't interchangeable with "classic" Airport cards. Whichever kind of Airport card your computer supports is what you need to get.
Should you wait to get a machine with Airport Extreme? Probably not, if you're ready to buy. Since even the older Airport cards are faster than any connection to the Internet you're likely to find, the extra speed is only really useful when transferring files between machines at home, or at the office.
I'm not quite sure what the "electronics fan" from Los Angeles is blithering about. On any recent machine from Apple, the Airport (or Extreme) card installs without an adapter. The last "special edition" iMacs came out about two years ago. All of the flat-panel iMacs with G4 processors take Airport cards without needing an adapter, or so says Apple's spec site.
As for Apple being a non-contender in wireless, the previous reviewer couldn't be more wrong. Not only were they the first to make widespread use of WiFi (802.11b aka Airport), they were first to market with 802.11g (Airport Extreme). And as far as criticising them because a computer needs an adapter to use a technology that didn't even exist when it was designed, well, be glad you can buy that $20 adapter instead of having to buy a whole new computer.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple Airport Card - Network adapter - AirPort - 802.11b

Apple Airport Card - Wireless Ethernet - 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b Type II PC Card Only Pulled p/n M7600LL/E, 630-2883 or 630-2883/C with 90 days warranty.

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Apple MB763LL/A AirPort Extreme Dual-band Base Station Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi All,
True to my gadget envy, I acquired one of these dual band extreme base stations to see if they held up to the hype. Sure enough, Apple has improved an old mediocre product with a new more powerful hardware engine and improved software abilities.
Features:
802.11 A/B/G/N DUAL Band radios at 2.4ghz and 5ghz simultaneously.
Gigabit Ethernet ports 1x Wan and 3x Lan.
Guest wireless network.
Disk sharing via USB connected drive.
Access to shared disk via MobileMe (apple mobile me subscribers on os x).
The box comes with the router, the power cord, software cd, and documentation....limited documentation.
Time to test.
Setup: Setup of an apple base station is unlike any other in that you cannot access the setup portal via your web browser. You must install the Apple Airport utility (both mac and windows) in order to set the router up. The software is built very well and provides the typical ease of use known to MAC users. You simply walk through a setup wizard and define simple options for your internet connection, your wireless network, etc, etc. NOTE: When setting up your wireless networks you are able to hit the options button so that you can define a 5ghz network as well (example, main wireless network called wifi, the 5ghz is called wifi (5ghz)). Very easy to setup and get going. You are also able to easily define a SECURED (wpa/wpa2) guest wireless network....which simply means that if you have a visitor they can use wi-fi but not get to any of the computers on your home network. Very Secure....and a great feature to boot.
I was using the old Apple Base Station and kept switching between it and a d-link wireless n router.... I got one of these primarily due to dual band and guest access.
Yes, there are other routers out there that can do this for a bit of a lower cost...but the elegance of the Apple Airport Utility make this a router that can be setup without too much hassle. The software will also identify problems in the setup and have you correct them before it uploads them to the router. These abilities alone make this a router for the non-geeks to be able to setup a robust networking environment at home.
Wireless: As I mentioned before, I am comparing this to an older model apple base station that was single band and worked in the N range. Also compared this against a D-Link DIR-655 which is a 2.4ghz Wireless N router. The section on speed below will detail my wireless experience.
Speed: I have Comcast cable modem service which gives me about 15-25mbps down and 2mbps up....I live in an area where there are probably 5-10 subscribers...so my speed is generally GREAT and never experiences a slow down. The first thing I do when I play with a new router is do a speed test....the new base station is comparable to the others and gets the same exact download/upload speeds over ethernet. There is one exception....using the wireless on this unit yielded BETTER results then the older model and the d-link. Normally when doing a speed test over wireless I get about 12-15mbps and 2mbps up....with this router I was able to successfully hit the 20mbps mark and 2mbps UP. WIN WIN!!!! So I figured that this may be an anomaly and thus proceeded to test a download from Microsoft - a 3.4gb file - which normally downloads anywhere between 900kpbs and 1.2mbps. Surprise.....with the new base station I stayed at 1.3mbps and it did not hiccup even once. The same was true when downloading via a wireless connection, albeit the speed was 1.0mbps....faster then I have ever gotten before. WIN WIN again!
Disk Sharing - Not much to be said here...I attached a Western Digital USB hard drive 320gb and shared it. You simply go into the Airport Utility software and setup sharing of the hard drive and define which password should be used. You can either use the password for the router or setup a separate password to use with Disk Sharing. Speed is dependent upon wired or wireless. I tested while transferring 3 files...one was 2mb one was 100mb and one was a 2.5gb file. The two mb file of course went over before I could blink...the 100mb transferred over in about 3-4 minutes...the 2.5gb took about 15 minutes. The first transfer test was with ETHERNET connectivity. I did the same tests over wireless and found that the times doubled...naturally since wireless is a bit slower I expected that and had no issue with the times.
Mobile-Me - I have not tested the mobile me features just yet but will be testing them in the days ahead and post my results here.
So far I feel this router has hit perfection and will now find a permanent spot in my home...at least until something better hits.
Please do leave me comments with suggestions on the review and or any questions you may have.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple MB763LL/A AirPort Extreme Dual-band Base Station

