[Senna4ever]

Anyone here using Apple's Airport Express, Airport Extreme or Time Capsule? Are they reliable, and work as advertised?

[.Renn.Sport]

they are just standard wireless routers

[underscore]

more of Apples sneakiness by selling normal things with obscure names.

[CRS]

Get yourself a d-link 655.

I have a mac and I don't buy anything that I don't need. Unless you're a trend following loser, there is no need to buy everything mac for your mac.

[roastpuff]

I use the Time Capsule to run Time Machine backups for our 4 Macs... quite useful! :) Also works as a regular storage/file server. Quite reliable, though sometimes it pops up with a DNS server issue.

I want to upgrade the HDD though. 500GB is not enough when you have 4 Macs! Hehe.

So yes, they work as advertised.

[!MiKrofT]

I don't consider any backup system with a single drive that reliable.

[!Aznboi128]

I use airport extreme, works well, it's dual band so there's no interference. I got a macbook pro, a iMac, a mac mini, ps3, wii, 360, and a three other pcs.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Senna4ever]

I was going to start looking for a new router, as mine is an old one. Of course the Apple products are not the only ones I'm looking at. The Time Capsule is supposed to use a server grade HD, but it apparently runs a bit hot, which may affect long time reliability. The Airports also seem to use high grade components. The price is not an issue, because I get wholesale pricing from Apple at work.

[underscore]

yeah but whats the wholesale pricing on an Apple product vs every other company?

[Senna4ever]

yeah but whats the wholesale pricing on an Apple product vs every other company?
What? Do you mean mark-up percentage? That would depend on the product...it's shitty on the Macs, but better on the Airport, iPods & accessories.

[underscore]

I'm talking about the wholesale price you get on the Apple products, vs whatever wholesale/retail price you get on another brand. I know any apple product costs a lot more than it's really worth but is it apple or the retailers doing this?

[SkinnyPupp]

I was going to start looking for a new router, as mine is an old one. Of course the Apple products are not the only ones I'm looking at. The Time Capsule is supposed to use a server grade HD, but it apparently runs a bit hot, which may affect long time reliability. The Airports also seem to use high grade components. The price is not an issue, because I get wholesale pricing from Apple at work.
Do you not get wholesale prices on other products?

Don't get sucked in man. I've seen some very good people turn into complete assholes/Apple freaks.

[Senna4ever]

I'm talking about the wholesale price you get on the Apple products, vs whatever wholesale/retail price you get on another brand. I know any apple product costs a lot more than it's really worth but is it apple or the retailers doing this?

It's industry wide. Mark-up on computers can be as low as 2% on the PC side. Macs are a bit better because you are forced to sell at a certain price, but not by much. Accessories can be marked up much more. That Firewire cable you buy at Futureshop for $29.99 actually cost them way less.

[Senna4ever]

Do you not get wholesale prices on other products?

Don't get sucked in man. I've seen some very good people turn into complete assholes/Apple freaks.
I can, but we're not an authorized dealer for other brands per se, although we are able to special order Toshiba, Sony, & HP. We are an authorized Apple dealer though. I'm just trying to keep an open mind. In the end I'll get whatever product that best suits my needs.

I'm sensing a general negativity towards Apple here...? An Apple fanatic is no different from a Windows fanatic. You just get the system that you like best.

[underscore]

It's industry wide. Mark-up on computers can be as low as 2% on the PC side. Macs are a bit better because you are forced to sell at a certain price, but not by much. Accessories can be marked up much more. That Firewire cable you buy at Futureshop for $29.99 actually cost them way less.

What I figured. So it is Apple that chooses to charge an inflated price for the same hardware. I know the markup on accessories is rediculous, never buy wires retail.

I'm sensing a general negativity towards Apple here...? An Apple fanatic is no different from a Windows fanatic. You just get the system that you like best.

The thing about Apple fanatics is generally they know nothing about the actual technology. Like my friend who told me to buy a Mac because itunes crashed my PC and didn't understand why I laughed at her. Or the other one that told me to buy a Mac and use Safari because it's secure and Macs don't get viruses.

This is why Apple uses nonsense terms like "Airport Express" for their router. It's just a damn router, and a Mac will work with any other router just fine, but these clowns slap some made up name on it with their logo and double the price. That's BS. Personally I wouldn't have such a strong dislike for Apple if they didn't base all of their advertising/marketing on deceiving people who aren't tech savvy and boosting profits with stupid markups.

