[DeathMan]

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
OK, I'm confused! � questions if I may...

1. Could I plug my DSL modem into the Express, say downstairs in my house, and then pick up the connection on my G5 and G4 (with an Extreme card and Airport card respectively), upstairs?

2. Could I also then connect the Express base station to my stereo downstairs and play my music from my upstairs machines through the downstairs stereo?

3. Could I then connect another Express station to a stereo on the 3rd floor of my house and play music through that as well as wirelessly browse with my laptop up there?

If so, this could be very cool.

You are who this gadget was made for! Apple rocks, EH!

[DeathMan]

What if secretly that stereo jack is actually a video + stereo jack, and you could stream video over it. Now THAT would be sweet.

[LeeG]

I will be ordering one. This is a very versatile product.

I have been eyeing a slimp3 to get music onto my stereo - this is even better, as I always have a powerbook in the living room that I can control the music with. And cheaper, and I can put my 802.11b access point on the third floor where signal is a little sketchy, and use the express as a G point downstairs - all rooms are hard wired.

Nice....

[jorgem4]

It would be nice too if not only iTunes music would be played...but any sound that came out of the computer...eg a DVD...maybe with Tiger!

On the other hand...for $119 for a wireless station with build in USB I would go for it!

I wonder also, if I play the music through the stereo would I have to lisen to it on the computer as well...or can I play something else on it? Say I am playing a game and I don't want to lisen to music...but my mom want to lisen to something at her workshop...hmmmm

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Oooohhh... I missed the optical when I posted that pic. Thanks for pointing that out. Very nice.

I'm thinking that optical will require an add-on dongle or something, for another $29.

"The AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit with Monster Cables includes everything you need to get the most from AirPort Express: a Monster mini-to-RCA left/right audio cable, a Monster mini-to-optical digital Toslink audio cable and an AirPort Express power extension cord"

[kcmac]

It obviously works as an extender if you have a base station or as a base station itself.

Anyone think it will work with a software base station set up? Don't see it on the site anywhere but I would guess it would.

[Eug Wanker]

I wonder if it it'd be possible to plug a USB hub into it, so that one could control two USB printers with one Airport Express unit. It doesn't look like it though, since the website makes a point of saying it supports a single USB printer.

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
"The AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit with Monster Cables includes everything you need to get the most from AirPort Express: a Monster mini-to-RCA left/right audio cable, a Monster mini-to-optical digital Toslink audio cable and an AirPort Express power extension cord"

Schweet!

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Oooohhh... I missed the optical when I posted that pic. Thanks for pointing that out. Very nice.

I'm thinking that optical will require an add-on dongle or something, for another $29.

What do you need an add-on dongle for ?

If you have an amplifier / stereo with optical in, you just need the cable (so called toslink). It plugs direclty in the output, since it has the same size as a mini RCA plug.

-t

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by turtle777:
What do you need an add-on dongle for ?

If you have an amplifier / stereo with optical in, you just need the cable (so called toslink). It plugs direclty in the output, since it has the same size as a mini RCA plug.

Except that the Airport Express unit doesn't have a standard full-sized Toslink port. However, Landos Moustache pointed out that it does come with the right mini-Toslink cable.

BTW, these images make me happy:



As does this one:



And this one:



Buy several AirPort Express Base Stations and connect one to every stereo or set of powered speakers in your house � one to your stereo in your bedroom, one to your stereo in your living room and still another to a pair of powered speakers in your kitchen, for example. Its small size and affordability make it perfect for having more than one. Imagine being able to play your iTunes music on whichever speakers in your house you prefer at a given moment.

I can see people going out and buying 5 of these. The next step is to create a small handheld remote control that will be able to access iTunes over the WiFi network. (I don't think it has to be a WiFi iPod either.)

[turtle777]

The next step is to create a small handheld remote control that will be able to access iTunes over the WiFi network. (I don't think it has to be a WiFi iPod either.) [/B]

Wow, imagine a new wireless iPod with remote functionality !

-t

[kikkoman]

Would it be possible to stream music to an Airport Express from a shared iTunes library? That would be the ideal situation for me since i have my library on my G5. I can use my Powerbook G4 as an expensive "remote". Maybe that's Apple plan to sell laptops

[Voch]

Aside from the music stuff, I assume it's also just a nice compact 802.11g wireless router (?).