The sleek, easy-to-use AirPort Extreme Base Station with simultaneous dual-band support is the perfect wireless access point for home, school, or small business. It offers fast, 802.11n Wi-Fi access for Mac computers, PCs, and Wi-Fi devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV.

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Eye-Fi Explore X2 8 GB Class 6 SDHC Wireless Photo & Memory Uploads EYE-FI-8EX Review

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(More customer reviews)Update 6-25-10: Please see below this review for a question I answered about the EyeFi's Geotagging feature. Thanks.
First off, one limitation to this particular model forced me to return it:
This one does not transfer RAW images or transfer directly to a computer, this was MY FAULT because I didn't read.
I take RAW images so the one I need to get is the Eye-Fi X2 pro which will transfer RAW and directly to a computer via WiFi.
So, I took this out of the package and popped it into my laptop's SDHC slot and it asked me if I wanted to install the software. Simple install, took seconds. I configured the wireless router WPA2 security settings with ease and it was connected.
The Software lets you choose from 25 online companies to upload the pictures to, as well as the ability to simultaneously download to your computer (via your WiFi router, not directly from Camera to Computer).
I chose to download pictures and video to both my backup HDD and to [...]
I took it out and popped it into my Canon T2i which now has the Eye-Fi menu support, and took some pictures. The T2i immediately flashed the Eye-Fi connection icon and showed that it was transmitting. Within seconds, a popup from the tray icon on my computer indicated which file was being transfered with a thumbnail of it.
The 802.11n is alot faster than the previous model Eye-Fi card's b/g. When it finished transferring, I verified that it indeed uploaded to my MobileMe account and it was on my backup HDD. Then, Carbonite immediately took over and started backing up the pictures from my backup HDD to it's online backup servers.
So in a nutshell, I took the pics and without doing anything it uploaded to my MobileMe account and my External HDD. Then Carbonite backed up from my External HDD to it's online backup. Bamn, 4 copies (SDHC card, MobileMe, HDD, Carbonite) for secure, backed up pictures without really doing anything.
I love this. I will be getting the Eye-Fi X2 pro 8GB just for the RAW picture transfers and Ad-Hoc mode (Camera to Computer direct transfer). If you do not take RAW or you will be using your wireless router for the transfer, then the Explore X2 is fine.
UPDATE: I got 2 of the X2 Pro 8GB cards and wrote a review about it also.
UPDATE: I've been using this in my Compact Point-and-Shoot through some battery cycles and I have noticed a difference in battery life. Its significant enough for me to take notice, I am getting about 2/3 the battery life by using this Eye-Fi. That is understandable I guess because it is transmitting via WiFi.
Also, the card does get much hotter than a standard SDHC card so it does start to warm up the camera more than usual. This shouldn't affect anything.
So be aware that this will shorten battery life, carry a spare and make sure both are fully charged before going out to take pictures.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Eye-Fi Explore X2 8 GB Class 6 SDHC Wireless Photo & Memory Uploads EYE-FI-8EX

Eye-Fi Explore X2. The 8GB Eye-Fi Explore X2 wirelessly uploads photos & videos directly to your computer or favorite sharing site. Get Class 6 speed enhanced by 802.11n wireless capabilities. Map your adventures with automatic geotagging, plus upload on the go with hotspot access. Get the 8GB Eye-Fi Explore X2 Class 6 SDHC memory card.

