Time Capsule

[gazfocus]

Yes it is expensive (£47 more than in the US for the 500gig one) but thats rip off UK again.

I was on holiday in the US last November and bought a few Apple bits whilst there and saved a packet. I want the Time Capsule and feel another holiday coming on

If you go, PM me, maybe you could get me one

 

[RaceTripper]

I for one am torn between getting TC or an External. I was at Macworld and saw TC and really like it.
You as well as others seem to not understand one thing, unless we are paying a monthly recurring charge (like the iPhone cell plan) we are not technically "Apple's Customers".
Once you buy something and the transaction is over and the return policy has passed your contract with the company has also terminated.
Apple is in no way obligated to update Leopard to support users with existing external hard drives and airport base stations.
You don't have a hold on Apple since you are not paying a monthly recurring charge so don't count on them updating the software, they will not lose customers over it.
They have share holders to please, it would stupid at this point to come out with TC then a few days or weeks later update Leopard to support external hard drives for airdisks. TC would lose a lot of sales.

Unfortunately, that's the sad mentality of commerce today, "Give me your money and go away before you start bothering me."

I disagree with you. Apple actively marketed using Airport disks with Time Machine as a selling point for the Airport Extreme Base Station, and it wasn't just a "subject to Change" bullet point on a spec sheet. It is precisely why I bought one. You are right that Apple has to answer to their stockholders, but if they loose enough trust of their customers, there won't be stock worth holding. I cannot say I trust Apple.

 

[HLdan]

Unfortunately, that's the sad mentality of commerce today, "Give me your money and go away before you start bothering me."

I disagree with you. Apple actively marketed using Airport disks with Time Machine as a selling point for the Airport Extreme Base Station, and it wasn't just a "subject to Change" bullet point on a spec sheet. It is precisely why I bought one. You are right that Apple has to answer to their stockholders, but if they loose enough trust of their customers, there won't be stock worth holding. I cannot say I trust Apple.

I totally agree with how you feel this is the reality of electronics. It's a good thing it's not Sony that makes great things like Apple, we would feel like we got jacked all the time.
Sony's new releases come much more often then Apple's and Sony does not accommodate their old customers.
Edit: Just saw WWDC and SJ in fact states this feature to allow external drives to work with an AEBS. Well, looks like Apple changed their mind and built their own product to to this feat of magic.
Again, there's nothing we can do.

 

[jaw04005]

I disagree with you. Apple actively marketed using Airport disks with Time Machine as a selling point for the Airport Extreme Base Station, and it wasn't just a "subject to Change" bullet point on a spec sheet. It is precisely why I bought one.

Not to mention, Steve Jobs specifically touted this feature in his WWDC Keynote while marketing Time Machine.

To be honest, I think the memory and/or processing power of the AirPort Extreme Base Station was underpowered to begin with. Apple has had consistent issues with this device. Even now, there are numerous bugs with WDS bridging and AirDisk with the latest firmware release.

I don't know why I'm surprised. The original AirPort Extreme Base Station and AirPort Express had a firmware update that prevented a large number of DSL users from connecting to their ISPs because of PPoE authentication errors. Those users had to downgrade their base stations back to 5.1.1 and 6.1. Years have went by and Apple still has not fixed it, despite knowing it was a problem.

Miraculously, the PPoE error was fixed with the introduction of the AirPort Extreme 802.11n base station.

I have no faith in Apple's AirPort team.

 

[RaceTripper]

One note, could you please provide this fact sheet where Apple actually states that you could use time machine with airdisks just by connecting your existing external hard drive to an Apple base station?
I have never seen this fact sheet and if there was no disclaimer then Apple could legally be sued if the above statement is exactly what Apple said.

They had it all over the place, and snuck in changes to it all a week before Leopard's release. Plenty of people read it and have complained.

