• im_not@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    I still have my little AirPort Time Capsule tower. It’s been nearly a decade and that thing has been dutifully backing up my data every single day, save for a few hiccups over the years. I switched it from hourly to daily to maybe get some extra years out of it, but man. I absolutely love that product. The NAS marketplace even to this day hasn’t made a product as simple and seamless as the time capsule - plus it’s a great router!

    • zorinlynx@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      You might want to do a test restore just to make sure the disk in there is still good. A decade is a long time for a mechanical disk, and you might just be writing your latest files to the disk dutifully every day while bad sectors linger elsewhere on the disk.

      Just saying… verify your backups. And I mean by doing a restore, not Apple’s verify which doesn’t actually check every byte.

      It’s usually good to have at least two backups anyway.

      • im_not@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I bought an m3 iMac a couple weeks ago and used my time capsule to migrate everything. Worked perfectly!

    • johnnySix@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I use Synology and for my backup. It’s been working great for me. Pretty easy setup, though not Apple easy, it’s the best experience for a redundant system I’ve seen

      • quick_dry@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        same, w have 2 synology and I still keep the time capsule going. I round robin backups between the 3 of them. (my home LAN has a wireless bridge over to my sister’s house, so one sits in a cupboard her place and gives a physical redundancy)

        Definite ‘appliances’. So far they just sit and do their thing, no intervention necessary

    • jenorama_CA@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I worked at Apple for 21 years in Comms QA and I had good times working with the AirPort base station guys. The tower AirPort Extreme was a great unit and I still have one brand new that I bought when I heard Apple was ending production. It doesn’t support all of the current bells and whistles, but it was just a good, solid unit. Sadly, the base station team has been scattered to the winds, but I memba.

      • StandupJetskier@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Thank you. I have two of the towers, connected with ethernet. Full coverage of everywhere I care about, and they hand-off wifi calls seamlessly. I dread the day they die…they just work and full AC speed reliably.

    • willtwilson@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I bought two of these with broken hard disks, installed new 3Tb disks and use them as NAS. Performance is great.

  • wowbagger@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    If they just made a HomePod that also worked as a WiFi router I’d buy the shit out of it.

    • Nickbou@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I partially agree with you. The problem is that the wifi router requires an Ethernet cable to connect to the modem which limits where you can put it.

      What would be cool is to have a base station that’s just a router (maybe with HomePod functionality), but then add-on mesh network hotspots that work as HomePods. These would be a lot more flexible for placement.

    • rotarypower101@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I have been pleading for them to have all the various wifi enabled devices serve as a mesh network! Essentially idden and integrated into existing devices that “need” to be there and connected anyway…

      I really thought that was the endgame for removing the airport series…

    • OlorinDK@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Would be great if they could collaborate with Ubiquiti about making such devices. Like a HomePod, but with UniFi built in. Or a Dream Router, with Apple TV built in…

      • soundman1024@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        If it meant native HomeKit on UniFi Protect gear it would be a win in my book. HomeBridge works, but native is where at.

    • s1ravarice@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Maybe as a mesh network, but then where i would place mesh routers are not exactly where I would place a HomePod.

    • Nawnp@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yeah Homepod is kind of a niche product as is, just adding a speaker and siri support to a Wi-Fi router would make more sense.

  • Aggressive-Bath-1906@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    I still run my house on three of the last airport base stations placed around the house like a mesh network, and airport express scattered around the house for iTunes.

      • halfbrit08@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Aren’t the express models pretty slow if you’re using a faster modern internet connection? They only have 100mbps ethernet. Or is the idea that you use them only in mesh and they rely purely on the wireless n?

        • Aggressive-Bath-1906@alien.topB
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Youre right about this. My Expresses are used only for airplay, so the WiFi mode is either off, or set to “join a wifi network,” depending on their proximity to an ethernet switch. They are basically acting like any other device on a wifi network, and not as a router.

          I have three of the latest/last Airport Extreme towers, and two of those are the only ones with the wifi turned on to “Extend a network.” Since they are all on ac, theoretically there should be no slowdown to n speeds.

          • halfbrit08@alien.topB
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ah interesting. I still have an express and an extreme I’m not using. I switched to google home routers but I’d love to still connect my express to the network and use it as an airplay device.

  • Homicidal_Pingu@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Apple does this a lot tbh, if they want a standard they’ll make it happen then abandon the less profitable infrastructure that others are now doing.

  • got_milk4@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I wish this wasn’t a sponsored video because I think there’s more natural options for AirPort replacements than the Asus products shown. eero for example “feels” much more like AirPort - simple, inoffensive designs that can fit in to a house’s decor with simple app-based setup that you’re not supposed to need to touch again afterwards at a much lower price than Asus’ offerings.

    • tdasnowman@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      ASUS has products similar to eero with a more sedate design. The zen series comes in a range of shapes and isn’t tied to amazon.

