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First, I'd like to take a minute to mention the passing of the G3
iMac - yesterday, Apple quietly took it off the
Apple Store site, although it remains on the Education Apple
Store site.
To quote a Letterman, "We'll miss ya, buddy."
Okay, now on to this week's article.
Last Thursday, I ordered an AirPort card for my iBook in fears
that "old" AirPort cards might become scarce after the next iBook or
15" PowerBook revision (whether titanium or not). I ordered it from
the Education Apple Store, so I got a few bucks off the $80 price
tag. Apple sent it FedEx Ground (it was free for me), although it was
flown from Taiwan to Indianapolis and then delivered to me by
ground.
I received it on Monday and installed it that morning.
AirPort Not-So-Extreme
Ball State's campus will
be 100% wireless next year, and right now it's pretty close. They're
using 802.11b equipment, so AirPort Extreme wouldn't benefit me
unless I bought my own 802.11g base. Although I have ethernet in my
room, I can use AirPort to go outside or to other buildings where
ethernet is not available and surf the Web.
Installation
Installation was simple. In the tiny box, Apple included just what
I needed and nothing else (the special bracket/adapter to install the
card in iMacs and some Power Macs is an optional purchase now).
Besides a skimpy manual that pointed me in the direction of my iBook
owner's manual for installation information, there was a CD with
AirPort 3.0 (although 2.x seems to be all you can download). It was a
rather simple procedure - slide the card in place under the
keyboard, attach the wire that goes to the antenna(s), and install
the software.
Software
The software is easy to use and consistent with Apple's other
networking software.
Range
Although there's know way of knowing where the base stations are,
as they're hidden, I'm finding my range is better than some of my
friends have with Toshiba laptops with integrated WiFi. I'm guessing
it's the placement of the antennas in the computers.
So That This Isn't Just a Review
Enough of reviewing of it - AirPort of any variety is a great
invention, and it's easy to use. 802.11-anything, for that matter, is
a great technology. Many people do not order their computer with it,
nor do think it's for them.
When getting my iBook, I decided not to buy an AirPort card to
keep costs down; now I realize I should've had it from day one.
Many colleges, universities, libraries, and other public places
are installing WiFi access points and allow free (or next to free)
access. Not only does it allow people to carry less (just your laptop
- no more ethernet cables or anything like that), it ends the
fighting over a single ethernet port somewhere and eventually might
replace the wired form of ethernet.
Nobody provides a wireless solution as slick as Apple's, nor at
such a good price. Sure, Apple's base stations are rather costly, but
they are some of the best.
If you're debating whether or not to get a wireless system for
your laptop, see what's available (see Extreme
Wireless for Older Macs for an overview of 802.11g options), and
if you can use it where you are, go for it - it's worth every penny.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04.
SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02.
Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
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