 

[Jshwon]

I've been looking to get an external HDD to accompany my iMac. Probably a 500GB one. My question is, if I purchased the 1TB time capsule would I be able to use 500GB as a wireless external HDD and set time machine to only use 500GB?

I would like to confirm this as well. Will we be able to use Disk Utility on this NAS drive to partition space like any HD to allocate a portion to TM then the rest to media etc?

 

[bilbo--baggins]

im so loving time capsule. i could see the frustration if i had just bought something similar but less functional, but i would just ebay the old equip for the new.

This might be exactly what I would have done if I had not already lost faith in Apple regarding Aiport Disks and Time Machine. Perhaps in time I will consider this - but at the moment I'm utterly outraged by Apple developing a new product when their existing product isn't working properly.

They would have saved a lot of people from getting upset if they had 1) acknowledged the problems with Airport Disk 2) announced a Leopard and / or AE firmware update that properly fixed the problems.

I honestly suspect that many of the AE + external HD users would be MORE inclined to buy the Time Capsule if Apple got Airport Disk working reliably for them so they could feel confident using it - and then ebay their stuff to get the neater solution of the Time Capsule.

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

This whole thing just burns my butt. I specifically bought a AEBS:n because Apple said an AirDisk would work with Leopard's Time Machine. I specifically bought a 1 TB drive to attach to my AEBS:n for Time machine backups. I've now spent more than what the 1 TB Time capsule device costs, and I still don't have the functionality Apple said I would have.

As much as I like Apple products I will never again buy anything from Apple until I know first-hand for a fact that it does what Apple claims, because their marketing is not to be trusted.

They damn well better fix TM and AEBS.

Precisely why I would urge everyone to avoid buying the Time Capsule, whether they are AE AirDisk owners or new customers.

 

[pjarvi]

I never bought the original Airport Extreme, and had been considering buying one for several months now. I decided to hold off on any Apple purchases until after the keynote and am glad I did. I've now got a Time Capsule on order, and look forward to using it.

You could always sell your existing AEBS and put the money towards getting one of the new ones.

 

[jdm7]

You could always sell your existing AEBS and put the money towards getting one of the new ones.

That's not the point.

The issue is, many people on this thread purchased the AEBS and an ext HD in preparation of Leopard's/Time Machine's capabilities touted by Apple before the release. And now it seems they expect us to ditch these perfectly working AEBSs and purchase something else that does something the current model should do?

When the wireless back up wasn't present in the OS, I figured it would come later—figured maybe it just wasn't ready at the time of release. Now that they've released Time Capsule it very much feels like a slap in the face.

If they can make it work on this new version of AEBS, then they can make it work on previous (n)AEBSs purchased during the marketing of the original feature set.

 

[MllePrecieux]

You as well as others seem to not understand one thing, unless we are paying a monthly recurring charge (like the iPhone cell plan) we are not technically "Apple's Customers".

I understand all to well. And it irks the heck out of me.

I realize I am technically not an Apple customer. I understand that they are legally "in the right". I also understand that it was a rather savvy business move. Ethically, however, it's wrong. That is my damage and that is what pisses me off.

If they want my continued loyalty and trust as a consumer and potential future customer, I suggest Apple rectify the problem and deliver a firmware update that does precisely what they said it would originally do sans Time Capsule: allow me to backup to an ext HDD using AEBS:n.

It's a suggestion that seems to be supported by a number of people in the same boat as I am. I realize large companies don't always listen to "suggestions". What're ya gonna do?

For now, I'm gonna bitch and moan.

 

[t0mat0]

For now, I'm gonna bitch and moan.

I know the feeling (Having got a nice HD enclosure, and put a drive in it, to set up my dad's partitions for his music and Time Machine. I was a day or two away from kitting him out with Airport extremes etc to get wireless music and backup.

But let's just give it 2 weeks eh? Can't we give Apple that? The products won't get reviewed until then, so why can't we hang fire. I'd wager an update will come soon.