When I upgrade to 802.11g someday from my still-working original AirPort base station I may get this just because of its compact-ness (I can reduce my Belkin router/power brick and AEBS/power brick into this one little power brick with Ethernet hooked up to it from the cable modem).

Voch

[tooki]

Originally posted by starman:
Ok, let's say my G5 is wired, but I want to stream to my stereo upstairs. I get an AE card for my G5. Will my Mac be smart enough to keep itself on the wired network and still stream over WiFi, or are Macs stuck on only one kind of connection?

I'm guessing I'd have to switch network connections when I want to do this.

Are they in the stores yet?

What you would do is connect the AP Express device's ethernet (WAN) port to your wired network. Then it would become part of your one unified wired/wireless network. No wireless needed in the G5, and any laptops you have will have access to the same resources wirelessly.

tooki

[The Placid Casual]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
You are who this gadget was made for! Apple rocks, EH!

Thanks for the info!! It indeed seems to be just what I am after!!

As soon as they hit the stores I will be transferring some more of my 'hard earned' to Apple yet again!

[bewebste]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
So you can't use the express as a stand alone unless everything is unwired as it only has one ethernet port.

But starman question is a good one. I have a wired network and an unwired one, I want the G5 to ether send just music data to the express but network on wired.

OR

I want to run a ethernet cable over to the express to stream from the G5 but also have the iBook to wirelessly send music to it.

If you have your computer connected to the internet via ethernet and then go to your system prefs and turn on internet sharing through your Airport card, the Express station should then be able to connect to your network through your computer wirelessly. I believe this would allow it to show up for use in iTunes but still have the computer connect to the outside world through the ethernet. Not 100% sure though.

I think your second scenario should work fine. When you connect Express to the ethernet, it should get an IP address from whatever DHCP you have set up. Then for the wireless clients, it does the NAT thing, so both the G5 and iBook should be able to stream to it.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Except that the Airport Express unit doesn't have a standard full-sized Toslink port. However, Landos Moustache pointed out that it does come with the right mini-Toslink cable.

Actually that was an ADD ON kit for another 29 beans.

[iDaver]

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
Thanks for the info!! It indeed seems to be just what I am after!!

As soon as they hit the stores I will be transferring some more of my 'hard earned' to Apple yet again!

Better order one today. These things are going to be hotter than the iPod Mini.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Actually that was an ADD ON kit for another 29 beans.

Heh, so my $29 guess was right on the money (so to speak) after all.

One should note that not only does it have that optical output, the transmitted data is losslessly compressed. Thus, if you have losslessly compressed files in iTunes, you'll get full rez unmodified audio at your stereo system, if you plug it in via optical.

This is the final link to a completely lossless iTunes-based wireless jukebox system.

Well, almost. We still need that handheld iTunes WiFi remote.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Heh, so my $29 guess was right on the money (so to speak) after all.

These mini TOS-link cables can be bought much cheaper than $ 29.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a...bles.html#mini

$ 16

I bet you can get them cheaper. Just look for Toslink mini.
Btw, adapters to a regular toslink are inly $ 5.

-t

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by turtle777:
These mini TOS-link cables can be bought much cheaper than $ 29.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/a...bles.html#mini

$ 16

Well, Apple has a history of proprietary connectors, so there's no guarantee yet that it will work. Also, the kit comes with the extension cable for the Airport Express unit.

[Superchicken]

This is gona be great in my dorm room.

[vmpaul]

So, I'm assuming if you already have a wireless setup, with security on, this thing will have it's own MAC Address so you can add it to your network securely?

[bamchum]

I wonder:

1) whether it works on any voltage worldwide (it would be an oversight if it didn't)

2) whether the electrical plug can be exchanged with any of those in the worldwide power adapter set.

Anyone know?

[Landos Mustache]

Apple should also update the Extreme base-stations to have optical out.

[Eug Wanker]

Hmmm...

When Jobs was demonstrating the new Airport Express, Walt Mossberg said that the biggest problem he saw was that you had to get up and walk to your computer to change play lists. Steve joked that walking was good, but when pressed, he smiled a wry smile.

Jobs alluded to a new product when he was setting context prior to announcing the Airport Express. He said people also want the iPod to work better in their car, and to expect some announcements later in the year.

Steve also mentions an Apple PDA BTW.

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
Apple should also update the Extreme base-stations to have optical out.

