Ars Reviews AirPort Express

This is fine and well, but... by Pig+Hogger · 2004-07-22 08:24 · Score: 3, Interesting

... Airport is not legal in some European countries, as it operates on military frequencies...

Re:This is fine and well, but... by Nom+du+Keyboard · 2004-07-22 08:29 · Score: 4, Funny

Airport is not legal in some European countries, as it operates on military frequencies
Those are probably precisely the countries we want to jam.

--
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Re:This is fine and well, but... by BobTheLawyer · 2004-07-22 08:31 · Score: 2, Interesting

Can that be correct? Doesn't it just operate on the same frequencies as any other Wi-fi device?
Re:This is fine and well, but... by PaulusMagnus · 2004-07-22 08:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

You mean some European countries use the 802.11 2.4GHz frequency for military communications? Airport just sticks to the standards laid down in the IEEE standards. They didn't do a "Microsoft" and create their own standards.

BTW Which European countries, as there are a lot of devices that use this band now?
Re:This is fine and well, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-07-22 08:57 · Score: 5, Informative

No, its france , and its probably resolved now, since you can buy Airport Express from Apple.fr
"Legal Issues The documentation included with AirPort hardware lists approval for use in the following countries: Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Finland Germany Hong Kong Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom United States Notably absent from this list is France. This is probably due to the conflict between frequencies used by AirPort and the French military. Apple has said it is negotiating to resolve this issue. Using AirPort in countries where it's not approved can be a serious crime, and it is illegal for passengers to use any radio broadcasting equipment on a plane. I strongly recommend disabling AirPort when traveling in countries not on this list or on an airplane. The AirPort control strip includes a "Turn AirPort Off" command. While it would seem that this feature was created for this particular need, I have not been able to find documented assurance that turning off AirPort inhibits all transmissions. For extra protection against inadvertently doing something that could land you in prison, remove the AirPort card."
Re:This is fine and well, but... by Psychic+Burrito · 2004-07-22 09:14 · Score: 2, Informative

As far as I know, it's just France...
Re:This is fine and well, but... by nelsonal · 2004-07-22 09:44 · Score: 2, Interesting

Yeah, WiFi is developed for US open frequencies. That's why GSM phones don't work here and there unless they are special. The US reserves 800 MHz for GSM and 900 MHz for military communication. Europe does the opposite. I think both use 1900 MHz, but there could be issues there as well.

--
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Re:This is fine and well, but... by ack154 · 2004-07-22 10:06 · Score: 2, Funny

There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry: Lonestar!
Re:This is fine and well, but... by Jeff+DeMaagd · 2004-07-22 13:10 · Score: 3, Insightful

France has the Mirage series if fighters and lots of other aircraft. I have a book outlining the airforces of many of the world's powers, and counted fourty different kinds of aircraft still in service.

They build the Exocet missiles, the kind sold to Persian Gulf, such as the one that hit one of the U.S. navy ships in the 90's. They are a pretty big exporter of military technology, which I think is one of the reasons they objected to intervention with Iraq because their companies did a lot of business with the Hussein government and wanted their cozy business arrangements back.

They also have nuclear weapons, and have tested them over the objections of Greenpeace.

I think every EU nation with water borders has a navy.
Re:This is fine and well, but... by That's+Unpossible! · 2004-07-22 14:02 · Score: 2, Funny

France has a military?

Score: -5, Too Easy

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Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.

Re:Audio Cable by goates · 2004-07-22 08:26 · Score: 3, Insightful

Since the Airport Express can connect to stereo systems.

goates

Interesting by Oculus+Habent · 2004-07-22 08:28 · Score: 2, Interesting

It looks like one sweet piece of technology. I'd be interested to know it sends the audio or the file... I wonder how long until we see compatible technology - something else that will stream to an AirPort Express and something else that will show up on the pop-up in iTunes. I love iTunes, but it would be nice if other streaming hardware/software could be compatible.