Get 18% OFF

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Apple M8799LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port Review

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(More customer reviews)Got this primarily so we could work anywhere in the house on our PC laptops. Granted, a Linksys wireless router would have been cheaper, but the Airport Extreme also serves as a wireless print server and that (plus the fact that our primary computer is a Mac) was what sealed the deal for us. Our cabling setup is:
Cable modem -> Linksys Wired 4-Port Router -> Airport Extreme -> Lexmark Optra E312L
Our laptops use Linksys Wireless-G cards and get good reception throughout the house. Our G4 and PS2 are hooked directly into the wired Linksys Router for their connectivity. The trick to using it with an existing router is to turn off the NAT addressing feature of the Airport Extreme so that it acts only as an Ethernet "bridge" to the wireless computers; the Linksys router assigns all the IP addresses for everything on the system including the PC laptops. The PCs can print wirelessly to the laser printer via the Airport and so can the Mac. Bonus!
Setup was very quick - about 15 minutes to get everything plugged in. The hard part was getting the security set up correctly (and yes, you'd better secure your wireless network) as the format for passwords was different on the Mac vs. PC platforms. Had to do some Web searches to find out how to make them speak the same language (hex). Has worked flawlessly since then. If I had to do it over, would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple M8799LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port

The AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port is compatible with the industry-standard 802.11b wireless networking protocol, which means all AirPort products, as well as Wi-Fi certified 802.11b wireless products. For higher performance you will need to have both the Airport Extreme Card and the AirPort Extreme Base Station. The range of AirPort Extreme is up to 50 feet at 54 Mbps and up to 150 feet at 11 Mbps. The Base Station can be used in conjunction with an Ethernet connection (such as with a cable modem, DSL modem, or Ethernet network) through the integrated Ethernet port, or with a telephone line through a modem.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port also supports USB or Ethernet wireless printer sharing. Just plug in a compatible USB or Ethernet printer and with Mac OS X on your computer you can quickly and easily print. You can use the new USB port to attach a USB printer or use the 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN port to plug in an Ethernet printer directly into the base station.
With the new AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port, up to 50 users can work and play on the Internet simultaneously up to 150 feet away from an Ethernet connection or a phone line. The Base Station comes equipped with a built-in firewall to protect sensitive data on your computer and the ability to secure transmissions with support for 128-bit encryption.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station with Modem and Antenna Port lets you manage the range of your wireless network. An external antenna port is provided for you to attach an external antenna. There are two types of antennas available: an omni-directional and a directional, which extend the range of the AirPort Extreme base station. There is also a software feature that allows you on reduce the size of your wireless network, down to just a single room for extra privacy.

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Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station - Wireless access point - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet - 802.11b/g Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using Linksys BEFW11S4 802.11b router for few years now. Other than somewhat short range, it has never let me down. After looking at cheaper alternatives, I bought the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as my second WiFi router.
Pros:
- Looks really really really cute... and small, too
- Better signal strength than Linksys BEFW11S4
- Innovative USB printer support
- Superb AirPort Admin Utility and tight Mac OS X integration
- Bridging with other WiFi station via WDS (for expanding the range)
- Wall mountable (comes with wall mounting kit)
- AOL and RADIUS server support
Cons:
- Susceptible to signal loss (i.e., when using the microwave oven)
- Pricier than most 802.11g router
- No web-based configuration interface
- Only 1 LAN port
When you run the AirPort Admin Utility for the first time, it might detect an older firmware and proceed to upgrade itself automatically (if you let it, of course). The new firmware (5.0.4 as I write this) fixes WiFi connection drop issue. For some strange reason, the problem persisted until I manually downloaded and uploaded the latest firmware. I've tinkered with the channel selection to get the optimum results. Running the microwave oven may cause WiFi connection to drop still, however.
The AirPort Admin Utility is a pleasure to use, which is also full of features. Among the options are choosing among 11 WiFi channels; operating in 802.11b, 802.11g or mix mode; setting the transmission power from 10 to 100%; setting up Internet via DHCP, static IP, PPPoE, or AOL DSL; and mapping ports. You can improve security via 40-bit or 128-bit WEP, create a closed network by hiding SID (Station ID), and add access control (MAC address filtering).
By the way, if you are running Windows, go to Apple's web site and download the AirPort Admin Utility for Windows. It does not specify AEBS, but trust me... it works.
Oh, did I mention how beautiful AEBS is? I tucked my ugly Linksys where no one can see (which probably hinders WiFi broadcast), but not so with AEBS. Located on the front are beautiful metallic Apple logo and three graphite status indicators (WiFi, power, and Ethernet). Located on the rear are reset button, 100/10BASE-T WAN port, 100/10BASE-T LAN port, USB printer port, and AC power adapter port (very long power cable is included). If you need more than one LAN port, you will need to mate AEBS with an Ethernet hub.
The signal level's stronger than Linksys BEFW11S4. I get full signal virtually everywhere in my apartment, including those where Linksys frequently gave up. If you need greater range (larger house), consider bridging ABES with another ABES via built-in WDS support (Wireless Distribution System) or purchase ABES with Modem and Antenna Port (and one of few external ABES antennas available).
Finally, I must mention its built-in USB printer port. Hookup one of many supported printers via USB and you will be able to print wirelessly via Mac OS X's Rendezvous feature. Neat!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station - Wireless access point - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet - 802.11b/g

