[calimehtar]

Airport costs about four times as much as a regular router, twice as much as buying both a router and an 802.11 router. I love Apple hardware and would consider paying 20% more for it, especially if the software is good. But I can't justify paying double. Am I doing the math wrong?

I can get a router for $40 CAD, and 802.11 G for $80 CAD. Bottom of the line Airport costs $300 CAD.

[Arkham_c]

Yeah, the Apple AirPort BaseStation is way overpriced. $299 US for the Apple versus $80 for a third party "G" router with built-in 4-port switch.

[chabig]

Yes, but the Apple experience is so much better. You don't have to manage it through a web browser. And it's about the only base station that routes Appletalk if you need it to.

Chris

[larkost]

Add in a good antenna and a built-in modem (since we are talking about the $299 model), and the ability to do station-to-station bridging, and suddenly the ABS's start to look price competitive.

Are they the cheap solution, no. Are they competitive at the high end, very.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by chabig:
Yes, but the Apple experience is so much better. You don't have to manage it through a web browser.

This is the biggest reason for me NOT buying an ABS. Web interfaces are far better, more flexible and open. Apple is the only man. that forces users to use their proprietary s/w to make simple configs to something as basic as a router. Dumb, just dumb.
And you CAN use Apple s/w to config other routers: Safari.

[calimehtar]

larkost, what kind of modem is it? DSL, or dialup? A DSL modem would be a little bit interesting, maybe.

Bridging sounds cool, but do they seriously think I can afford two of these things . Yeah, maybe for a small or medium-sized business, but not at home.

aaanorton, I guess it's a little of each. My network would have on windows PC and two macs. With airport I could only configure from the macs, and that's not cool. On the other hand, I've tried the web interfaces and they're a bit awkward. If Airport had both the cocoa interface _and_ the web interface, that would be sweet.

[JHromadka]

Originally posted by calimehtar:
Airport costs about four times as much as a regular router, twice as much as buying both a router and an 802.11 router. I love Apple hardware and would consider paying 20% more for it, especially if the software is good. But I can't justify paying double. Am I doing the math wrong?

I can get a router for $40 CAD, and 802.11 G for $80 CAD. Bottom of the line Airport costs $300 CAD.

The main reason I got an ABE was for the USB printer sharing that was available. I just couldn't get my Linksys router to get printer sharing to work, so I sold that to a friend.

I do wish I could use a web interface instead of a program, and that there were more controllable options, but for my home needs, the ABE works fine.

[larkost]

calimehtar: dial-up, with support for AOL. This might not be important to you, but it is to a lot of people. It is also the only basestation out there (that I know of) with a modem. There is no way they could include a Cable/DSL modem, as these are specific to the ISP's implementation (there are finally some standards emerging... but...).

And you can admin them with the software either on MacOS, or Windows. Apple puts out software for both. And there was a java program out there that could admin them from any java enabled platform, but it has been some time, and that might not work with the newest stations.

On the bridging... there are quite a few people who do buy two of them, they are cheaper than most of the commercial bridges out there.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by larkost:
And you can admin them with the software either on MacOS, or Windows. Apple puts out software for both. And there was a java program out there that could admin them from any java enabled platform, but it has been some time, and that might not work with the newest stations.

Everyone has a browser.
And Apple could do it so it didn't suck.

[Synotic]

Originally posted by JHromadka:
The main reason I got an ABE was for the USB printer sharing that was available. I just couldn't get my Linksys router to get printer sharing to work, so I sold that to a friend.

I do wish I could use a web interface instead of a program, and that there were more controllable options, but for my home needs, the ABE works fine.

So you were able to adequately use your Linksys using Safari? I was able to get in (albeit incredibly slowly) using Safari and login.. but clicking on the "Save changes" button would never do anything. I'm guessing it's due to a javascript error in the page. Firefox also did nothing when trying to click the Save Pages button. Internet Explorer did something, but I later got a "forbidden" error. Both Firefox and IE loaded the page considerably faster than Safari though, nearly immediately. I later resorted to using VPC, where unsurprisingly, it worked. I suppose I'll have to find a firmware update?