[Senna4ever]

Yeah, Apple's advertising can suck in the less technical, I agree, and people do buy them based on their looks. You can't deny that their Mac Pro and Macbook Pro line are good products though for the creative professional. I bought my Macbook Pro because there simply wasn't anything better in the 17" workstation class range of laptops for my $3000 budget cap. I was close to getting an HP Elitebook, but they got too expensive when I spec'd them out to be similar to the Mac. The HP is thicker and heavier too, although HP's have accidental spillage and drop coverage. Apple has their stupid Applecare that costs $299 for 3 year coverage that does not cover accidental spillage or dropping. I just have to be careful. :p As a photographer who has to work with about a thousand 30MB+ RAW files after every wedding, fashion or product shoot, the wide gamut and high resolution screen is a godsend. It was a difficult decision, as I've been a PC user and Apple/Mac OS hater for the past 15 years, but I thought I'd give it a go. The learning curve has been steep, but it's working out ok....so far. I'm starting to like Snow Leopard more than XP (yes, I know XP is getting long in the tooth). I'm going to give Win7 a try though.

[underscore]

For photographers/anything where colour re-creation is key I can see where Macs step in, the colour etc on them is supposed to be superb as far as laptops go. Any other claims people have about Macs being superior for photo/video has seemed fairly false thus far though. I know my friends IBM is all but bulletproof (though it might be) but the screen looks terrible. My HP definitely comes short on the screen end of things as well but that's not what I got it for (the screen gets uglier every time I think about it haha)

[SkinnyPupp]

An Apple fanatic is no different from a Windows fanatic. You just get the system that you like best.
You have no idea how wrong you are. Windows users just use Windows because that's what's best for them. Apple fanatics are ... different types of people.

[Senna4ever]

I should mention the battery life. It's simply amazing. I work on the Macbook at work, as I can have two full pages of a spreadsheet or word processor open at once with legible text(!). Of course, I have the screen dimmed down and use aggressive battery management but at the end of the day I generally have 10% battery life left and that's after watching a downloaded episode of Top Gear during lunch! I don't bother taking the power adapter anymore. I do put the computer to sleep when I have to help clients, but I also use my computer for software demos if clients request it - in which case I switch to the dedicated graphics card. I haven't run out of battery power yet.

[underscore]

You have no idea how wrong you are. Windows users just use Windows because that's what's best for them. Apple fanatics are ... different types of people.

"Could you snag my latte for me? I have to go trim my goatee and adjust my beret before the poetry reading."

[Senna4ever]

For photographers/anything where colour re-creation is key I can see where Macs step in, the colour etc on them is supposed to be superb as far as laptops go. Any other claims people have about Macs being superior for photo/video has seemed fairly false thus far though. I know my friends IBM is all but bulletproof (though it might be) but the screen looks terrible. My HP definitely comes short on the screen end of things as well but that's not what I got it for (the screen gets uglier every time I think about it haha)
Ah, yes...IBM/Lenovo. Check out the W700 series monster "lap"top. A client had one...OMFG it's amazing. A 10" screen pops out from behind the 17" one so you can put all your palettes on the smaller screen and work on your main image without distractions. Built-in colour calibration AND a built-in Wacom tablet in the palm rest! The W700's screen shows 72% of the Adobe RGB gamut, which has been equaled by the newer Macbook Pros, but nonetheless when I first saw it I wanted it. Then I found out it cost him $5000. O.O

I've always wanted a Thinkpad... IBM used to have the best keyboards on the market. Don't know about now.

[Senna4ever]

You have no idea how wrong you are. Windows users just use Windows because that's what's best for them. Apple fanatics are ... different types of people.
You need to look in the mirror...you sound like a Windows fanatic. :p

[Senna4ever]

Any other claims people have about Macs being superior for photo/video has seemed fairly false thus far though.
If both computers have the same or similar hardware & software, I honestly don't think there will be much difference.

[underscore]

Ah, yes...IBM/Lenovo. Check out the W700 series monster "lap"top. A client had one...OMFG it's amazing. A 10" screen pops out from behind the 17" one so you can put all your palettes on the smaller screen and work on your main image without distractions. Built-in colour calibration AND a built-in Wacom tablet in the palm rest! The W700's screen shows 72% of the Adobe RGB gamut, which has been equaled by the newer Macbook Pros, but nonetheless when I first saw it I wanted it. Then I found out it cost him $5000. O.O

I've always wanted a Thinkpad... IBM used to have the best keyboards on the market. Don't know about now.