Apple's AirPort Extreme wireless networking products lets you surf the Internet from almost anywhere in your home or business, and enables schools to provide Internet access to multiple students without installing expensive cabling. It's a snap to exchange files or play multiplayer games at data transfer rates of up to 54 megabits per second (Mbps). And because AirPort Extreme uses radio waves for communication, it can even work through walls.The Airport Extreme Base Station is compatible with Airport Extreme network cards.

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Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A Review

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(More customer reviews)I own an iMac G5, a Nintendo Wii, an Airport Express, a Nintendo DS, a HP Printer, and an XBox 360, and this thing works flawlessly with all of them. I can't speak for Windows based PC's, but the Airport Extreme was a breeze to setup on the Mac. The new Airport layout does most of the work for you and all you have to do is click when it tells you to. So simple a caveman could...well, you know.
*One note: If you install it, it says its working, but you're still not on the internet, then restart your cable provider's box and when it comes back on you'll be up and running. This didn't happen to me, but it did happen to a friend of mine. Just thought I'd pass the word.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Gigabit) MB053LL/A

AirPort Extreme Base Station - now with Gigabit Ethernet. Blazingly fast and secure, the Wi-Fi base station offers the perfect solution for home, school, and business. It sets up in minutes on Mac computers or PCs, and even supports your Wi-Fi devices such as iPhone and Apple TV, so you can surf the web, send email, exchange photos, and share a printer or hard drive. Featuring next-generation 802.11n wireless technology, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the range of networks created with the earlier 802.11g standard. The AirPort Extreme Base Station is based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification and is compatible with IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. Actual performance will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors. Range will vary with site conditions.

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D-Link DWL-G820 Wireless Gaming Adapter, 802.11g, 108Mbps Review

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(More customer reviews)I decided to upgrade to a better and newer wireless setup. I previously had a dell wireless router and internal wireless card for the laptop. I purchased the D-Link DI-624 because it is XBOX LIVE compatible and could not resist the Xtreme G features. I decided to also go with the DWL G650 for the laptop and the DWL G820 for my XBOX. The Router was not that bad to configure but I was getting several drops from the Xbox Live server while playing Halo 2, from a wired Xbox. Two phone calls to tech support and problem fixed, internet was working on the desktop, and XBOX LIVE was stable. I aslo got the laptop to work with the G650 adapter and I'm getting speeds within my network of 108.0mbps, wheather I'm on the first floor or basement.
Now for the DWL G820. All I had to do was change a few default settings to match my wireless connection setup, through the adapters setup wizard and thats was it. I get a very strong connection while playing Halo 2 even if my brother on the third floor is on at the same time in a differnet match room. Now I do experience lag when anybody else starts to download music or large files, but it stops when they're done. I share my internet connection with 2 desktops, 2 xbox's, and one laptop and I'm still able to get very strong signal. Two thumbs up.

Click Here to see more reviews about: D-Link DWL-G820 Wireless Gaming Adapter, 802.11g, 108Mbps

Elevate your game to the next level with wireless connectivity. The D-Link DWL-G820 Gaming Adapter is the ultimate addition to your gaming gear! Enable 802.11g wireless connectivity to any Ethernet-enabled game console and engage in high speed online gaming -- simply configure the Wireless Gaming Adapter through its easy-to-use Web utility to configure and connect to your existing wireless network. With speeds that are 15x faster than standard 802.11b, enjoy the freedom of fast wireless gaming today!

