So I got an Airport Express for my birthday...not a surprise! A few people have been asking about it so I put together this mini-overview.
...what it looks like
..A few basic facts
- $119.99 at macmall, 129.99 at the Apple store
- The Airport Express is a wireless router. That means that if you have Road Runner or DSL or Dial-up internet service you can use the Airport Express to make the connection to your computer wireless, like at school. In our apartment it goes like: Road Runner Cable to Modem to Airport Express.
- My new summer laptop program computer works with the Express and so does Jackie’s PC laptop, wirelessly.
- We use the Express as a wireless router AND...
- We connect to it with our printer, so that our printer is networked and accessible by either of our computers from anywhere in the range of the Express in our apartment. (I had to load the Canon printer driver onto our computers, it was not one that we had pre-loaded during the summer.) Besides loading the software, it was “plug and play ” & I plugged the printer’s USB cable into the express and just started printing, way too easy!
- We also have a cable coming out of the express and into the back of our receiver - the receiver also has our CD player, DVD player, and Cable TV plugged into it. What is so cool about this feature is that I can play my i-tunes music straight thru my stereo speakers. Its like having a big portable jukebox. And yes, you can control the volume from the i-tunes program. It sorta crashes every once in awhile, so I just have to choose my speakers again in i-tunes to get it going again.
(If you only want the wireless feature, then you can get away with a wireless router for less than half the price. It won’t be as cute, but with the extra bucks you could buy a plant to hide it in.)
more facts...
- The range is fine for our apartment. We have the Express in the family room. My computer is within range there, in the kitchen, and both bedrooms, as well as outside on our small patio.
- The express has a firewall, and we have it set up so that we need to enter a password to access the Express’s signal.
- We do not use all of the features of the Airport Express: The express can also be used in combination with other Airport Extremes or Airport Expresses to network printers, and to play I-tunes through your receiver. It can also be used to extend the range of another Extreme or Express. It can probably do other stuff too that I am not aware of?
A quick note or two:
I
bought the Airport Express Stereo Connection Kit with Monster Cables package that Apple sells for $39.99. The package includes two different types of cables to plug into the back of your home receiver, depending on your receiver, either RCA or optical. It also contains an extension cord that allows you to put the Airport Express somewhere besides into an outlet. It is just like the extension cord that comes with the chargers on apple ?s laptops.
I could have saved a few bucks by just buying the RCA cable separately from Radio Shack or somewhere even cheaper, but I also liked the idea of my Airport Express away from the back of our stereo cabinet, nearer to where my new and weirdly amazing canon i860 printer is. So my printer is networked - way cool, but not wireless which would probably be even cooler?
This cable can be used with your ipod or computer if you want their sound amplified through your home sound system - just like another component, say a CD player. It can come out of the headphone jack and into the receiver.
So, would I do it again? Sure, it was a piece of cake to hook up. The wireless net is great anywhere in the house. The i-tunes feature has proved to be more than a gimmick. I use it a lot and find myself listening to much more of my music collection than I ever would have with just my CD’s and 5-CD changer. The networked printer is convenient, and removes the step of plugging in the USB cable every time I want to print something.
Please come visit us on the West Side for a demo, or send me an e-mail or come by if I can be of any help.