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Thanks, that's very helpful. It would be nice if 802.11ac would help with dropouts I've been getting in the streaming. I'm always guaranteed a dropout when I use my microwave oven, but it happens at random times, too. Maybe when neighbors are running their ovens.

Anyway, thanks for the info on 802.11ac and audio quality.

Can you change the Airport Express to the 5Ghz range?

I have one but have not configured it in so long (I also use it exclusively for streaming) I am unsure. It seems like it is only 2.4 come to think of it.
 
Well it kinda sucks as i just got my Macbook Pro, however if it is universal like usb 3.0 to 2.0 than thats ok the speed of the net on my wi fi seems to be working fine. also if you can get a wireless adapter to work on the ac specs it would be even better i will just plug it in to the right of macbook and away i go.

One more thing over the next few years my iMac will be due for change its missing usb 3.0, thunderbolt, bluetooth 4.0 etc which i have been living without, tech always changes i can't be bothered to wait till 2013 just for the ac it would be pointless a new spec is always around the corner when will people learn.
 
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3-4 routers? I only care about the AEBS...I don't care what linksys or anyone else is doing. If Apple includes it in all there products, my house will be just fine.

You do understand that Apple does not produce most of the chips in their products? They have to rely on others to make the chips for them and then they can include it in their AEBS. The same goes for their laptops.

Without Samsung, Apple could never produce any of their Ax CPUs and just like without Marvell, Apple cannot produce AEBS. Right now, there's nobody that's mass producing those chipsets for sale. They're still experimenting and when they're tested for quality, Apple would be glad to step in.
 
Well as with all tech, new features and advancements are always coming down the line. If AC is that important to you, wait.

I don't buy the argument that since new features are always around the corner one should simply buy whatever's available at the moment. This is not universally good advise for consumers, although one can see why manufacturers and retailers would want to promote this view.

While it's technically true, the reality is that technology in general, and computers in particular, don't evolve smoothly over time. Every year you might see some updated models with a bump in processor speed and a variety of other incremental features. But every several years you see a new generation product that provides much more than the usual incremental bumps.

Imagine buying one of these

220px-IMac_Bondi_Blue.jpg


just before this came out:

600px-Imac_sunflower2.jpg


The new Retina MacBook Pro is one such example.

Anyone buying a Mac notebook over the last couple of years saw new models subsequently introduced with bumped up features. Nice, but nothing to get serious buyer's remorse over. But many who bought a Macbook Pro in the last year are going to have some significant regrets after seeing the latest model with a retina display, USB3 and Thunderbolt support, and an Air-like redesign delivering a dramatically slimmer and lighter device with no loss of battery life.

Smart shoppers will do some research before making such a large investment, to ensure that they don't buy just before a new generation product appears.
 
You're already getting a theoretical 450Mbps with the current MacBook Pros. Do you really need more? (If you're using a current generation Extreme, range shouldn't be a problem unless your house is huge/full of lead).
 
You're already getting a theoretical 450Mbps with the current MacBook Pros. Do you really need more? (If you're using a current generation Extreme, range shouldn't be a problem unless your house is huge/full of lead).

That's just ~50MBps you send and receive between your laptop (assuming the current laptop and router has 3x3 antenna support to get 450Mbps). That's enough for average customers but not for people who does a lot of things on the local network.

What if you want to watch HD movies, back up via Time Machine, or copy files between one computer to another? The 50MBps may not be fast enough for your needs in addition to doing anything on the internet like downloading files, streaming music/movies and so on.

1Gbps wired connection is ~ 100MBps. 802.11ac is rated for now at 1.3Gbps, that's around 125MBps. Just as fast as a wired connection, reducing the need to wire in for fast transfers in your local network.
 
From initial quick looks and remembering when I looked at ifixit's teardown. The wireless card appears to be of standard layout (not sure if it is same pin out) as other wireless cards they have had in the past, they said it looks similar to 2012 Macbook Air airport card.

I upgraded my old macbook pro from 802.11bg to 802.11n when people were selling their 802.11n internal airport cards.

So this may be a possibility to upgrade in the future, barring any antenna layout changes.

So we will see, at least there is a hope since it is not soldered on chip and part of the design.
 
In my experience there is a huge difference in theoretical throughput with wireless compared to actual throughput. With wire Gigabit however it's not too bad.

I doubt ac will be anywhere near wired Gigabit in practice.
 
I am on an AC router already. Are there any USB dongles for my HiRes MBP that can get those speeds without using an ethernet cable?
 
I am on an AC router already. Are there any USB dongles for my HiRes MBP that can get those speeds without using an ethernet cable?

Only one I know of that's out right now, given my requirements:

http://www.belkin.com/us/F9L1106-Belkin/p/P-F9L1106

No idea how well it works (if at all) in OS X.

My requirements are that is must be USB3 to even bother being an 802.11ac adapter. USB2 is just a waste of time/money for me for something like this.
 
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