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Apple Time Capsule MC343LL/A 1TB Sim DualBand Review

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(More customer reviews)Going on three months of use. I do wonder about some of the posts about this thing dying after 18 months as this particular model (dual band) has not been in existence that long...
As a router, this thing is tops. Used it to replace a Linksys N router. I get much better range and much faster data now on my macbook. Before, in my bedroom, less than 50 ft away from my router, I couldn't watch standard def Hulu videos at all. Now I can stream high def videos without any delays or pauses. Part of it is because I also have G devices (Wii, iphones, etc) and the old linksys was forced to operate on that slower frequency. This thing effectively gives you a separate G router and N router- so my macbook finally can operate at full N speed but still provide service to older devices. This thing smokes the linksys in range and speed.
As a time capsule it works. I backup my iMac and my Macbook to it. I had a Seagate drive before that died after 9 months. So now I have a time capsule and another external hard drive, I rotate between the two to have redundant data for WHEN one of them fails. All Hard drives fail at some point. I do wonder about heat, there's no fan, but it never gets very hot to the touch.
Very happy with it so far.

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Time Capsule is a backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. It automatically backs up everything, so you don t have to worry about losing your digital life. Time Capsule is also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station. Every computer in your house can work off a wireless network at blazing speeds. And they can back up wirelessly to the same Time Capsule. What's in the Box : Time Capsule, CD with AirPort Utility (Mac and Windows), AirPort Disk Utility for Windows, Bonjour for Windows, Power cord, Printed and electronic documentation.

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Apple M8881LL/A AirPort Extreme Card Review

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(More customer reviews)The beauty of Apple is the simplicity of their products - the Mac, the iPod, everything just works without having to consult Carl Sagan, Neil Armstrong or Miss Cleo.
A note to those wanting to go wireless with an older computer: The Airport Card and the Airport Extreme Card are two different critters. They look different and this card will not work on older Macs fitted for the standard Airport card. Apple doesn't even sell the old Airport cards anymore. If you have an older Mac and want to get more speed, you cannot hotwire it to do more with the newer card - you'll just blow a gasket on your Mac.
If you're adding a new computer to your existing Airport-based network and are underwhelmed by the performance, you may be using an original Airport Base Station - these older models maxxed out at 11bps, where the new ones max out at 54bps - a nearly 500% increase in network access speed.
This is NOT the model to get for a Mac Mini. The Mac Mini has a different form factor and has a slot for a special Airport & Bluetooth combo card that this card will not work with.
Installation is a snap - literally. Pop it into place and attach the antenna cord and you've got WiFi. I installed one of these on my older 1Ghz iBook G4 and instantly saw all the wireless networks in my neighborhood. Viva la Macintosh!

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The AirPort Extreme Card allows your AirPort Extreme-enabled Mac to communicate with local AirPort Extreme networks or other Wi-Fi certified 802.11b or 802.11g networks, including earlier versions of Apples AirPort Base Station. AirPort Extreme-enabled computers that join an AirPort or other 802.11b wireless network can achieve data rates up to 11 Mbpsthe maximum allowed by 802.11b. For higher data rates, you need both the AirPort Extreme Card installed in an AirPort Extreme-ready computer and an AirPort Extreme Base Station. AirPort Extreme provides a range up to 50 feet at 54 Mbps and up to 150 feet at 11 Mbps for AirPort Extreme-enabled computers. This AirPort Extreme Card is not compatible with the Mac Pro or the Power Mac G5 Dual and Power Mac G5 Quad computers.