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That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit

Re:Interesting by foidulus · 2004-07-22 08:36 · Score: 3, Informative

It's not in the article, but in the WWDC Jobs mentioned that, "It's encrypted, so the labels will like it". I don't know how it is encrypted(whether it uses WEP or a proprietary encryption algorithm), so they will have to do a lot of toying arond to come up with a compatible product.
Re:Interesting by zsmooth · 2004-07-22 08:36 · Score: 2, Informative

I'd be interested to know it sends the audio or the file...
It sends an RSA encrypted Apple Lossless stream over RTSP on ports 5000 and 6000.
Re:Interesting by oscast · 2004-07-22 08:55 · Score: 2, Informative

You can run iTunes on Windows too you know...
Re:Interesting by wfberg · 2004-07-22 09:08 · Score: 2, Informative

Is AES more CPU intensive than RSA?

AES is a symmetric (i.e. shared key) cipher, specifically designed with hardware design in mind, as well as with a mode for stream operation.

RSA can only practically be used for key exchange because it's so slow.

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SCO employee? Check out the bounty
Re:Interesting by aristotle-dude · 2004-07-22 09:21 · Score: 2, Insightful

Yes, that's right. What did you expect? This is designed for use with "iTunes", not as wireless speaker system. Hence, it has the name of "AirTunes". Get it?

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Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
Re:Interesting by nine-times · 2004-07-22 09:35 · Score: 4, Interesting

So I can listen to my music wirelessly, assuming I'm running either Windows or have an Apple with iTunes, and when it's time to watch a movie, or anything else, the sound reverts to my laptop's internal speakers? Pretty weak.
It seems to me a lot of people are criticizing this device just because it doesn't do everything. 'No remote? No display on it? Doesn't work with [insert Linux technology here]? That's no good.'
Well, this is Apple's first iteration of a new technology, and it'll take some time to develop. Apple will probably open some parts of this technology to 3rd party developers, and let them come up with things to do with it. I'd expect Apple has plans to do something neat to tie in this wireless-music-broadcast idea to an upcoming generation of the iPod. (broadcasting to your stereo from the iPod in your pocket might be kind of neat, right?)
...Or, you could look at it the other way, in that this isn't a new technology, but Apple added a really neat feature to a product that didn't need it at all. I think this would be a pretty neat little wireless access point on it's own, but add in the print-server and music streaming, and that's a pretty impressive piece of technology in a nice little package. No, it doesn't do everything... but not everyone needs everything. And how are you going to make a product that does everything?
Apple tends to like to start small, introduce a product that only does what it does, but does it well, and without much hassle. Then they start evolving it, over years, by adding features individually, making sure that feature works right, and then looking at new features. The alternative would be to try to pack in as many features as possible, all at once, then spending years making all the features work right.
I suspect the first generation of these will find a limited audience whose specific needs are met by the first generation. The second generation will do more, and therefore find a bigger audience, and so on.
I also suspect that, no matter how much it does, there will people who will complain that it doesn't do things that it just wasn't designed to do. Are you going to complain that the iPod doesn't play CDs, or that your refridgerator doesn't have a built-in stove?

No Remote? by joeblakethesnake · 2004-07-22 08:28 · Score: 5, Informative

Now, I haven't read the article yet, so I dont know the context, but isn't a computer running iTunes supposed to be the remote control?