I doubt they'll do this, for cost reasons.

[aladdinsane]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
[B]I wonder if it it'd be possible to plug a USB hub into it, so that one could control two USB printers with one Airport Express unit.

It would be great if they could make the USB port a "remote usb" instead of just print server.

Like Eug I have two printers, but what I would really love to be able to do is to connect something like Griffin's PowerMate to the USB port on the Airport Express and control iTunes that way.

[bierslayer]

Here's why a remote control is needed:

If you don't have a laptop, it's pretty obvious that a remote is needed. I'd say that $1200 for an iBook is a bit too much to pay just to have a remote control. Even if you do have a laptop and you take it to work with you, what is your wife supposed to use to change playlists while she's in the basement and the iMac is upstairs?

Same with an iPod that would function as a remote control. While it would be great to add that funtion to the iPod, (and I hope they do) when one person takes their iPod out of the house, that leaves no remote behind for whoever is still home.

Same with a Bluetooth phone. If you take your mobile phone with you ("mobile" being the operative word) then that leaves no remote behind for whoever is still home.

A dedicated remote always stays in the room. Laptops and iPods and BT phones do not. It would also not have to be powered up and running like a laptop would. If you've got one of these then this is not going to be an issue for you. But there are lots of desktop users out there that would have a need for a dedicated remote control. Simply make it an optional add-on item (maybe another $20 or $30 ??) and that's more $ for Apple.

And while the Keyspan, and Salling Clicker, and Slimp3 are nice items, a dedicated Airport Express Remote Control would work with what the desktop user already has at the least expense.

Please make a remote control Apple! You're so close on this one!

[Landos Mustache]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:


I doubt they'll do this, for cost reasons.

Why, it costs twice as much as the express already.

[Jansar]

What kind of range do you get on those babies?

[Millennium]

It looks like the market Apple's gone for here is people who are doing work on their computers, but want better sound from their music. Because that demographic is by definition at their computers, they don't need a remote.

However, this view fails to take other markets into account, in particular the people who want to listen to music while not at their computers. This market isn't as big as a lot of people might think, but it's definitely there, and will become more important as time goes by.

Then again, perhaps Apple is trying to leave this open as a third-party opportunity?

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by Millennium:
It looks like the market Apple's gone for here is people who are doing work on their computers, but want better sound from their music. Because that demographic is by definition at their computers, they don't need a remote.

I don't agree with you there.

Apple makes a big point of saying that that this little unit allows streaming to any speakers in the house, and one would presume that for most people, most rooms won't have a computer in it.

In order to make this work a remote would be a requirement. A laptop would work, but it would be far from ideal of course.

[OAW]

Originally posted by fhoubi:
Damn.. this is confusing. Does it work with a snow base station? If so, it seems Airtunes & USB printing only, but appearantly no bridging...

It appears this question was never answered, so I will ask it again since I'm in the same boat. Does this new device work with a snow base station? I have a G3 iBook 700 and an original 15 inch flat-panel iMac. Neither of these machines is Airport Extreme enabled. Having said that, my existing ABS network works just fine and I don't really need the extra speed of Airport Extreme at this time. And I'm certainly not going to buy two new machines just to run a higher speed network! In my setup, the cable modem and the iMac are in the basement. The iMac is hardwired to the ABS, and the iBook accesses the network wirelessly. My home theater is upstairs and I want to plug an Airport Express into the wall by the equipment rack just to get the sound into the AV Receiver. I really don't need it to do anything else. So the question is ...

Will the Aiport Express working with an existing snow Airport Base Station?

If not, is the alternative to ditch my snow base station, move the cable-modem upstairs by the stereo, plug it into the Airport Express, and then connect the iMac and the iBook to the Airport Express wirelessly with the older (and slower) Airport cards?

OAW

[Landos Mustache]

Check out this:
http://www.apple.com/ca/

"* Subject to regulatory approval prior to release in Canada."

I hope it doesn't take them as long as it is with the Canadian iTMS.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Xeo:
I would have ordered one right now if I could have gotten it. It looks like a wonderful little device. I can take it with me and hook up to my dad's cable modem, take it with me on trips, lots of cool stuff. I would have loved to take it to Japan with me. Right now I'm taking my linksys but this would have been much more convenient.

Yah, I think many people will like these. Would be great for many environments if you ask me. I'm wondering what the catch is... We won't know until people start getting them.