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Apple Airport Express Review

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(More customer reviews)August 22, 2009 Update
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The software that comes with new Airport Expresses is much more user friendly. You may find going through the instructions listed below is not required.
Regards,
S. Monroe
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The CD that comes with the Airport Express has been useless to me in setting up a Windows XP computer to work with an AE. The instructions below should get you up and running.
1. First download the latest version of both the Airport Update and Airport Express Firmware Updater from [...]
2. Run the latest version of the Airport Update (4.1 at the time of this writing)
3. Disable your firewalls, plug in the Airport Express (AX) to an electrical outlet and attach it to your computer or router with an ethernet cable. The AX will have a steady or blinking yellow light.
4. Launch the Airport Admin Utility...it should detect the Airport Express in the "Base Station Chooser" within a minute or so and the light on the AX should turn green. You may have to hard reset the unit a few times by pushing the small reset button with a paperclip for about 10 seconds. If, like mine, it does not show up in the Airport Admin Utility leave the AX attached by ethernet and reboot, launch the Airport Admin Utility, and hopefully it will show up quickly.
5. As soon as it does show up, launch the latest Airport Express Firmware Updater (I used 6.1.1) and update the AX...this seemed to make a significant difference in the ease of detection later. This will take a minute or so. The AX will reset and you may have to leave it attached by ethernet, reboot, and relaunch the Airport Admin Utility to detect it again.
6. Once detected by the Airport Admin Utility, click the "Configure" button in the lower right hand corner.
7. A new set of tabs will pop up. Click on the "Airport" tab and select "Create Wireless Network" from the Airport Network dropdown box. This will be changed to "Join an Existing Wireless Network" later.
8. Now click on the "Network" tab and and check the "Distribute IP Addresses", the "Share a single IP address" button, and from IP range drop down list choose the IP range for your router (192.168.x.x being the most common for Dlink, lynksys, Netgear, and other non-Apple routers).
9. Go back to the "Airport" tab and change the "Create a Wireless Network" to "Join an Existing Wireless Network".
10. In the "Network Name" box type in the name of your wireless network (also called your SSID)
11. On the same page rename your AX to whatever you want it to be called in iTunes (often the physical location of the speakers the AX will be attached to, ex: Living Room, Bedroom, Ambient Sound), give it a new password (required), and give it a location.
12. If you are using security click on the security button, choose your encryption settings, and add your WEP key or password, etc. It might be handy to have your router security info open in a window so you can copy and paste the key right into the appropriate box.
13. If you now go back to the "Network" tab you will see everything is greyed out but now your new IP Range settings are visible.
14. With the AX still attached by etherlink, click the "Update" button and wait a minute or so for the AX to update. The changes you made should be reflected in the Airport Admin Utility when the update is complete.
15. Now you can launch iTunes and you should see a button in the lower right hand corner that says "My Computer". Click this button and you will see you have the choice of your computers speakers or the AX. Any further changes you want to make to the configuration such as the name you see in that button are easiest done while attached by ethernet so try to get it the way you want it with further Airport Admin Utility updates before unplugging the ethernet cable. As long as your Airport Admin Utility can see the AX you can update without being connected too.
16. When you are satisfied with the configuration and the AX is updated and is showing up in iTunes go ahead and unplug the ethernet cable. Now you can move The AX to your chosen locations electrical outlet, and hook up the audio cable. The AX light will blink yellow for a few minutes while being detected and then turn green. You can now choose your AX in iTunes and start playing your music as normal. Itunes will show it is busy connecting to the AX for about 30 seconds and then hopefully you will hear your music played from your remote speakers. I hope pulling this information together helps someone a little. Let me know if I missed something and I will update asap. Good Luck!

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Now with blazing 802.11n, the affordable AirPort Express is powerful enough to run a home Wi-Fi network, yet small enough to take on the road. Share your wireless network with up to 10 users, print documents, photos, and more from any room in the house to one central printer, play iTunes music through your stereo or powered speakers using AirTunes, and more.

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Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual-Band) (MC340LL/A) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ah jeez, what can I say. I can do most anything with a computer, Apple or PC, but when I try to configure a network, gremlins keep any of it from working. When my Netgear "lost its settings" spontaneously, they were kind enough at technical support to offer to fix it for me for 99 bucks. When I declined they offered up that I might go to their website for support tips. But I had spent too many hours when I first bought that router, I was done. So I purchased this router and it is just like other reviewers have said: plug it in, stick in the disk, answer a few simple questions, and it's done. THIS is how consumers LIKE computers to work. Bemoan the higher price tag if you want, but I will pay a little extra for things that just do their dang job and don't aggravate me NEEDLESLY!

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The sleek, easy-to-use AirPort Extreme Base Station with simultaneous dual-band support is the perfect wireless access point for home, school, or small business. It offers fast, 802.11n Wi-Fi access for Mac computers, PCs, and Wi-Fi devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV.