 

[RaceTripper]

You as well as others seem to not understand one thing, unless we are paying a monthly recurring charge (like the iPhone cell plan) we are not technically "Apple's Customers".

Where did it come from that being a customer requires paying a monthly subscription? That's a pretty narrow definition and one I've never heard before.

The New Oxford American dictionary defines a customer as, "a person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business." So that makes each of us bought the AEBS a customer.

But even by your definition I am a customer. I pay a subscription for the .Mac service. OK, so it's not monthly, but it is a subscription. Maybe that makes me half a customer.

 

[Chef Medeski]

That product is great and all but what about all of us that already have an airport extreme?

Can we use our current External HD to back up wirelessly like leopard was originally promised to do?

Danny

Already do. Attached my HD to my computer. Then switched it to the Extreme. Bam, automatic backups when its connected.

They didn't give any directions it seems because they were releasing this product. But its quite eas to do. Just few know about it.

 

[Chef Medeski]

I did the same thing: AE and 500GB ext drive last October. How hard will it be for Apple to provide some type of update for those of us who drank the kool-aid a little too early?

Yep, that totally sucks. Just got a brand new base station (had to get one before MacWorld because I moved and needed to be connected), no way am I going to throw that out and cough up hundreds more. Why can't a shared drive on the Extreme BS be used for this?

Side note: Hmm, also their page (http://www.apple.com/wifi/) looks like it's lying because they say the AE base has three Gigabit ethernet ports, when in fact they are only 100BT.

Like everyone else, I have a USB external backup drive and an AEBS.

Apple is never, ever going to get me to buy a "Time Capsule" to replace my AEBS+external. Just make Time Machine work with my damn AirDisk!

I have no problem plugging the disk into my laptop once a week to back things up. No extra $299 from me, Steve.

I totaly hear you! I'm also a recent AEBS owner and somewhat puzzled by this product. It shouldn't be to hard to make the AEBS work with an attached HD (USB) or my NAS while we are on the subject. If Apple continues with these sort of products leaving early adaptors left behind, I feel it will lose it momentum. Just to make a point; who is willing to buy a somewhat thinner but very pricy laptop with less storage and the CD/DVD drive stripped when you can buy a Macbook (Pro) instead??!

We just got the new N wireless router when it first came out (upgraded from the UFO one). We also have a 500gb HD. But I NEVER use the HD for time machine, I just use it to store stuff, and rarely touch it. I am VERY excited about this new product. I think we are going to sell the current router we have, and get this. I think its a phenomenal price. Its only $150 more, for a wireless 500GB harddrive. Thats not bad. And since both mac users in this house are using Macbook Pros, we can now start using Time machine more avidly.

Very neat...

GUYS GUYS!!! It works. DONT SELL UR ****!

 

[jasonklee]

I'm just wondering -- right now I'm using my brother's Linksys wireless signal to connect to the Internet, but the range is pretty poor. Would TC help extend the range?

 

[Nermal]

I encourage everyone to use the feedback form to politely let Apple know how you feel. For reference, here's what I said:

Hello

Like many others, I purchased an AirPort Extreme plus a USB hard drive for use with Time Machine, as documented on the Apple site mid-2007 and mentioned in the WWDC keynote. I was disappointed to find that AirPort disks were not supported in the released version of Leopard, however I held on after being informed that support would come in a future update.

Yesterday's Time Capsule announcement confirms that the technology is now "all there" however there has been no mention of support for the existing Extreme bases. I'm hoping that there will be a software or firmware update in two weeks to coincide with Time Capsule's retail release, but if not, please consider doing so in the future as a sign of good faith.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Abstract]

The AEBS:n is 179.99.

299-179.99=119.

20 more than I paid for my external 500gb drive, but yes a heck of a deal!

£199 is like $400 canadian, and the 500gb AEBS:n is $329 here. So yes, that is a little bit more expensive if you take into account the exchange.
However, since this has 500gb HD, and a AEBS:n wireless router, it is a pretty decent price for the bundle.