Re:No Remote? by cbelt3 · 2004-07-22 08:38 · Score: 5, Informative

Apple's solution to that is "Party Shuffle", a feature on the newer iTunes client (and iPod firmware). The idea is you set up your party list much like you used to have to 'mix' custom CD's for your party guests. Think of it as a replacement for feeding CDR's into your drive and burning mix copies for your 5 CD changer on your stereo. If you want to have a 'remote', well hell- just buy an iPod and plug it into the amp. Skip the whole streaming thing. This then becomes more like a 'portable party mix' issue, but with waaay more flexibility. The main thing to me is the portability of a wireless AP. The music is gravy.
Re:No Remote? by Cajal · 2004-07-22 09:21 · Score: 2, Informative

Right, which is why Airport Express isn't all that interesting - it's basically a fancy wireless speaker for your powerbook. The other big problem with Airport Express is that you can only play to one of them at a time. So if you have one AE in your kitchen, another in your living room and one in your bedroom, you can only play a song on one of them at a time. Something like the Roku SoundBridge/a would be a lot more useful, except that it can't play protected AAC files (and it's about twice the price of the Airport Express).

I really wish Apple would license their FairPlay DRM scheme to other manufacturers. I can understand them not wanting to license it to Real, or to other portable mp3 player manufacturers, but they should license it to companies who make in-home music players. Off the top of my head, Tivo (with the Home Media Option), RokuLabs, and SlimDevices (the SqueezeBox) come to mind. Unfortunately, Apple considers the iTunes Music Store only as a way to sell more iPods.
Re:No Remote? by 2nd+Post! · 2004-07-23 06:24 · Score: 2, Informative

If roommate A has iTunes running under his account connected to his AE, and roommate B has iTunes running under his account connected to his AE, haven't we just accomplished what you wish?

Of course the problem is, does multiple copies of iTunes run with FUS?

Yes it does.

Then the next problem: Will multiple copies of iTunes recognize different AE units?

This indicates that multiple copies of iTunes WILL play different songs simultaneously... so the possibility definitely exists that multiple AE units can be supported on one machine.

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GPL Deconstructed
Re:No Remote? by Smurf · 2004-07-23 09:55 · Score: 2, Informative

At this moment, my PowerBook has three users logged in. Each one is playing a different song through iTunes. It's so damned annoying! (Fortunately, I have earphones connected, so I'm barely listening to the nonsense humming beside me).

I don't have an Airport Express so I can't verify if I can send the audio of just one of the iTunes instances to it, but I guess it will work. I bet you can actually do it with more than one Airport Express (each one receiving a stream from a different iTunes instance), and still listen to another instance locally.

I'm also using MacOS X 10.3.4 and iTunes 4.6. Maybe something's wrong with your setup? Or maybe you are trying to play songs from a server and there is a brief network interruption during the switch.
Re:No Remote? by Smurf · 2004-07-23 10:03 · Score: 2, Informative

I think I may have found your problem:

I was switching directly using the menu. But if you go through the login window (or if one of the users logs out, therefore sending you to the login window), the computer is automatically muted. All the iTunes instances (of the users who are still logged in, of course) continue playing, but you hear nothing.

You can work around this by pressing the muting button (F3 on a PB) twice.

Re:Audio Cable by grocer · 2004-07-22 08:33 · Score: 3, Informative

It's marketed as a digital life device to allow iTunes to stream over the home stereo (source of criticism). However, it depends on what it's being plugged into...most stereos take RCA. 3.5mm line in is not typically. Apple sells a kit for 39 bucks for those not already equipped.

Of course, I have the RCA -> 3.5mm male bit for hooking my iBook into the stereo plus a 3.5mm headphone extension so i have a 6' or so radius to put the iBook in a safe and accessible location.

Re:About the audio jack... by proj_2501 · 2004-07-22 08:36 · Score: 4, Funny

people get confused about that?

like shoving two floppies into one drive?

Re:Audio Cable by Chiron+Taltos · 2004-07-22 08:36 · Score: 4, Insightful

From the article:

Also, to my dismay, the Express did not include any audio cables for hooking it up to a stereo. ... The AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit with Monster Cables and an AC power cord is available separately from Apple for US$39.

They offer it separately, and I think that's the point. The idea is to stream music wirelessly, and many people are going to buy it for that reason. If Apple adds the Connection Kit to the AirPort Express, the overall price goes up some, for an item I would guess most people do not need/want. If you absolutely have to have a wired connection, then hey, they have that accessory available as a separate product.