[buddhabelly]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Well, Apple has a history of proprietary connectors, so there's no guarantee yet that it will work. Also, the kit comes with the extension cable for the Airport Express unit.

These connections that they're using are standard, that's why they are supposed to work with any setup. The audio jack is a standard 1/8" stereo and optical jack, just like the one in my Discman, Minidisc player and several portable DVD players I've seen.

[Jordan]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
The next step is to create a small handheld remote control that will be able to access iTunes over the WiFi network. (I don't think it has to be a WiFi iPod either.)

You mean exactly like the ATI Remote Wonder I have now??? That's exactly what I do with mine 'cept I blast the volume up so loud that I can hear it from the other room and change the music if I want to.

This little device will be kinder to my neighbours!

[DeathMan]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:

Well, almost. We still need that handheld iTunes WiFi remote.

Is this a possible use for Sailing Clicker (or whatever its called, the bluetooth phone clicker software)

It would be nice if you could. Anyone know if this is feasible, range wise? Technology wise?

[iDaver]

Originally posted by OAW:
Will the Aiport Express working with an existing snow Airport Base Station?

I'm going strictly by memory but I don't think bridging capability was put in Airport Base Stations until the Extremes. That's what you'd need to do what you want to do. I may be wrong. Anyone else know? I have a snow base station myself.

[OAW]

Originally posted by iDaver:
I'm going strictly by memory but I don't think bridging capability was put in Airport Base Stations until the Extremes. That's what you'd need to do what you want to do. I may be wrong. Anyone else know? I have a snow base station myself.

Well just to be clear, I don't really care about the "bridging" or the "repeater" functionality or whatever it's called. The only thing I want out of this is the AirTunes functionality. IOTW, I just want to stream my iTunes music from my iMac out through my snow ABS wirelessly into the Airport Express and then have the audio out piped into my home theater. Does the "bridging" have to work for this to happen?

OAW

[OAW]

The bottom line for me in my situation is that I don't really need to use the Airport Express as a base station. I already have a snow ABS. What I need this thing to do is act as a glorified Airport Card and be a client to my existing base station for AirTunes purposes only. I'm not the networking expert, so I'm hoping someone can offer a definitive answer.

OAW

[iDaver]

Originally posted by OAW:
The bottom line for me in my situation is that I don't really need to use the Airport Express as a base station. I already have a snow ABS. What I need this thing to do is act as a glorified Airport Card and be a client to my existing base station for AirTunes purposes only. I'm not the networking expert, so I'm hoping someone can offer a definitive answer.

OAW

Well, the bridging is what you'll need in order for your hard wired iMac to be able to communicate with the Airport Express to play music. Your iBook will communicate directly with Airport Express to play music, with no need for your snow base station. Standard Airport cards work with Airport Express. Airport Extreme cards are not needed.

[krove]

I've been dreaming of this sort of thing from Apple since I purchased my AirPort Extreme BS.

They forgot one thing, though: THE FRIGGIN' REMOTE!!!. I mean come on Apple, think!?!

This would be the ideal product if:
1. Displayed current song at stereo with small LCD.
2. Had a remote.

Fortunately, Apple did include a USB port, and I can foresee Apple providing a USB IR remote.

Still, this is an awesome product that appears to integrate very well with iTunes. How sweet will it be if they upgrade iTunes to provide multi-room music at the same time? (I know you can have several of these in the house, but it appears that only one can play at a time.) Wow.

I checked out the store, too, and noticed that it has a 1 year warranty and not a crappy 90-day one. Good job Apple.

[macvillage.net]

I'm curious if someone is going to make it work with sound-out, rather than just iTunes.

I give my Mac the best... but my PC laptop could use a perk... wouldn't mind being able to use an Airport Express so I can use my stereo for sound. Would be pretty cool for gaming purposes.

[krove]

Originally posted by OAW:
The bottom line for me in my situation is that I don't really need to use the Airport Express as a base station. I already have a snow ABS. What I need this thing to do is act as a glorified Airport Card and be a client to my existing base station for AirTunes purposes only. I'm not the networking expert, so I'm hoping someone can offer a definitive answer.

