[rasmusnet]

Hi,
Recently my Airport Express died. The lamp is dead and there is no connection at all.
It was just a little over two years old.
I went to the local Apple dealer who told me that this was a known problem with the power supply in these airports causing them to die.
Since the warrenty had run out and the price for the repair would be almost the same as buying a new one I now need a new Express.
But before I buy a new Airport Express I would like to ask you if anyone know if this problem has been solved today. It would be a pain to get the same problem again just after the warrenty on the new one runs out.

So does anyone know??

[ghporter]

It is not necessary to buy ONLY Apple equipment to wirelessly network your Macs. Any product that supports the IEEE 802.11b/g standards will work fine. Check out the offerings in your local technology stores and you'll see that most other brands are significantly less expensive than AirPort products. Go for the combination of features and decent price-brand reputation is a good criterion too. Apple wireless products look good and generally are well supported during their warranty period. That's the problem-they have well-timed (for Apple) warranties. You can save a lot of money by using a third party's products. And yes, if they comply with standards (they should say "802.11b and/or g", and/or have the "WiFi" logo on them) they WILL work with your Macs, and setting them up is extremely easy-come here for any help you need that isn't covered in the manual.

[cybergoober]

Do any of those other products include AirTunes?

[ghporter]

Yeah, that's the catch. AirTunes is not supported on anything but AirPort products. This doesn't mean that there aren't other media streaming products, but none that work as well with iTunes...

[rasmusnet]

Thanks for the replies, ghporter and cybergoober.

I am aware that there are other wireless routers that I can use, but I haven't yet found any that works just as simple as the AE. I want to have wireless printing and wireless music streaming integrated and haven't found a better alternative.

I was looking at the logitech wireless dj music system that looks supercool, but since I am on a powerbook I don't really find it atractive to have to connect an additional usb-transmitter wich this requires.

If anyone knows a good alternative to the airport express that offers these features, please tell me about it.
Also, if anyone knows if the Airport Express-problem with the powersupply has been solved, I would like to know.

Thanks