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Belkin Wireless-G Router DSL/Cable Gateway Review

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(More customer reviews)I think this router might be getting a bad rep on the wireless end, because it comes with a proprietary setting enabled by default that I think does more harm than good. If you have this router and are getting intermittent or no wireless connectivity, and you've verified all your settings are right, try this.
This router (Belkin model F5D7230-4, and other models) has a (proprietary?) feature called "Protected Mode". The default setting on this model (at least the one I got), unlike other models, has that mode set to "Auto" under the Wireless settings, which I take to mean "on". So turn it off. It's wonky, because even tho it's a proprietary feature, there is NO documentation in the router's online "Help" section. However, it IS described in the user's manual:
"As part of the 802.11g specification, Protected mode ensures proper operation of 802.11g clients and access points when there is heavy 802.11b traffic in the operating environment. When protected mode is ON, 802.11g scans for other wireless network traffic before it transmits data. Therefore, using this mode in environments with HEAVY 802.11b traffic or interference achieves best performance results. If you are in an environment with very little--or no--other wireless network traffic, your best performance will be achieved with Protected mode OFF."
Okay, so if it works best off, why does it ship in "Auto" mode? Turn it off. On other models, by default it does ships with the feature "off".Basically, I recommend setting this router up as simply as possible, but still having wireless encryption, of course.. So here are my further recommendations for setting this up. There's another (proprietary?) feature called "Turbo" mode. Again, no description of this on the interface itself, but it is described in the manual:
"Turbo mode is enabled by default. It allows the Router or Access Point to use frame bursting to deliver the maximum throughput, 2 times faster than any standard 802.11g equipment, to 802.11g clients. This measurement is based on aggregate throughput in a mixed 802.11b and 802.11g environment. Belkin 802.11g clients with the latest driver will support Turbo mode. Clients that do not support Turbo mode will operate normally with it enabled."
Again, I recommend turning it off. I also recommend deleting "Belkin Router" from the "domain" section under (I think) LAN settings, just keeping that field blank, and leaving wireless Channel as Auto (default choice, which normally goes to Channel 11 in the USA). And, as with any wireless rouer, you DEFINITELY want to put in a new wi-fi network name (SSID). Change the default SSID to something impersonal, but still unique. Further recommendations are keeping the thing well-ventilated, such as propping it up (securely) at an angle so air flows below it, above, and around the sides, and adjust the antenna of course then so it is vertical. Another thing I did was to turn Range Extension on, but I'm not sure that's necessary or if it just creates unnecessary heat, but since my friend was across the country, I was trying to pull out all the stops.
I chose this router for a friend (who purchased it on their own, and then I set it up). I chose it because it was the cheapest one in the store, and Belkin is a generally respected name when it comes to all their equipment (if often having the reputation of being a little expensive), and my past knowledge of their reputation with routers was good. Even though they don't make them themselves, but farm them out to others, their choices in the past have been good.
I initially set the router up at my home. I noticed that I had trouble connecting using Vista's wireless connection wizard, and I hate wizards and Vista's "wow" crap in general, so I got frustrated and found a "connect manually" choice, which was a whole lot easier for me, and after that, I was able to connect fine wirelessly for that time I was setting it up. However, my friend took it home and reported back that the laptop wasn't connecting, then it did, and then it stopped after a few minutes. Only then did I come to Amazon and read the reviews, where I saw so many others having similar issues. I suspected Protected and/or Turbo modes, so I did a little research, which confirmed my suspicions. I read a review of a similar Belkin router, the following excerpt summing it succinctly: "[Protected Mode] seems to make the network invisible to wireless devices you may be trying to set up for the first time".
With my friend having gone home (across the country), I was relieved to find this router has a remote admin mode (called Remote Management in the router). I learned this by downloading the User Manual. The manual doesn't have great screen shots, and my friend is not tech-savvy, but after only moderate pain, I had them successfully enable Remote Management, and tell me the WAN IP address (which, strangely enough, is nowhere to be found under WAN Settings--you have to go to the "Home" page of the interface, and it tells you there). I was then able to plug their WAN IP address into my browser, and wham--I'm signing in and configuring their router from across the country (we had set up an Admin Password together before leaving--very important).