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CT

Gratuitous point loss by HarveyBirdman · 2004-07-22 08:37 · Score: 2, Insightful

Maybe you could argue the lack of remote (or maybe not given this is first generation, and a remote function might have doubled the price... you don't just toss a remote function in there... that's hardware), but a point off for no audio cable is complete dump. Everyone's situation is going to be different. Do they put in a 3' cable? A 6' cable? A 9' cable? MonsterCable? Lamp cord? It's like dinging a mouse for not including the mouse pad. I have a box full of included cables I have never used.

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--- Ban humanity.

Bluetooth remote? by otis+wildflower · 2004-07-22 08:42 · Score: 2, Insightful

Perhaps you could boost your phone's bluetooth and use SallingClicker...

This came to my mind ... by Chiron+Taltos · 2004-07-22 08:42 · Score: 3, Funny

... while reading this sentence.

After the welcome screen, the Assistant inquired politely as to whether I wished to set up my Express to create a new wireless network, or connect to my current wireless network.

It's a nice bit of Journalism, which makes for a good read, but I couldn't help thinking it would next inquire politely ... "Would you like some coffee while you wait for the set up to finish"?

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CT

Re:About the audio jack... by Midnight+Thunder · 2004-07-22 08:44 · Score: 2, Informative

people get confused about that?

They get confused by the fact that they only see one connector, especially when they are skimming the article for facts.

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Jumpstart the tartan drive.

Walt Mossberg Reviewed it Also by Meddel · 2004-07-22 08:45 · Score: 4, Informative

Walt Mossberg reviewed it in today's Wall Street Journal, as well. You can find the article here. He mostly likes it, but wants to be able to play through multple outputs (either two Airport Expresses or an Airport Express and the local speakers). Also, the lack of remote control and display was a huge downside for him.

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Woohoo ... by Chiron+Taltos · 2004-07-22 08:50 · Score: 2, Informative

I use a Mac at home, but I purchased the Linksys WRT54G router for my wireless network instead of the Apple Airport Extreme. It was recommended by a Mac friend who has more experience with technology than myself. The following is great news ...

Bridging and the Linksys WRT54G

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CT

Dropping Bombs to the Velvet Fog by MooseByte · 2004-07-22 08:52 · Score: 2, Funny

"Airport is not legal in some European countries, as it operates on military frequencies..."

So they'll be able to groove to my Mel Torme collection while going head-to-head with the OpFor? Sweet.

Re:Reads like... by repetty · 2004-07-22 08:55 · Score: 2, Funny

"Off-topic, and unimportant, but that Apple description reads like one of those old 80's advertisements where they dream up scenarios for you."

Like "us a mouse instead of keyboard to control your computer"?

--Richard

Re:Audio Cable by TTop · 2004-07-22 09:03 · Score: 2, Informative

You can buy a mini-to-RCA plug at Radio Shack for less than $5. I think the kit has optical, "normal" and a power extension.

Re:Audio Cable by rickerbr · 2004-07-22 09:15 · Score: 5, Informative

The airport express as shipped will need a 1/8" (3.5mm) to dual RCA or mini-Toslink optical cable to hook up to an audio device. Out of the box it can not do so. While radio shack has the cables necessary, it doesn't have the power cord which replaces the flip out plug in (ala iPod and power book adapters). I've had my AX up and running since last friday and finally got the connector kit yesterday.

Re:couple of things by tgibbs · 2004-07-22 09:17 · Score: 4, Insightful

I wish iTunes could let one stream audio to the Express and play music on the host simultaneously. I was surprised to learn that it can't do both.

It's probably not as easy as it sounds. I imagine that automatically getting exact synchronization with different levels of network activity could be tricky. And if they were a bit off, it would sound pretty weird.

