WiFi alternative

The new Airport extreme stations are 199 now down from 299. Which is comparable with most wireless base stations alittle more but comparable. Keep in mind most the stations are only 802.11b, advantage Airport. not that you have a 802.11g card but you might upgrade in the future who knows either way it's state of the art right now and it'll be that way for a while.

get an airport extreme base station. it's $199 and also is backwards compatible with 802.11b. 802.11g is probably going to rise in popularity once people start using it and use becomes widespread.

Get the Linksys one when it gets released...it has better range (because of the external antennae), and might be cheaper.

the airport extreme base station is the best choice hands down. it has a usb port in it for a wireless print server. it has 802.11g and .b capabilities. its only $199.

i will be getting rid of my SMC router next month to get the airport extreme.

I too am in the market for a WiFi system, and it looks like the only one that will fit my needs is the AirPort (the one with the 56K modem). Did anyone else notice that the AirPort with the 56K modem includes an external antenna port, while the broadband AirPort does not? I wonder, why?

Wifi alternative

You could consider the D-Link I just hooked mine up tonight 1-19 and have a good signal all over the house! I bought it at Office Depot for 78.00 bucks after rebate and in store discount.

I'll love to get an AE base station for my home but will my spouse's windows machine be able to use it with her equipment?

The linksys I think works with windows/mac combos.

Any insight?

Sure, the AE base should work with the Windows machine. These things are pretty generic. The $78 one sounds like a great deal; I wonder if they're closing them out because the 802.11g ones are coming.

Since 11Mb/s is plenty fast for home networks, there may be some great deals available on older models.

Buy a Linksys

I'd get the Linksys WRT54G wireless router. It's 802.11g so it is backwards compatible with your Airport card and allows for future upgrades. It is also going to be $129.99 from Amazon.com with free shipping which is significantly cheaper than the Airport. It also has much better range.

Wifi D-link with window and Mac

I am using the $78 D-link with two windows machines and my Tibook. I hardwired the peecees to it and configured it from one of them and then set up my airport card without a hitch. The speed is great on my notebook.

I'm not sure why Apple went with 802.11g. Yes it has an equivalent data rate as 802.11a, it is compatible with 802.11b and they are both on 2.4 ghz spectrum.

But apparently many corporations are actually looking at 802.11a (and don't seem to care about 802.11b compatibility) on the less cluttered 5Ghz band and being pushed by Intel. There is some chip called Centrino being developed to give a combination of 802.11a (5 Ghz) and 802.11b(2.4 Ghz). The WI-Fi alliance has approved 802.11a now too.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20030117/bs_nf/20499

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20030116/bs_nf/20488

noone seems to have mentioned that for 299 you get an AE base station with USB print sharing (for older OS9/8 macs mainly) and the ability ot connect an external antenna.

IMO get the apple. i dont know about linksys but i have found that when yo get an apple comp and apple scanner and an apple printer and other apple accessories your life is so much easier.

but then how many people remeber the apple scanners and printers??

linksys 54g

the linksys 54g is on sale now for $149 which is fifty dollars cheaper than airport extreme. i'd go with that if price was something that mattered to you but hands down i'd always go with an apple product.

The prices for AE Base stations are 199 and 249. The older base stations sold for 299. But yes the 249 does get the benefit of the external antenna and the usb print sharing.