I was referring to an older IBM, but now that you mention the new ones yeah it really is something. I was blown away when I saw the ad for a dual screen laptop, I too wanted one until I saw the price. Maybe one day when I'm rich and bored and they have a triple screen laptop or something haha.

[underscore]

If both computers have the same or similar hardware & software, I honestly don't think there will be much difference.

That was my argument, since the hardware can be the same on both and the software is generally the same, the OS shouldn't have a very significant effect on the results.

[Senna4ever]

We're getting off topic now aren't we? :p

Prototype dual-screen netbook.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/kohjinsha-shows-off-dual-screen-netbook-prototype

[underscore]

Yeah but you're the OP so it's allowed haha.

That's a pretty neat proto, though kinda useless imo as the whole point of the netbook is to be tiny and have obscenely long battery life. As much as I love widescreen for gaming and movies I kind of hate it for computers as documents are vertical, between the taskbar, window frame, toolbars etc there's not a lot of vertical space left and way too much horizontal left over. I think a laptop/netbook with a rotatable screen would be cool but the durability might leave a lot to be desired.

[.Renn.Sport]

doesn't ingram or techdata carry apple products?

from what i've seen, the wholesale price is not where near DLINK

[Senna4ever]

^^ Wha?

[SkinnyPupp]

He's saying that you would save a LOT of money by getting a wholesale account elsewhere and buying a D-Link router instead.

[Senna4ever]

So... as per my original post.... I think I'm going to stay with my router for now. It's just that I dropped it off the table, and one of the antennas broke off. It seems to be working fine.

[underscore]

You can buy replacement antennas as well.

[Senna4ever]

He's saying that you would save a LOT of money by getting a wholesale account elsewhere and buying a D-Link router instead.
Yes, but opening a new wholesale account is out of the question. Besides, it's only about a $20-$30 savings on a $100 router...that's not a 'LOT' of money.

[SkinnyPupp]

A good reliable WiFi-G router should only cost about $30 tops. Look for something from Netgear or Trendnet.

Keep in mind that most routers use the same chipsets (Broadcom or Atheros - the Airport Express uses Broadcom) and are all the same hardware-wise. What matters is software, not brand. And the companies I mentioned make good firmwares although they are not as well marketed as D-Link and Linksys.

$99 for an "Airport" is absurd, $179 for an "Airport Extreme" is quite overpriced, but the real doozeys are the "Time Capsules". $300 for a single-drive NAS is vomit-inducing.

[Tim Budong]

Im a very PRO MAC guy since i made the switch, nowadays when the hardware is identical, it doesnt make sense to pay a premium on some products such as routers unless theres one or two features that make it worth while.

Sadly, Apple seems to have issues with heat on alot of their products.

Why not give a router with USB hub capabilities and give it a go. can serve well to pop in a printer in there as well!

I use a mac, a dell monitor at home, a logitech mouse and many external drives.
the only mac accessory i own for my setup is the keyboard, simply becuz I loved how it looks.

[.Renn.Sport]

i'm pretty sure a DLINK 655 would out perform any airport device

time capsule is another product, cuz its the only device that fully support time machine as a NAS....

I've set up my DLINK NAS to backup with time machine, but there was no way to retrieve it after a fresh install, since I couldn't manually change the NAS setting in OSX when it ask for recovery back up from time machine.

and for time machine backup, it doesn't really matter if the time capsule would fail or not... you would only be outta luck if both your mac and time capsule fail at the same time.

[.Renn.Sport]

He's saying that you would save a LOT of money by getting a wholesale account elsewhere and buying a D-Link router instead.

i'm actually trying to say, if you have an wholesale account that carry apple, i'm sure the wholesaler would have DLINK or Linksys product as well

there are so few supplier that carry apple....

[Jmac]

Anyone here using Apple's Airport Express, Airport Extreme or Time Capsule? Are they reliable, and work as advertised? I used to have the Airport Extreme ...

It performed really well (range, speed, signal consistency), but if you have any Windows-based computers, I wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't support uPNP and manually opening ports is a fucking pain in the ass, especially when Apple insists you have to reboot the fucking router every fucking time. There were other issues related to Windows-based PCs, too (Apple's bullshit software and services having to be on any PC that wants to make changes to the router, firmware upgrades every 2 weeks that would fix some things and break others on the PC, etc.)