Re:audio through USB port ? by tgibbs · 2004-07-22 09:19 · Score: 3, Informative

Does anyone have any idea if it would be possible to route the audio from the WiFi-interface to the USB port?

Apple emphasizes in its documentation that the USB port is for printers only.

Actually, it's not like that at all. by billybob · 2004-07-22 09:24 · Score: 3, Informative

That's like dodging points for a graphics card w/o a speaker.

Actually, it's not like that at all. See, one of the "big deals" of this product is that you can play your computer audio files on your stereo with little fuss. Not just your computer, but any computer on your network that has itunes installed.

Not including an audio cable is stupid, in my book, because one of the biggest selling points of the product is NOT FUNCTIONAL without additional equipment. Sure, it's a cheap cable (3-5 bucks most places), but I imagine there are a number of people who don't have these handy. And if Apple bought these in bulk (which they obviously would), it would probably cost them 25 cents at the most to include this cable in the box.

For me, playing mp3's or aac on my stereo isnt such a big deal, beacuse I've been doing it for years with a 25 foot audio cable going direct from my comp to my stereo. But for many, their stereos aren't so close to their computers. This product is a cool idea, but like I said, the (probaby) biggest selling point isnt functional without additional equipment. That's just lame. :P

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Joseph?

Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by theManInTheYellowHat · 2004-07-22 09:52 · Score: 4, Insightful

Printers have been sold w/o a cable forever. And the computer that you would attach them too would also not have one. I also bet that the cassette deck that you bought in 1992 did not come with the necessary patch cord as well. Nor did the CD player that you replaced it with in 1995......
Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by SilentChris · 2004-07-22 10:05 · Score: 2, Insightful

None of the products you mentioned use the cord as the selling point. The whole point of the Apple setup is ease of use. Selling a product where one of the main features requires an additional part is bad business.
Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by grouchomarxist · 2004-07-22 10:16 · Score: 2, Insightful

A 25 foot audio cable? That's exactly the sort of thing people want to avoid by using this product, having to run a cable around the house that people might trip over, etc.
Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by djtripp · 2004-07-22 10:24 · Score: 2, Insightful

Like the aforementioned printers, there became an option, USB or LPT. The manufactureres didn't want to include both to keep cost down, and i'm pretty sure people with USB didn't want another parallel cabel around, and the LPT people were trying to plug in both.
Same with the AX, you have an option, mini plug or optical. Some people will use neither, some will go taos, some will go mini. Either way, leaving you with an extra cable. And added expense to the product. I do think however, Apple should have some sort of adapter available for people who already have an optical cable, to plug in the the AX. (sure that could add noise to the signal, but if you're complaining, you already think that a 300 mbs encoded file is lossy, so you wouldn't want streaming in the first place.)

--
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Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by ffsnjb · 2004-07-22 10:31 · Score: 3, Interesting

A quick guess would be that you had your computer and stereo on different circuits, introducing a ground loop causing interference. Not much to go on, though. Try plugging your receiver into the same power strip your pc is on and see if the interference still exists.

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"Why do you consent to live in ignorance and fear?" - Bad Religion
Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by edhall · 2004-07-22 11:17 · Score: 2, Insightful

I've bought several cassette decks and CD players/changers over the years, and they all included cables. Granted, they usually weren't very high-quality cables, but I have a pile of about 15 stereo RCA/RCA patch cords stashed away in a box to show for it.

Even the VCR/DVD unit I bought for the bedroom TV last month (we're not talking top-of-the-line here) had sufficent cables.

I'm normally an Apple fan [pats powerbook], but I think they slipped up on this one.

-Ed
Re:Actually, it's not like that at all. by Yaztromo · 2004-07-22 12:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

Not including an audio cable is stupid, in my book, because one of the biggest selling points of the product is NOT FUNCTIONAL without additional equipment. Sure, it's a cheap cable (3-5 bucks most places), but I imagine there are a number of people who don't have these handy. And if Apple bought these in bulk (which they obviously would), it would probably cost them 25 cents at the most to include this cable in the box.

