Reality check:
All the complaining about how overpriced the Airport Extreme is, and how ridiculous it is that Apple make a profit needs to be debunked a little here.
Someone earlier in the post threw out misinformation that comparable routers from other manufacturers were selling for under $100. Not true. Fact is, Newegg is selling a Linksys E series, dual band router for $160. It has a USB port, although I didn't see any reference to it supporting a networked printer.
Now, as someone who has owned multiple routers over the years, including Linksys and Netgear, and has configured well over 50 routers for different networks, I can tell you that I have never owned or worked on a more consistently reliable router than an Airport Extreme/Time Capsule. Mine has been connected to my network for months with no reboots necessary. Never had that with any Linksys or Netgear.
Also, Linksys and Netgear have issues from a usability standpoint. Every time I log into a Linksys router I have to pick my way around because they seem to change their configuration interface every three weeks, so that every nuance of a model that they sell has a slightly different configuration interface. Not to mention that their attempts to make the router easy to set up out of the box usually end up causing more frustration and aggravation than anything else.
I find any cost difference between the Apple router and routers that share similar feature sets to be well worth the reliability, consistency of experience and ease of set up. If the ~$30 or so more that the Apple router costs is too much for you, then fine. Buy a competing brand. But don't spread FUD about the cost being way more than comparable routers, because it just ain't true.
All the complaining about how overpriced the Airport Extreme is, and how ridiculous it is that Apple make a profit needs to be debunked a little here.
Someone earlier in the post threw out misinformation that comparable routers from other manufacturers were selling for under $100. Not true. Fact is, Newegg is selling a Linksys E series, dual band router for $160. It has a USB port, although I didn't see any reference to it supporting a networked printer.
Now, as someone who has owned multiple routers over the years, including Linksys and Netgear, and has configured well over 50 routers for different networks, I can tell you that I have never owned or worked on a more consistently reliable router than an Airport Extreme/Time Capsule. Mine has been connected to my network for months with no reboots necessary. Never had that with any Linksys or Netgear.
Also, Linksys and Netgear have issues from a usability standpoint. Every time I log into a Linksys router I have to pick my way around because they seem to change their configuration interface every three weeks, so that every nuance of a model that they sell has a slightly different configuration interface. Not to mention that their attempts to make the router easy to set up out of the box usually end up causing more frustration and aggravation than anything else.
I find any cost difference between the Apple router and routers that share similar feature sets to be well worth the reliability, consistency of experience and ease of set up. If the ~$30 or so more that the Apple router costs is too much for you, then fine. Buy a competing brand. But don't spread FUD about the cost being way more than comparable routers, because it just ain't true.