      • mr_blanket@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Yeah I have an eero 6 pro 3 pack with HomeKit secure router. As much as I like eero, just having to log in with my Amazon account irks me to no end. And it tries to sell you on echo and Alexa stuff at every screen during set up.

        • frockinbrock@alien.topB
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          What bothers me is that even if you buy (own) echo devices, it still puts that crap in your face all the time. Same for the Ring app. Crappy nuisance atop otherwise decent software

    • y-c-c@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I wish it’s not a sponsored video as well but FWIW I looked hard into this half a year ago and decided that ASUS is probably still the best lineup in terms of being consumer friendly and privacy focused.

      For example, eero requires an internet connection to use which to me is anti-privacy and very anti-Apple, which has usually focused on making their products workable without mandatory internet connections (e.g. no mandatory iCloud signins unlike Windows 11, etc).

      ASUS routers also allow you to mix-and-match routers of different models for use in a mesh network whereas a lot of the other mesh routers require you to use only from the same lineup, which means you have to replace all your routers wholesale if you later on want to get new routers.

      (I’m not sponsored by ASUS. Just summarizing what I concluded on when upgrading routers for my parents)

  • tmofee@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Years ago a friend of the family had so many wifi issues, it’s gotten better but at the time the standard routers the ISP used to give to users were awful. I bought one of the last Apple wifi routers and it fixed all their issues.

    I know it’s probably an industry they don’t want to be involved in, but it’s a shame. Their products were solid.

  • hi_im_bored13@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’m not the biggest fan of the main LTT channel, but macaddress puts out consistently high quality content.

    Can’t speak for the sponsored asus router they showcased, but I’m liking my google/nest wifi setup

      • guysiah@alien.topB
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Did you even watch the video? I found it genuinely interesting and learned new things, such as: Apple among 1st to feature WiFi Mesh, built-in WiFi in a laptop, and Multi-Room audio. The video is barely trying to sell anything, aside from the non-Apple sponsor, and the ONE unique feature remaining in old Apple Airport routers: Time Machine backups over WiFi, and these devices are dirt cheap 2nd-hand.

  • lastdarknight@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I miss my Airport network best working network setup I have ever had, untill Apple started removing features and settings

    • mailslot@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I loved it shipped with 802.11g, then they software upgraded it to 802.11n, added mesh networking, updated the WiFi spec & WPA, added Time Machine backups, and a bunch of other features. I had the Express, so I could use it as a bridge for Ethernet only devices and beam music wirelessly to my stereo optically all 20-ish years ago. I miss how simple and integrated it was and how simple it was to get non-WiFi devices on my network.

    • Aion2099@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Mine is still sitting on my shelf, chugging along. Granted it’s the 2013 version, but I haven’t had any problems with it. Except once in a while the entire network stalls and reboots. I guess that’s an issue, but not something I’ve bothered fixing.

    • TheReaver@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I see lots of people really loved the Airport line and rave about it. what made it so special?

  • bartturner@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    We replaced ours with Google WiFi and been very happy with the results.

    The Google WiFi is a mesh solution which is really the way to go in 2023, IMHO.

  • lw5555@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    AirPort was a great product line when the Wi-Fi market was new and competing products were clunky and hard to configure.

    Now the market is mature and saturated, last year’s $250 router is now $75, and everyone’s cable/DSL modem comes with one built-in. It makes no economic sense for Apple to participate in that market because there’s little that could differentiate their products from others.

  • nauticalfiesta@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I had a couple of the airports. They were a hell of a lot easier to to set up than anything else being made at the time. I wish they still made them. They were expensive as hell, but practically bulletproof.

    • bICEmeister@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      They were awesome, but AMPLIFI Alien is an easy, reliable and performant spiritual successor in almost every aspect to the airports extremes in my experience.

  • CrashingOnward@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I honestly don’t get why anyone would want a new Apple Networking product at all when there are plenty of companies doing it all already. It’s not like their network hardware was anything special really.

    No offense, I do give them props for adopting new network tech early (at a cost of course), like they are with 10GBs ethernet.

    But nothing they make now will sale let alone break much ground. Their network hardware didn’t sale much either, with the exception of addon cards ultimately. Its not something Apple can lock down to their benefit ultimately.

    • __theoneandonly@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Once upon a time, the ISPs would send you a modem and you had to buy a router separately. And then even for a while, they’d include a modem/wireless router combo, but it often sucked and a lot of people would buy a separate router anyway.

      Nowadays? The ISPs are giving you free wireless routers that do everything the masses will ever need. My ISP, Verizon, even does little monthly self tests on the network and they’ll apparently send us free mesh networking nodes if they detect there’s an area where some of our devices aren’t getting good signal.

      Why would apple even compete in this arena? When most users are having their needs met by their ISP for free? The only people really buying routers nowadays are the power users who want to be on the cutting edge of technology. And that’s an area where apple doesn’t like to compete. So it makes sense that they don’t.