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AirportDisk posts

Filed under: OS, Airport

Time Machine via Airport Extreme not officially supported

As we noted when the latest Airport Extreme Base Station firmware shipped, Time Machine now seems to recognize USB hard drives connected to the AEBS as valid backup locations. Was this feature added deliberately? Well, Glenn Fleishman over at TidBITS took the trouble to ask Apple about this and he reports that they told him that this is an unsupported feature (and not much else). This is unsurprising given that Apple never made mention of the feature connected with the firmware update (though it was originally promised before Leopard shipped). Fleishman himself even speculates that it was turned on by accident.

So what's the upshot? Apple is offering no support for using your AEBS this way, and so if you have a problem you're pretty much out of luck as far as they're concerned. Further, considering that there have been reports that the Airport Disk can be unreliable, it's probably not a good idea to depend on an Airport Disk and Time Machine for your only backup.

Filed under: Software, Airport, Software Update

AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac

Apple has released a 2007-001 update for the AirPort Base Station for Mac which "includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications":
  • AirPort Utility
  • AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow Base Stations
  • AirPort Disk Utility
  • AirPort Disk Agent
While Apple's Support Doc says the update covers a range of AirPort Base Station software, MacUser is reporting that this one apparently only updates the latest 802.11n version (AirPort Utility 5.1, to be exact). Either way, I'm about to install it for my 802.11n-enabled station now, and I'm keeping as many fingers crossed as possible that AirPort Disk begins to actually work.

[Update: Apple's support doc is titled "AirPort Base Station Update 2007-001 for Mac" (hence my own post's clever title), and I tried specifying that this only updates software in the post, what with the bulleted list that contains nothing but software and the lack of the term 'firmware' anywhere, but to clarify: despite the mention of "AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow Base Stations" in Apple's announcement, this update allegedly only affects current software/utilities (the stuff that gets installed on your Mac) for the latest 802.11n Base Station.]

Filed under: Software, Features, Tips and tricks, iTunes, TUAW Tips

TUAW How To: Use your iTunes library over AirPort Disk


Last September we showed you how to keep your iTunes library on an external hard drive. While doing the same thing over an AirPort Disk with Apple's new AirPort Extreme Base Station sounds like it should more or less be the same situation, there are a couple of new catches to be aware of. Never fear, though - we'll outline what you need to know to truly snip the wires on your iTunes library.

First, in order to do this right, we recommend backing up your library before snipping any cables (we also don't recommend actually snipping any cables; they can be expensive to replace). If you haven't gotten into the backup habit yet, Scott's How to Back your music using iTunes 7 tutorial is a great place to start.

Now, on with the show.

Continue readingTUAW How To: Use your iTunes library over AirPort Disk

Filed under: Hardware, Airport

Ars Technica reviews the new AirPort Extreme Base Station


Clint Ecker at Ars Technica has produced a four-page review of Apple's new AirPort Extreme Base Station, digging into every nook and cranny of what's new in both the software and hardware. Ultimately, Clint really likes the revamped base station, giving Apple strong marks for a broad, powerful feature set and a slick new admin utility. A couple of major dings, however, come in the form of cost (lesser-featured 802.11n routers can of course be had for cheaper) and having to reboot the station after even some of the most minor configuration changes.

Still, it seems like Clint is joining others in welcoming Apple's refreshed base station to the market. After just picking one up myself a day ago, I'm offering two thumbs up as well, though I haven't even touched half of the features I'm planning to - yet. For me, the most exciting feature is AirPort Disk, as I plan on setting up automatic wireless backups for both mine and my wife's MacBooks.

Tip of the Day

Holding the Command key (aka the Apple key) and pressing Tab will cycle through your open applications. It's easier to Cmd-Tab if you are Copy (Cmd-C) and Pasting (Cmd-V) to and from various applications.


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