[ghporter]

Originally posted by Synotic:
So you were able to adequately use your Linksys using Safari? I was able to get in (albeit incredibly slowly) using Safari and login.. but clicking on the "Save changes" button would never do anything. I'm guessing it's due to a javascript error in the page. Firefox also did nothing when trying to click the Save Pages button. Internet Explorer did something, but I later got a "forbidden" error. Both Firefox and IE loaded the page considerably faster than Safari though, nearly immediately. I later resorted to using VPC, where unsurprisingly, it worked. I suppose I'll have to find a firmware update?

Linksys' browser interface does indeed require some specific (I don't know exactly what) java or javascript capabilities. It works fine for us with Safari (and all the latest upgrades).

On another subject, the dialup modem in an AirPort base station is usually pretty good. But it's DIALUP. You can buy a wired-only router with a PC-type serial port for less than $50; all of them that I've seen support using that port to run a modem, though some don't make that port available for console management (a very small gripe). Using any dialup modem (in the US) gets you AT BEST 56k, though usually closer to 36.6k due to telephone line quality. Sharing this sort of connection can be frustrating to say the least.

If you go with wireless just to be unencumbered by wires, you can still save money over an AirPort Base Station by buying separate components-wired router, dialup modem, and wireless access point.

[Macola]

Having owned both an ABS (the original Graphite model) and a couple of routers (Linksys and now SMC), I don't miss the ABS at all. It looked cooler than my other routers, but that's about it. Like some of the other posters here, I actually prefer the web interface to the Airport admin utility.

[teknopimp]

i'd like to further support apple and have a cool-ass looking router on my desk, as well as enjoy it's capabilities but just can't justify the expenditure. i'm doing well enough with my $120 system: belkin modem and wireless-b router. easy set up and no problems.

[chabig]

Apple is the only man. that forces users to use their proprietary s/w to make simple configs to something as basic as a router.

In my experience with Linksys and HP networking equipment, their web browser interfaces only work correctly in Internet Explorer, so in a sense they too require proprietary software.

Chris

[fr0d]

I've had a Netgear and a Buffalo AP before my AEBS and although they were a good price and had plenty of features I found them a little unreliable and unpredictable. The Netgear is now dead in the water, as it seemed to get slowly more and more unstable as I rotated my key, and now just comes up with crazy IP addresses. The Buffalo was a bit better but seemed to suffer when any 11b devices joined the network, it would start dropping packets etc.

Since I've bought my AEBS, which I initially bought primarily to have a centralised always-on printer, Apple have added WPA, which was a nice suprise and although the recent update is causing problems for some people I've seen no trouble since I turned interference robustness on and then off again (odd, I know). The new monitoring apps that are available with the current update are better than anything I've seen on competing devices and really helped me perfect my network layout.

For me, the AEBS has that same advantage that Apple kit has over PC's, just a little bit more attention to detail that ultimately lets me get on with what I really want to do.

[ghporter]

I've just been (somewhat forcefully) reminded that there are a few things that will keep Safari from being able to properly use a Linksys router's web interface. Like anything that blocks popups.

A lot of the functions Linksys uses in their web interfaces depend on what are effectively popups. This applies to any browser you're using on any platform.

I just bought a new Linksys 802.11g access point to get into faster wireless networking, and I had problems getting setting changes to take, whether I used my iBook or my PC. Of course I have popup blocking enabled on Safari, but I also have AdSubtract running on the PC. Both keep java and javascript popups from working, which of course keeps you from making setting changes. After I excluded the web interface address from AdSubtract's filtering, everything worked perfectly. I haven't turned off popup blocking in Safari, but I'm fairly sure that that will allow me to do everything I need to on the Linksys box from my iBook as well.

The bottom line is that a lot of the web page "problems" we run into are actually just putting stumbling blocks in our own paths. If you have problems with any web page that doesn't seem to work right, try bypassing things like popup blocking before you start complaining about the quality of the web page (or the vendor, or their personal habits...).

[himself]

I find it strange that Linksys wouldn't anticipate that some folks would have pop-up blocking enabled on their browsers, and then implement an web-based admin interface that utilizes pop-ups... I would figure they would have put more thought into it, or at least warn that pop-up blocking should be off.