Actually, the AirPort Express can take two diffferent types of audio cable -- a standard 3.5mm stereo analogue cable, or a mini-Toslink optical cable.
So now Apple would have to ship two cables to satisfy everyone. And how long should it be? Some people may need a longer cable, and others may need a shorter cable.
If it were something difficult to purchase elsewhere, I'd see a point -- but we're talking about an audio cable that is available everywhere. Chances are, Apple retailers will ask you if you want an audio cable at the time of purchase anyway.
Seems like a complete non-issue to me.
Yaz.

Airport? Express? by lifebouy · 2004-07-22 09:25 · Score: 2, Funny

Anyone who can use the words "airport" and "express" in the same sentence, obviously hasn't been to one in a few years.

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Re:Audio Cable by Jeremy+Erwin · 2004-07-22 09:54 · Score: 2, Interesting

I find the mini-->RCA adaptors to be less than completely reliable. A misaligned connection is rather annoying, particularly when the audio signal is encoded with dolby surround. The optical connection is a nice touch, though.

This is Apple, not HP or Epson by billybob · 2004-07-22 11:01 · Score: 2, Interesting

I understand what you're saying, but remember that this product is coming from Apple, not HP or Epson. Apple is typically the type of company that likes to make things as easy as possible for the end user, but not in an insulting way or anything. I would expect them to include everything you need to make a product work with all functionality out of the box.

I think this is a lot different than a printer not coming with a USB cable. Although not including a USB cable is a pretty crappy thing as well these days, since I'd guess >90% of end users have USB ports on their computers.

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Joseph?

RTFA by GnomeAttic · 2004-07-22 11:10 · Score: 2, Informative

If you're interested to know whether it sends the audio or the file, see subject.

You want a remote? by mbourgon · 2004-07-22 11:35 · Score: 3, Interesting

The Salling Clicker, at least for Macs.

And an interesting quote from Mossberg:

"AirPort Express gives you no way to see what song, or play list, is currently playing, and no way to change the music.[...]Apple hints that it will be addressing this problem in a future version or via some kind of add-on product"

Any bets? You could do a wi-fi remote (with LCD to see what's playing), but I'm hoping they'll use that USB port for something... like a video out.

--
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WDS / extending wifi network insecure? by pedx1ng · 2004-07-22 11:51 · Score: 4, Interesting

I was considering getting an AirPort Basestation Extreme and Express together to extend the wireless network. But then I came across this note in the review:

One note: when using the AirPort Express as a WDS, you are limited to either using 128-bit WEP or turning off security altogether. This was not mentioned on the AirPort Express pages on apple.com, although it is addressed in the manual. WPA is generally not supported over bridged connections on WiFi products due to the fact that WPA encrypts the MAC addresses which WDS relies on for communication. Keep this limitation in mind when using the Express as a bridge.

Please enlighten me if I am incorrect, but I was under the impression that WEP was basically worthless as far as security is concerned, and that one should always use WPA.

Re:Trade offs by pocomoonshiine · 2004-07-22 14:24 · Score: 2, Funny

and why doesn't the (nonexistent) remote work with my other obscure Ir devices? and why doesn't it work with POE? and why can't i plug it into my cigarette lighter and charge my iPod and sync my task list with my usb watch? For that mater, why doesn't it have built in speakers??? Huh?

Here comes the WAAAAAAAAAmbulance!

Re:Audio Cable by TheRaven64 · 2004-07-22 22:35 · Score: 2, Informative

The power cord is a standard 2-pin (no earth) connector found on a lot of radios and other devices. You can pick the up for next to nothing in any electrical hardware store (or just grab them from old broken radios). The official one comes with a retention clip, but this is not really required (the iBooks, which have the same design power block, do not include the retention clip).

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