[Jmac]

doesn't ingram or techdata carry apple products?

from what i've seen, the wholesale price is not where near DLINK Ingram Micro carries Apple products, yes ...

[Senna4ever]

A good reliable WiFi-G router should only cost about $30 tops. Look for something from Netgear or Trendnet.

Keep in mind that most routers use the same chipsets (Broadcom or Atheros - the Airport Express uses Broadcom) and are all the same hardware-wise. What matters is software, not brand. And the companies I mentioned make good firmwares although they are not as well marketed as D-Link and Linksys.

$99 for an "Airport" is absurd, $179 for an "Airport Extreme" is quite overpriced, but the real doozeys are the "Time Capsules". $300 for a single-drive NAS is vomit-inducing.
So buying a $119 D-Link DIR 655 is also absurd? What separates a $30 Netgear and a $100+ router of another make? There must be a difference... As with the photographic industry, in the computer industry you must generally get what you pay for?

[underscore]

Not quite so, in photography a lot of things are analog ie lenses, with computers it's more digital, more black and white. If the specs are the same but one costs more generally all you are paying for is the brand. Apple is the primest example of this, their hardware in any of their products is no better or more powerful but you pay more because of the name (ex there's an LG phone that runs the iphone firmware better than the actual iphone but costs less). My old D Link G router I got for $10 from Futureshop through a mail in rebate worked flawlessly for years, I only replaced it to get more range from an N.

All that aside for the most part a router is a router, if it works out of the box it should work for a long time, save maybe a cap going bad but I would guess every brand buys cheap ones. I tihnk there's a custom firmware, Tomato or something that would essentially make every router the same once installed.

[.Renn.Sport]

So buying a $119 D-Link DIR 655 is also absurd? What separates a $30 Netgear and a $100+ router of another make? There must be a difference... As with the photographic industry, in the computer industry you must generally get what you pay for?

faster internal processor and ability to process more connection at the same time. its very noticeable when u use bt.

[Senna4ever]

Not quite so, in photography a lot of things are analog ie lenses, with computers it's more digital, more black and white. If the specs are the same but one costs more generally all you are paying for is the brand. Apple is the primest example of this, their hardware in any of their products is no better or more powerful but you pay more because of the name (ex there's an LG phone that runs the iphone firmware better than the actual iphone but costs less).
No, I don't agree with that. A cheap lens will almost never outperform a more expensive one of the same specs. A Canon 35mm f1.4 casts $1500, a Leica 35mm f1.4 costs more than twice as much, and will outperform the Canon in sharpness, contrast and flare control. Is it worth the premium? Only yourself can answer that. To me it was.

Now, you say Apple products cost more, but in my case, the HP product would have cost $500 more for the same specs.

[underscore]

that's my point, lenses are not computers, price does matter a lot more with things like that, especially when you're talking about professional grade equipment where they're less likely to be able to BS people into buying the same quality product but with a jacked up price because the people buying it actually know what they're talking about (or I would hope so when shopping for a $6000 lens).

At the consumer end (0-$2000) Apple products do cost more, I have never looked at the $3000+ end of the spectrum though as I have never had any need.

[SkinnyPupp]

So buying a $119 D-Link DIR 655 is also absurd? What separates a $30 Netgear and a $100+ router of another make? There must be a difference... As with the photographic industry, in the computer industry you must generally get what you pay for?
I think it would be a little absurd to spend $100 on any router, unless it has special features you need. Like that D-Link for example, if you are a pirate who runs torrent 24/7, then you will benefit from not having your router bogged down all the time. But if you do that, you would be smarter to not use wireless at all to torrent.

Some routers (like my $60 Asus) have torrent functionality built right in (though I never use it) along with a printer server and a USB port you can plug hard drives into for instant NAS.

[ddr]

... well... heavy torrenting on wire + wireless for everyone else in the house right

i don't know.. i have a mb unibody refurb and what sold me was the chasis, screen, and osx. i don't think it was much of a premium for 1149. when i hold a laptop and i hear it flex it really feels like something from TRS.

in terms of routers, for sure the $10 trendnet ones are crappy. with that said i've recommended about 5 each (lower end d-links, dir-655) to friends and they're never had a problem with them. that's 10 individual experiences for those wondering.

the USB functionalities didn't work so well for me on the dir-655 tho