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AirPort Not-So-Extreme (5/23/03)
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Ah, AirPort; 'tis truly a wondrous thing. In fact, it's the very technology that's making it possible for us to produce this episode one-handed on a PowerBook while trapped on the couch under twenty-three pounds of somnolent baby. And given the alarming frequency with which we find ourselves in precisely this situation nowadays, it is by no means a stretch to say that, if it weren't for the freedom afforded us by AirPort's effortless wireless networking, AtAT's return to the airwaves may well have been delayed by another, oh, seventeen years or so. So, three cheers for AirPort, rah rah rah, etc.

Of course Apple, not content to rest on its laurels, took the wraps off Airport Extreme last January, thus upping the wireless bandwidth ante from 11 Mbps to a jaw-droppingly zippy 54 Mbps-- which is basically overkill for our own purposes, but must have been welcome news to people who need to, say, stream high-quality video to a PowerBook while running around the room with it. AirPort Extreme achieved these impressive speeds without sacrificing compatibility with original AirPort devices by embracing the IEEE 802.11g wireless draft specification, which is fully backward-compatible with the 802.11b technology used in older AirPort gear. Smart, right?

There's just one tiny hitch: that word "draft." When AirPort Extreme shipped, the 802.11g standard hadn't yet been finalized. No problem, figured Apple; once the standard was ratified, AirPort Extreme cards and base stations could easily be made compliant via firmware updates. All the bases were covered-- except, maybe, for an unexpected and significant drop in rated speeds in the final 802.11g spec. Faithful viewer LKM noted that Slashdot was discussing a Computerworld article which mentions that the final 802.11g draft standard "throttles data rates down." How far down? Well, that 54 Mbps you were so excited about? Now it's "between 10 M and 20 Mbps," due to a required "electronic warning to 11b devices that a 11g device is operating, a warning that is enough to cause a cutback in actual throughput." D'oh!

This raises an important point-- namely, that if Apple embraces the final and now much slower 802.11g standard, Airport Extreme won't really be particularly "extreme" anymore. Of course, Apple could decide to say "screw the standard" and just leave out the 802.11b warning beacon, or possibly allow users to turn it on and off themselves, which would allow theoretical 54 Mbps operation on AirPort Extreme networks with no older AirPort nodes. But if AirPort Extreme does indeed drop as low as 10 Mbps in regular use, it might become a really tough sell to folks with a need for speed. "AirPort Extreme: Occasionally Slower Than The Original AirPort Technology, But Now With The Word 'Extreme' Added To The Name!"

 
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors
 

From the writer/creator of AtAT, a Pandemic Dad Joke taken WAYYYYYY too far

 

The above scene was taken from the 5/23/03 episode:

May 23, 2003: Another Mac reseller closes up shop, blaming Apple's penchant for stocking its own shelves first. Meanwhile, the slower speeds of the approved 802.11g standard may suddenly make AirPort Extreme a bit of a misnomer, and TiVos are allegedly soon destined for Apple retail store shelves...

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 3970: Resellers Go Bye-Bye (5/23/03)   Say, remember how, when Apple finally admitted that it would be opening its own retail stores, it swore to its resellers that it would never stock its own shelves with product while the resellers' cupboards were bare?...

  • 3972: Apple Buys... Er, SELLS TiVo (5/23/03)   There's nothing quite like kicking off a long weekend with a smattering of good news. Longtime viewers are already well aware that the AtAT staff would sooner lick roadkill than give up our TiVo, which has become as indispensable down here at the AtAT compound as running water...

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