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Airport Extreme Air Disk, and 801.11n Upgrades $4.99 [Update]

Are there actually 802.11n adapters for non Core 2 Duo Macs?

I have had my NAS drive attached to my pre-N router and 802.11n adapters in my PC for some time ... and it works fantastically. Unfortunately, my G4 PowerBook and Intel Mini are currently the weak links in the chain. I hope Apple release Airport cards for older hardware.
 
I cand see allot of Mac WLAN parties in February as people meet up with the C2D Books to "get the patch" :eek:

Whats the best choice of format for an attached HDD for this AE?
 
Westside guy said:
I'm not sure if you're incorrect, because I'm not sure exactly what you meant here. :)

If the card reports itself as 802.11n under Windows and can be used at 802.11n speeds under Windows, then there will be no firmware upgrade involved on the OS X side since the card already has the n-capable firmware installed (firmware is installed on the device itself, not as part of the OS). In this case you're wrong. ;)

However if the card is only currently capable of 802.11g speeds under Windows, and it's an n-capable card just based on the reported card name... then what you said is correct. Of course this is trickier to determine than one might think, since we're using Apple-provided drivers on the Windows side for many/most of the devices.
Click to expand...

The broadcom wireless card in the C2D iMac is according to Broadcom draft-n.
Windows reports it as 802.11n because thats what is in broadcoms firmware on the card.This does not mean it is running at .n speeds.It simply means broacom put out a draft-n device.

I tested it and it runs a tiny bit faster than .g but not as fast as .n
In order to get the draft-n speed there needs to be a firmware update AND.The most important thing.
ANY device that the broadcom wireless card networks with.e.g. other routers.the AppleTV etc..MUST also be .n "enabled" otherwise it drops back to the speed of whatever it is networked with.

This is why we are going to see "enablers" for the AppleTV and the C2D and Mac Pro's in February.
 
Rocketman said:
Worst of all, it makes the chain of command criminally liable for acts underlings do entirely outside of their awareness and control.
Click to expand...

That's what a chain of command is. That's what responsibility is. That's what management gets paid for -- managing. Given that the average CEO makes, what, 350 times as much as the average worker(?)... it sort of balances out that the average CEO is as responsible for as much as 350 average workers.

It's pretty common knowledge.
 
With Apple's pending new releases, I think a new line of commercials is in order.

Envision a new line of Macintosh commercials which actually showcase the hardware and software we all use. Let’s begin with three teens playing with GarageBand and a USB Keyboard on an iMac. Their song becomes the background track for the commercial, as they put their song in iTunes and use an Airport Express to listen to the music on their stereo.

Pan back and zoom in on their mother, who is using her MacBook Pro wirelessly on the front porch, courtesy of the Airport Extreme. Mom is using iPhoto to download pictures from her camera. She uses iChat AV with Bonjour, to videochat with her daughter upstairs, to tell her about the photos. She then uses an Apple TV, to watch the slideshow on the TV in the living room.

The daughter upstairs uses some of mom’s pictures in her iWeb blog, adding some video footage she was editing in iMovie. She sends e-mail in Mail, to tell her friends, before using iDVD to save the video footage for her grandmother.
 
Peace said:
A firmware upgrade to a piece of hardware in your computer is considered a hardware upgrade.

Makes perfect sense to me.Although I don't know why they MUST charge for it.
Click to expand...

So what you are telling me is Apple is charging me twice for a piece of hardware. Any which way you read this you are paying for something that should be a free upgrade. :mad:
 
I paid £800 for my iMac and they want more?

I've never done it before but - hello piracy.

a new router is just what I need in my house. The USB/HDD extra sounds absolutely brilliant. I've got so many USB2 HDD's floating around!
 
No Revenue Rec (as in SOP 97-2) isn't the problem

Its not the problem because Apple wasn't selling .11n capability to be delivered later.

If anything, after pondering this for some time, the issue is most likely that Apple is concerned that it would be "giving away" something of economic value for free. If it did, either the end user would have to pay taxes on it, like if you were to win a lottery jackpot, or Apple would be liable for the taxes. Since it is unreasonable to the IRS that everyone (the millions) who download the upgrade would actually pay the dollar or two in taxes, with its value effectively being considered ordinary income to the consumer, Apple instead has charged a nominal fee to cover admin and taxes for providinf the value to you. It is almost a steal that we are getting .11n technology for $5, versus what everyone else would have to pay to add it to their equivalently priced laptops, without the card already available for "n" installed in them.

This is surely the answer.


sworthy said:
I think the revrec problem here is SOP 97-2, not SOX.

http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/405/essentials/p38.htm
Click to expand...
 
Which would you rather have:

1. $5 enabler update for your already installed N card OR
2. $49 for a new N card to upgrade the G card that Apple would have had to ship 2 months ago with your Mac.
 
The issue isn't hardware vs. software, its economic value

Whether software driver, hardware, firmware, it doesn't matter in this case. The deal is that you didn't buy a computer with .11n capability. Apple is an integrated and relatively closed hardware software platform, so my argument is different that if we were talking about Windows PCs. With Apple releasing this software to enable .11n, they are in effect giving away .11n ability, which right now has a market value associated with it beyond the value of the purchase price of the laptop. There are tax implications to giving something away of value, and apple has to account for it. $5 is a steal. And they probably could care less if the driver was pirated and distributed for free unofficially.