So after disabling Protected and Turbo modes remotely, and doing my other recommendations above, my friend's laptop then connected immediately and automatically, with no action on their part (I had originally set up the laptop with the router when my friend was here). The connection now seems reliable and strong. My friend commented that it seemed fast. I think this is a good router for a beginner or someone who wants to purchase & config it for a less-advanced user. First, it looks cool in person, which means a surprising amount to newbies (frustratingly), but more importantly, the interface is very easy to understand, and well laid-out and not intimidating or illogical, unlike some of D-Link's later interfaces. Part of that is the logical layout itself. Some part of that is the absence of a lot of advanced features most people will never use, such as being able to tweak the Beacon and Broadcast Interval settings on wireless. However, the truly important advanced features seem to be there, such as MAC address filtering (both wired and wireless, where some routers won't let you filter wired MAC addies), Remote Admin, and the standard fare. The only thing I noticed that i'd like to see would be an option to completely disable the radio from the interface (because apparently the antenna is non-removable/non-upgradeable), but then again, you CAN set the radio to not broadcast its SSID (network name).
I liked this router enough that I only half-jokingly offered to my friend to trade my current router for this one--an offer which was promptly declined! :)
The router has 4 or 5 wired network ports in the back. It feels very lightweight. I didn't see any holes for airflow or heat management and it does not stand on its side, which is why I recommended leaning it against something on an angle (airflow is an issue on most home routers). The LED light array on the front seemed less obnoxious than D-Link's. For wi-fi encryption, I chose WPA-PSK. The password field is less confusing than some other brands, and it lets you choose either a hexadecimal or plain-text password, and it doesn't make you fill up all 64 or 128 characters, unlike some other brands I've seen IIRC, which can ironically make for a more complex password in some cases, because people can pick a long phrase they can actually remember. The passphrase we chose was long and plain-text, but did not use all the characters allowed, and it worked just fine with the Vista laptop.Further recommendation: if you're not a newbie, you'll know you don't have to run that silly "installation CD" that comes with the router. They REALLY encourage you to run the CD before you do ANYTHING, even before plugging in the router. It is obviously aimed at trying to cut down on the amount of tech support calls, which in spirit is a good idea. However, this gives new users the impression that routers need some kind of "driver" to work properly on a computer, which isn't true. Although the CD is probably nothing more than a glorified Computer-Based Training session, I wish they'd just provide a real manual instead (they do provide a paper Quick Start Guide). However, newbies will probably appreciate the interactive guidance and it does sound like a good idea for them. I don't know how many other companies are doing this now (nothing similar came with the 2 other routers I've bought, although the second one did have a "Wizard" built into the interface), but this could be a value-added feature for beginners who don't have a generous computer-savvy friend.
The default gateway address for this router is 192.168.2.1, not the traditional ~.0.1. This is good, because most DSL and cable modems are now selfishly commandeering ~.0.1. Another good thing is that I was able to do either all or almost all interface functions in Mozilla (Firefox of Seamonkey) browsers. I think there may have been one screen where I needed to switch to IE, though; I can't remember. I know that tonight when I did remote admin for my friend, I didn't have any problem. I made a bookmark for 192.168.2.1 in my friend's Mozilla browser before leaving, and named it "Router". This way, I could just tell them to drop down Bookmarks, and choose "Router" when the inevitable tech support call came.
I didn't bother updating the firmware, because I usually don't mess with firmware unless something's not working right--and I almost did so tonight in attemt to solve the wireless problem. Since updating firmware usually resets all previous settings (and often,...Read more›

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CREATES A NETWORK IN HOME OR OFFICE WITHOUT CABLES OFFERS BACKWARD-COMPATIBILITY WITH ALL 802.11B DEVICESAUTOMATICALLY DETECTS INTERNET SETTINGS & SELF-ADJUSTS ROUTER TO GET USER ONLINE IN UNDER 3 MIN54 MBPS WIRELESS 64- & 128-BIT WEP ENCRYPTION ENSURES DATA & NETWORK SECURITYNAT & SPI FIREWALL PROTECTS NETWORK FROM OUTSIDE INTRUSIONS BY HACKERSWORKS WITH MAC& PC COMPUTERSINCLUDES WIRELESS G ROUTER POWER SUPPLY USER MANUAL QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE RJ45 NETWORKING CABLE & SOFTWARE CD LIFETIME WARRANTY

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