Yes, well in Australia, the 500 GB version cost $429 AUD, which is like $390 USD. ****ing ripoff. I'd happily pay $329 instead. I'm Canadian, so technically it's easy to order it to my parents house and have them ship it to me or something. Hmmm.....

 

[paulwlee]

OK, it seems like a lot of you think that Apple purposely withheld functionality from the AEBS so that they can make and sell Time Capsule.

I don't think so.

They were probably having problems getting Time Machine to work reliably via Wifi, and when they couldn't make it by the deadline for Leopard, had to cut the feature, rather than delay Leopard again, which would have been immensely more embarrassing.

Now if it's just a software problem that they were eventually able to fix to get Time Capsule to work, then I'm sure they'll issue an update that will make it work on the Airport Extreme too.
On the other hand, there is a small possibility that a USB drive connected to the AE presents hardware related restrictions that can't be fixed with a software update.

 

[Nugget]

They were probably having problems getting Time Machine to work reliably via Wifi, and when they couldn't make it by the deadline for Leopard, had to cut the feature, rather than delay Leopard again, which would have been immensely more embarrassing.

I think this is exactly the case. Supporting this theory is the observation that many people who have used one of the "hacks" to enable Time Machine on their Airport-connected USB drives have reported lots of trouble with it. It seems like the most likely scenario is that Apple had to disable support at the last minute because of these problems. Hopefully they've had to fix the problems in order to get Time Capsule working and the same fixes will apply to Airport base station users as well.

 

[coopermac]

All the problems and moans about buying kit before or as soon as a new updated version is announced is a universal problem not just an Apple one. Just take a look at the early adopters of video recorders, Minidisc, Bluray or Vista as an example. This has been going on for years in the technology world and most people have learnt the lesson i.e. don't rush out and buy a newly released product, wait a while for someone else to find the bugs and pay the high prices.

I almost bought an AEBS for the air disc backup but read the problems and waited, thankfully. I definitely want a Time Capsule (if it works as advertised) but will wait to see how it works for others first.

One major reason for waiting is to see if the USB port on the Time Capsule will allow wifi access to discs (or other periphials), this is a stated feature remember, but it is not working well in AEBS.

 

[tellyworth]

Yes, well in Australia, the 500 GB version cost $429 AUD, which is like $390 USD. ****ing ripoff. I'd happily pay $329 instead. I'm Canadian, so technically it's easy to order it to my parents house and have them ship it to me or something. Hmmm.....

$429 AUD includes 10% GST. The US price doesn't include sales tax. The Australian ex tax price is $AUD 390, or around $USD 343 at the current exchange rate.

 

[Jshwon]

Just an FYI for those who were considering the TC and wondered if you could partition the HD. I just read this on TUAW:

"A further conversation at the Apple booth leads me to believe that you will not be able to partition the drive on the Time Capsule. If your purchase decisions are contingent on this capability, please wait until I can get a solid answer from the product manager at Apple on this. You could conceivably 'reserve' space on the TC by creating a disk image to hold your files, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you absolutely have to do it. A couple of contrary reports are saying that you cannot store other files on the TC drive, but everyone I've talked to says that it does mount as a regular wireless disk and you can write to it if needed."

If this is the case I'm disappointed. If you are going to allow the HD to be backed up to at least give us a way to manage the space!

 

[dooyou]

Does anybody know if i can use the time capsule as a NAS harddisk?
maybe with an alternative firmware in future with more functions like a torrent client or something else?

At the moment i'm using a buffalo linkstation live and i would like to exchange it with these new gadget from apple.

 

[mashinhead]

i want to know more about this product, like can it be used as an external drive instead of a backup?... can you attach a HD to to use with time machine...they just don't give enough storage space in their computers for me, i need two hds one for backup and one for media...