A few new mac peripherals questions...

[Hey Apple!]

I am new to Macs and mac peripherals so I have a few questions...



Apple® AirPort Express 802.11g Wireless Base Station:

1) Does it have a built in modem type thing so I do not have to connect to my DSL speedstream and that if I get it?

2) Is it portable and easily configurable? Like can I say use my connection with it at home and when I am visiting other places be able to use it there as well w/o doing a lot of work.

3) Is it easy to wireless share a printer with it?


Mice:

1) What is a good gaming mouse. I know macs and gaming usually do not go together but even if I do not play games on my MBP, I will have a good mouse. So suggestions?

 

[justG]

1) What is a good gaming mouse. I know macs and gaming usually do not go together but even if I do not play games on my MBP, I will have a good mouse. So suggestions?

- One of the Razer mice.
- Logitech MX 518.

 

[spacepower7]

no modem

The AirPort Express 802.11g Wireless Base Station does not have a modem so you need to hook it up to the ethernet jack on a DSL or Cable modem.

I take mine with me whenever I travel. It is very easy to configure plus it has Airtunes.

 

[mkrishnan]

3) Is it easy to wireless share a printer with it?

Looks like everything else has been addressed. For most well-behaved printers (e.g. anything with native OS X drivers), you basically plug it in, and you can see it as a Bonjour printer from any Mac. I think it's basically the same for any Windows computers on the network, if you install Bonjour (although I believe you can do it w/o Bonjour).

The nice thing about the Bonjour system is that it is zero-config -- you don't have to set up the printer at all on the Macs. Any Mac that joins the network can see and use it instantly.

 

[QCassidy352]

- One of the Razer mice.
- Logitech MX 518.

What he said. 🙂 I went with the MX 518 because it's a lot cheaper than the razer mice, and it's outstanding. You can map exposé functions to the extra buttons without drivers, or install steermouse (or, I think, USBoverdrive) for full application-specific functionality.

Of course, it basically goes without saying that you can't go wrong with a razer either, and there is one that was made for mac and has native drivers. (I've also heard that you can get the diamondback or copperhead working with the drivers written for the mac-specific razer mouse, but I haven't tried it).

 

[trainguy77]

I2) Is it portable and easily configurable? Like can I say use my connection with it at home and when I am visiting other places be able to use it there as well w/o doing a lot of work.

It even has multiple configurations. So you can save a set of preferences and give it a name. So you could make one for work one for home etc and then just load up the one you need.