[puffin]

Now that I have the TiBook, I need to achieve a new level of cool, and therefore need to be wireless. The brand new airport set up seems like a rob job to me, like $750 CDN!!!! Can I do this with a PC wireless router and an airport card and save $250? Or, if anyone has this setup that they want to sell, send me an email at [email protected]. Or, should I just buy a hub for $30 and a pile of cat 5 cable?
Brian

 

[RicktheChemist]

.

 

[used to be jwoodget]

Wireless isn't just about being cool guys. It's a practical way of reducing the artificial constraints of ethernet jacks, cables, etc so you can work where you want to work. The first time you are sitting in an airport or hotel or Starbucks and access highspeed internet over wireless may seem really cool, but it's also useful! At home I only connect via Airport. Threading additional cat5 cables around makes no sense and my dog chews em....

You can get pretty good deals on third party wireless routers/base stations. Even Microsoft is getting into this game. The downside compared with an Airport BaseStation (which is definitely overpriced - its been at $450 since introduction) is in ease of set up and compatibility with some protocols (namely Rendevous and AOL). I would recommend looking into Linksys (cheap but no Mac support - admin is pretty easy though via a web interface), Asante and possibly Microsoft at the low end (although the MS product isn't available in Canada yet).

Get an Apple Airport card as this won't block your PCMCIA slot and also is protected inside the case. The slight downside is signal strength with the internal Apple card vs external cards like the Orinoco series.

As an aside, I see almost no difference in speed or quality of transmission over wireless compared to 10BaseT ethernet. The TiPB does have a poorer range than the iBook though. I've an ice (v2) basestation and have had no problems with it. It's connected to an 8 plug hub which is connected to a one port Linksys router connected to the cable modem. You can get 4 port wireless routers which allow the best of both worlds. The v2 Airport BS has one 10baseT LAN port in addition to the 100BaseT WAN uplink port so you could use it as a combo wireless/ethernet drop. If you search the Apple Support pages, there's a good PDF on "designing Airport networks".

 

[PosterBoy]

The AirPort base station is not over priced. If you look at the specs, it is a wireless router and it has a built in hardware based 56k modem. Wireless Router (300$) + External 56k Modem (150$) = Coolest Wireless Acces Point on the block (450$).

That said, I do wish they made one without the modem that was priced a little more reasonably.

Take a look at Asante and Farallon, they both make good quality products and wont shut you down if you have problems (a la Linksys). There really is no beating the ease of use/configuration of the ABS.

--PB

 

[Kosh]

I say if you have the cash, go wireless. There's nothing like being able to surf from your Powerbook anywheere in the house. Look Ma, no cables. Hey, you can even move around... go outside... it's tres cool...

I haven't had a problem with my first generation Airport Base Station (other than the time when it wouldn't work with Rogers, but Apple fixed that with a software/firmware update).

Hey, as someone mentioned, you can even surf the net while in the washroom. Not something I'd do.... I'm not that much of an internet junkie, I can actually leave my internet... well for a few minutes anyways.

 

[CubaMark]

Airport.... freakin' addictive! Can't get enough.

I've driven most of my friends, colleagues and the community net staff nuts with my WiFi rants (some have come around... we have a WiFi access point in the Community Net office now, hoping for more...).

You want cool? Nothing cooler than sitting on the heading-outta-town bus for the weekend, getting stalled in traffic in front of the local Apple reseller, and being able to check my mail. Toooooo sweet. One of the few times you'll hope for a traffic jam...

The xtra ethernet port and the modem are not to be sneezed at... especially if you ever plan to include a non-airport machine into your home network. If Apple's knock off a little bit on the price, they'd sell a whack of 'em. Wonder what their profit margin is on those things....

M.

 

[emceepj]

i'm sure everyone is tired of hearing me rant about how much i love my airport card, but what they don't know is at home i use 50 feet of ethernet cable. my place is a bachelor, so i just tuck the cord under my big rug and i'm fine. no tripping, nothing.

but my airport card is great for school since they have WiFi set up, so i can just bust out my ibook in the hallway and surf away. and teachers love it when i look up things while they're talking to help them out or prove them wrong. lol

and, in Vancouver anyway, there are a bunch of cafes/stores that have WiFi access thru a private company. so you pay for an hour, or a monthly plan or whatever and you can go out to your fave coffee place and surf away, which is fantastic if you don't wanna be restricted to your house all the time.

i guess my point is you don't NEED to buy the base. i have the card, and i'm doing fine. and i don't plan to buy the base any time soon. not on my student budget anyway.

so, that's my two cents. (deposited into your account wirelessly.)

Phil

 

[Heart]

Airport!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom !

See my specs. Though I have found not enouph hotels support it yet. But as CubaMark put it 'They will come around'

Wireless World