Apple ships Airport Extremes ahead of schedule

i would also like an answer to the previous question so if anyone knows would they email me as well. thanx and do u still get a really fast connection and long range if u have an older mac like lets say an ibook or imacg4?

Can these things act as repeaters for each other? If not, is there any product on the market that will extend their range, as the Airport Express extends the range of the prior generation's base stations?

Dunno about legacy stuff on your network.
The Wikipedia entry for 802.11n states:
"An 802.11 access point may operate in one of three modes:
Legacy (only 802.11a, b, and g)
Mixed (both 802.11a, b, g, and n)
Greenfield (only 802.11n) - maximum performance
Note: Even a single non-802.11n client can slow down the entire network (as with an 802.11b client on an 802.11g network)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11n#802.11n

Lewis, I went into the Apple store here in Birmingham, UK, and the guy in there said that they will be legacy compatible, and won't be reduced to the lowest speed as a default... So if you have a wireless n mac, you will be able to run that with n speeds, while other computers still use b/g speeds =)

Anyone know if Airport extreme will have legacy compatibility with older wireless cards? ie if I buy one of these (that will work fine with my Mac Pro) will the PC members in my house be able to use their 802.11a/b/g enabled laptops whilst I continue to use the benefits of 802.11n?

Thanks

I smell a Mac Mini refresh right around the corner, most likely in February, with a nice bump to Core 2 Duos and 802.11n.

and yet no word on my Apple TV, also said to be shipping in Feb.

Sorry for the double post.

@5, no cards will ever be available for G5 or Core-Duo laptops. 802.11N requires MIMO (multiple input/mulitiple output), and therefore different antennae. I'm fairly confident this applies to iMacs as well, because they are essentially a laptop technology. PowerMacs, though, are another story. I'm not familiar with Apple's desktop wireless cards. But I doubt you'll ever find one.

If you have a Powerbook or CD MacBook Pro, you can buy an ExpressCard/34 from D-Link for N-wireless, but that's about it.

Sucks to be us, eh?

I agree with #1. Apple said they would ship by February, and then went and did that "haha, but we didn't say WHEN in February. February 28th!" crap. This isn't shipping earlier than they advertised, only earlier than the order statuses led you to believe.

Is there any word about upgrade airport n cards for G5's, etc?