Apple on Tuesday refreshed its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless products by adding a new Guest Network feature and support for simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band networking. Time Capsule drives are now also accessible over the Internet for MobileMe subscribers.
Apple at 8:30 a.m. Eastern is expected to revamp its entire desktop line, including the Mac Pro, while also introducing new versions of its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products, a leaked parts and specifications list reveals.
Apple is poised to introduce new versions of its Time Capsule wireless backup appliance and AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless routers, regulatory filings with the Federal Communications Commission reveal.
An erratic yet ongoing problem has seen recent iMacs, and now Apple's late 2008 MacBook Pros, affected by frequent Wi-Fi dropouts with no clear solution.
The Internet is running out of addresses. To get around this problem and a host of others not addressed in the existing Internet Protocol (IPv4), a new revision has been in development for years, called IPv6. Uptake has been slow; it requires upgrading all the routers and devices that make up the Internet. Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve for pushing IPv6 adoption, and many Mac users are already chin deep in the technology without even knowing it. Here's why, and what it means for users on every platform.
While Apple's share of the entire US PC market hovers between 6% and 8% depending on the source, its share of the 802.11n WiFi base station market is even higher.
Apple Inc.'s iPhone can already playback video, browse the Internet, and place phone calls, but a new filing by the handset maker suggests it may one day take your lunch order and serve as a tour guide at the local zoo.
Time Capsule expands the wireless base station into a file and printer sharing solution and Time Machine target. This segment, the last of six exploring Time Capsule in depth, provides a review of its features and limitations as a wireless file sharing and backup appliance, along with comparisons to alternative products and previous AirPort models.
Time Capsule is billed as an ideal backup target for Time Machine. At the same time, networked drives (and particularly wireless shares) are often slower than a directly connected USB backup drive. This segment, the fifth of six exploring Time Capsule in depth, compares the pros and cons of using a solution like Time Capsule and the AirPort Extreme to perform Time Machine backups relative to using a directly attached hard drive.
Time Capsule, like most of Apple's earlier AirPort base stations, can handle both wired and wireless networked devices, but is optimized for serving wireless clients. This segment, the fourth of six exploring Time Capsule in depth, highlights the differences between wired and wireless networking on Time Capsule and the AirPort Extreme.
Earlier versions of the WiFi specification all used the 2.4GHz radio spectrum. The new 802.11n standard, supported in Time Capsule, the square AirPort Extreme, and recently shipping AirPort Express units, allows users to alternatively select the use of 5GHz channels. This segment, the third of six, compares the pros and cons of using this new section of frequencies, which can be both problematic and provide a major boost in speed.
Time Capsule, announced at this years' Macworld Expo, serves as a simple rebranding of the AirPort Extreme with an integrated hard drive and power supply. Apple sells the new Time Capsule next to last years AirPort Express and the compact AirPort Express. This segment, the first of six exploring Time Capsule in depth, highlights the differences between the members of Apple's AirPort family.
A software update released Wednesday allows Apple's Time Machine software to perform backups to external USB drives connected to AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Stations, essentially replicating the behavior of the company's Time Capsule appliance.
Apple on Tuesday updated its AirPort Base Station software for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, as well as recent version of the Windows operating system.
Time Capsule pairs the existing AirPort Extreme with a half or full terabyte hard drive to serve as a backup appliance for Leopard machines running Time Machine, in addition to acting as a simple file and print server. It is offered for both Mac and Windows users, although Windows PCs (or Macs not running Leopard) won't have Time Machine and therefore will access it only as a regular file and print server.
{{ summary }}
AppleInsider Staff
Katie Marsal
Prince McLean
Slash Lane
Daniel Eran Dilger
