Apple AirPort Extreme

Today I would like to share with you my recent purchase of the Apple Airport Extreme and my decision process.

  

Previous Network

I was using a Netgear wireless router WGR614v6 but it just stopped working.  It worked well for what I was doing.  Just surfing the net and email.  

Comparison Shopping

I had been looking at the new Apple Time Capsules because I wanted to have a network attached storage solution as well as the ability to have a network attached printer.  Apple offers a 500 Gb priced at $299 and a 1Tb for $499 with a usb port for printing.  I tried to do some comparison shopping and found that Netgear doesn't really offer anything with a usb port.  The Linksys WRT610 Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router has a usb port but it seems as though it's only good for a hard drive.  Here is a link to a review on cnet.  So there wasn't really anything that was comparable to either the Airport Extreme or the Time Capsule.  Upon further research, the Apple products allow for the attachment of a usb hub that would allow for both printing and storage.  A perfect solution for my situation.  

Number Crunching

So time for a little number crunching.  The Airport Extreme is priced at $179, the 500 Gb Time Capsule is priced at $299, and the 1Tb is priced at $499.  If I bought the Airport Extreme I would have to by a usb hub to allow for hard drive and printer sharing.  The Time Capsules would need no additional accessory.  So Here I go in search of a usb hub.  I came across the NewerTech miniStack priced at $59.99 for 'Add-Your-Own-Drive' Kit.  This usb hub would allow me to add my own hard drive and give me 3 additional usb ports for more hard drives.  It also offers 2 Firewire 400 ports but attached to the Airport Extreme they wouldn't work according to the macsales support.  These ports would be handy later if I decided to use it attached to my MacBook Pro.  So the total price for the Airport Extreme with the ministack would be $238.99.  That's $60 cheeper than the 500 Gb Time Capsule.  Being the penny pincher that I am, the problem was solved.

Setup

Setting up the Airport Extreme was simply amazing! So easy, a caveman can do it.  (Sorry Geico)  First, I had to install the Airport utility and then plugged everything into the Airport Extreme.  After that, just a little typing.  Name and password for Airport Extreme, then if you would like you could enter a name and password for Airport Disks. Next, enter a name and security level of the wireless network and finally, a choice to enable a guest network with a name and password.  That was it.  Beautiful.  

Conclusion

I am very happy that I purchased the Apple Airport Extreme.  I have not purchased the NewerTech miniStack yet.  There's no rush right now, but as soon as I add it, I will definitely be posting about it.