OAW

Here's your answer, from the Apple TechSpecs:
AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme use the 802.11g wireless standard. Accessing the wireless network requires an AirPort or AirPort Extreme enabled computer or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b or 802.11g computer. Achieving data rates of 54 Mbps requires that all users have an AirPort Extreme or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g enabled computer and connect to an AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station. If a user of a Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b product joins the network, that user will get up to 11 Mbps and AirPort Extreme and Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g users will get less than 54 Mbps. Actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors.

AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express can extend the range only of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express wireless network.

---
Emphasis mine...

From this:
1. Airport Express is strictly a base station and acts as such.
2. You cannot increase coverage of your Snow ABS with Airport Express.
3. You must either use your Snow ABS or Express, but not both.
4. Your computer will be able to access Express if you choose to use it, as it support 802.11b clients.

The reason it will not work with your current Snow ABS is due to the lack of support for WDS, where base stations can connect together wirelessly to extend a network. Only Extreme or Express products support this technology.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
Is this a possible use for Sailing Clicker (or whatever its called, the bluetooth phone clicker software)

It would be nice if you could. Anyone know if this is feasible, range wise? Technology wise?

I don't see why not since it works with iTunes 4. Once I have confirmation I will replace my basestation with one of these since I already have APEx on all my computers.
The range depends a lot on the phone and bluetooth adapter you are using. I use a Sony Clie in my apt and I can get maybe 15 to 20 feet from my computer. I also have a Siemens S56 and that gets me at most 12 feet but I can't use it with Salling or Romeo because the phone is not supported. Like any wireless device other things like walls and other devices are going to have to factor in.

[itai195]

This is a confusing product announcement. By wireless 'bridging' is Apple referring only to the repeater function or can Airport Express fulfill the same function as the Netgear and Linksys wireless bridges (eg converting wireless network into a wired network for game consoles, DVRs, etc). For example, I already have a Netgear wireless access point by my G5, and a Linksys bridge in my living room for my Xbox and ReplayTV. If I can use AE instead of the Linksys bridge then I may seriously consider one of these, it can kill two birds with one stone thanks to the stereo hookup. If it can do this as well as implement base station functionality, all for $129, then Apple may have a real hit on their hands... this could be a big step towards 'wireless ubiquity,' and also perhaps a cool way of showing off the power of zero-conf.

My only other qualms are that I wish it supported digital coax (my receiver has two digital inputs, and my dvd player takes up the optical one) and that I wish there was Airport config software for Windows, since I like the portability of this device but my laptop is a Dell.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
I don't agree with you there.

Apple makes a big point of saying that that this little unit allows streaming to any speakers in the house, and one would presume that for most people, most rooms won't have a computer in it.

In order to make this work a remote would be a requirement. A laptop would work, but it would be far from ideal of course.

"When Jobs was demonstrating the new Airport Express, Walt Mossberg said that the biggest problem he saw was that users had to get up and walk to your computer to change play lists. Jobs joked that walking was good, but when pressed, he smiled a wry smile. AppleInsider correspondents took this to mean that Apple is developing in this area, and the Airport Express is just a step along the way."

[ort888]

You can pretty much bank on the Gen 4 iPods working with this thing in some fashion. Either with an adaptor or right out of the box.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
Is this a possible use for Sailing Clicker (or whatever its called, the bluetooth phone clicker software)

It would be nice if you could. Anyone know if this is feasible, range wise? Technology wise?

No good for me. Desktop is upstairs, without Bluetooth either.

Originally posted by Jordan:
You mean exactly like the ATI Remote Wonder I have now??? That's exactly what I do with mine 'cept I blast the volume up so loud that I can hear it from the other room and change the music if I want to.

That doesn't work, because I won't have a computer associated with the stereo system. The remote has to be WiFi aware, or at least connected to something that is WiFi aware.

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
"When Jobs was demonstrating the new Airport Express, Walt Mossberg said that the biggest problem he saw was that users had to get up and walk to your computer to change play lists. Jobs joked that walking was good, but when pressed, he smiled a wry smile. AppleInsider correspondents took this to mean that Apple is developing in this area, and the Airport Express is just a step along the way."

I take this to mean that something with remote functionality is coming.

[itai195]

MacWorld answered one of my questions:

If you're using AirPort Express as a base station, you'd plug your Internet connection into it via its included Ethernet port. But if your main base station is an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express, you can also use the AirPort Express as a wireless bridge -- just plug it in somewhere else in your house, and attach any Ethernet-based device to it. That device will now be on your network, even though it's nowhere near the rest of your stuff.

Neat.