And for the record, R&D is a capital expense off the income statement up until a product becomes market viable, which in Apple's case, with their traditional treatment as stated in their 10-K's is when a product is announced. Then all R&D after announcement is a tax deductible operating expense...which is great, but it lowers earnings.

Apple likes NOT providing roadmaps for their products and keeping tons of secrecy for this reason in addition to their market position, because it keeps their earnings higher. Not having to expense (on an income statement) almost ANY R&D until a product is announced, which is typically about when it ships, makes Apple look much more profitable.

Hope this answers a lot of people's questions.

MtnT

fustercluck said:
Your comment makes no sense. Apple is charging the $4.95 for a software driver, not a hardware upgrade. If the issue is an R&D issue and how to expense it, it can be rolled into the driver cost, and as the poster pointed out, that can in turn be rolled into an OSX upgrade.
Click to expand...
 
MacRumors said:
Update: MacRumors has received confirmation that Apple will be releasing Airport Extreme 802.11n Enabler 1.0 for US $4.95 in February.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a lot better than buying a new card, but that's still pretty lame that they're charging you to enable hardware you already paid for.
 
Grimace said:
Which would you rather have:

1. $5 enabler update for your already installed N card OR
2. $49 for a new N card to upgrade the G card that Apple would have had to ship 2 months ago with your Mac.
Click to expand...

or Option 3: Apple provides the update for free since we already payed for the N hardware.

I just can't believe that apple would charge money for something like this. Aren't all firmware updates "giving away" something of economic value for free? How would this be any different? I really hope that the previous poster who suggested that the $4.99 would be to cover postal delivery of a physical update CD and that a download off the website would be free.
 
Grimace said:
Which would you rather have:

1. $5 enabler update for your already installed N card OR
2. $49 for a new N card to upgrade the G card that Apple would have had to ship 2 months ago with your Mac.
Click to expand...

I find it hysterical that if MS, who at one point did make their own brand of WIFI router, or Dell did this most Apple fans would be on them like a moth to a flame. But since its Apple. Everyone raise a glass of cool...I mean justification to Apple! Cheers.

I'm sorry but this isn't right period.
 
No, every firmware update does not provide something of economic value

There are reasonable tests, and every little bug fix, update, enhancement, whatever, are not the same. In this case it is discrete, quantifiable, with verifiable value in the marketplace, which is basically what counts. This can intellectually gamed to death, but after further checking I'm positive this is the deal, you can't over-game accounting and tax issues. You can try, but thats how you get in trouble no matter how smart your comparative argument is.



panoz7 said:
or Option 3: Apple provides the update for free since we already payed for the N hardware.

I just can't believe that apple would charge money for something like this. Aren't all firmware updates "giving away" something of economic value for free? How would this be any different? I really hope that the previous poster who suggested that the $4.99 would be to cover postal delivery of a physical update CD and that a download off the website would be free.
Click to expand...
 
What I want to know is this: The Apple TV has "n" and the new AirPort Extreme has "n" but my iMac Core "NOT 2" Duo has "g"...

If I plan to use the AirPort disk for tons of movies, to play on the Apple TV, I really hope there is some way for Apple TV to use the AirPort Disk as a source and not my iMac. If it has to be through my iMac then there's a "g" bottleneck, if it can stream from the AirPort Disk then there's no bottleneck.

Sync thing aside - for streaming we don't know how Apple TV will go about accessing content. From iTunes? Well what about my iMovie HD projects that are played in Front Row straight from my "Movies" folder. What about pictures - they are stored in my "Pictures" folder and not in iTunes. I really hope Apple TV can use the AirPort Disk directly and play content straight from the folders: Music, Pictures, Movies...

If Apple TV insists that I have to choose what pictures to sync, using iTunes to do so, like the iPod photo sync, then that's a huge disappointment. And if I have to export my iMovie projects to some kind of Apple TV format before streaming then that will be a disappointment too...
 
Ok... I'm not too familiar with firmware updates so I'm going to steer clear of that issue, but I'm curious how apple gets around this with the software updates and patches to OS X.

There was a patch/update a few months ago that significantly improved Rosetta's performance... it optimized the software to take better advantage of hardware we had already payed for. How is this update any different?

EDIT: Another instance of this was the 15" MBP two-finger right click update. Remember when it first came out the two finger right click wasn't possible even though the hardware was clearly capable. An update fixed that a few months later once the two-finger right click was introduced in the 17" MBP and the MB.
 
SiliconAddict said:
So what you are telling me is Apple is charging me twice for a piece of hardware. Any which way you read this you are paying for something that should be a free upgrade. :mad:
Click to expand...

The missing piece is n was not an advertised feature of the hardware when you purchased it.

I think there is also an element of consumer education going on here. Apple may have anticipated this and will use this to test the process of adding features post-release to other planned Apple hardware, say "iPhone" (ATN).

Rocketman
 
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