I just got myself a netgear 4-port wireless-g router ($60 with rebate), and it works fine. I can easily change the settings from Safari, and it has a awesome range. I don't remember exact numbers, but my TiBook (historically bad reception) can get a decent signal (3 to 4 bars) from my backyard, more than 100 ft. away). An ABS was out of the question for me, since I needed more than 1 wired port, didn't need the modem, and was on a budget. And What's so great about sharing a dial-up connection wirelessly? Sounds like more frustration and disappointment than its worth.

[beverson]

As someone who currently uses both (and old Graphite ABS and a less old, but not new, Linksys 802.11b router), Web interfaces suck and Apple's AirPort admin software is much easier to use. Does that justify the cost? Probably not, but I wanted to weigh in with my opinion, counter to those that prefer a Web interface.

I have used Linksys, Belkin, D-Link, and probably some other before —_I have yet to meet a router Web interface that I liked. Ugh.

[ginoledesma]

Apple's tools are nice, but you need to have them installed on the computer to administer the base station. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on you. Unfortunately, this can be a pain to deal with when you bring your ABS/AEBS with you on the road (say to a meeting) and don't have a Mac around (let's say battery died or something). You can't administer it on Linux (at least not that I know of), and for Windows you'd need to download the airport admin tools from Apple's website.

My only consideration for getting the ABS/AEBS is for the modem port and printer sharing port. But like the others mentioned, you can find a similarly configured router from Netgear or Linksys for less.

[[APi]TheMan]

I've been a long time fan of Linksys until about a year ago when I started wondering why. Back in the wired days Linksys was good stuff. About a year ago me and about everyone I know moved out of the college dormatories and purchased routers for their new apartments. I got a lot of calls from friends wanting me to come over and set up their routers and their PCs. A lot of these are Linksys branded routers (and wireless adaptors for both laptops and desktops), mainly because of my recommendations.

I've had a lot of problems with Linksys stuff as of late, and I'm not too impressed with their quality anymore. It used to be good, but now I'm not sure. My 4 port 802.11b Linksys router works fine with both my Pismo and my new 15", but gives lots of problems with my roommmates' PCs (both wired and wireless).

I've never understood the drive to get an Apple branded wireless router, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on something that's only going to serve 3 or 4 people, me being on the only Macintosh on the network. So I guess, while I wouldn't recommend Linksys, I'd have to recommend something other than an Apple airport router.

Go get a Dlink, I've heard good things about Dlink.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by chabig:
In my experience with Linksys and HP networking equipment, their web browser interfaces only work correctly in Internet Explorer, so in a sense they too require proprietary software.

Chris

Originally posted by beverson:
As someone who currently uses both (and old Graphite ABS and a less old, but not new, Linksys 802.11b router), Web interfaces suck and Apple's AirPort admin software is much easier to use. Does that justify the cost? Probably not, but I wanted to weigh in with my opinion, counter to those that prefer a Web interface.

I have used Linksys, Belkin, D-Link, and probably some other before —_I have yet to meet a router Web interface that I liked. Ugh.

Well have you ever visited Linksys' or D-Links's web sites? Or even Netgear's? They are messes too. I remember when Linksys.com was COMPLETELY unusable, due to the all-around crappyness of it. Links wouldn't work, pictures would try to load (at like 2-3x ACTUAL size) and freeze my browser. The others like D-Link are just very poorly organized and designed, making it difficult to locate what you need.
Now go to Apple.com.... Apple COULD do web interface right, if they wanted to. Here's hoping they decide to do it soon.
Oh and I don't have any difficulties using Safari to set up my Netgear, Brother and D-Link devices. It's not always pretty, but it gets done.

[Arkham_c]

I've got a Linksys "B" router. Before that I had an original ABS. The Linksys has much better range, allows for lots more port forwarding options, supports IPSEC, and lets me specify my WEP key. Maybe the new ABS does some of this, but the one I had did not.

I've been very happy with my Linksys. The visual appeal of the ABS is a non-issue for me, since the router is in my networking closet in the basement. The web interface works fine for me in Safari (it has no popups in the version I have), but I rarely visit it anyway now that I have it configured to my liking.

I've got two wired Macs and two wired PCs, plus one wireless Mac, all sharing the Linksys with no problems. The model I have now cost me $89, but you can get it now for $49 at Best Buy. It's the same story as always -- you pay more for Apple in the hopes of a better experience. In many cases that experience is worth the extra cost, but for me, it's not worth it in the case of wireless routers.