Murphy Mac

This time our product of the week is the Apple Airport Express, a truly versatile product - recently updated to 802.11n.

But first we’ll go over some considerations for Ethernet wiring in the home and where the Express fits into Murphy’s network. I’ve had an Airport Express for a while now. Recently I’ve been using it a lot more, thanks to Remote Buddy on my iPod touch and Macs.

Previous Setup:

My Airport Express is wired into my Ethernet network via a jack in the living room, right behind the stereo. The Express was only functioning as an AirTunes device -playing music from iTunes to my stereo. I’ve got a Netgear WGR614 in the basement which provides wireless for the entire house. There’s a Tektronix Phaser wired in from a remote corner of the house. And there’s Ethernet running to the upstairs for the G5.

The house was built in 1929 and the walls aren’t thin. Surprisingly, the wireless reaches from the basement to the second floor without trouble. The WGR614 was puchased without research to put out a fire. Along the way it became my main router and has served its purpose well. Still, I felt the need to tinker.

New Setup:

Now I’ve got the wireless in the basement turned off. The Netgear still acts as the router, plugged into the cable modem. But I’ve enabled wireless access on the Airport Express. It’s still wired, acting in bridge mode, with the Netgear still handling DHCP.

I’ve got a hacked TiVo on top of the stereo, connected to my network with a Netgear FA120 USB to Ethernet adapter. But I’ve only got one cable running from the router to the living room. Luckily I had a Netgear 5-port switch that wasn’t really doing anything (Amazon currently has a rebate on the 5 and 8 port switches ).

So now I’ve got the Tivo and the Airport Express wired in from the living room. If I want to do some big file moving I can plug my laptop into one of the two ports still open on the switch.

What would be better?

I’d prefer to have more than one run of Ethernet to the upstairs, and to the living room. A big switch in the basement is less expensive than small switches scattered around the house. For many people this might not be an issue. But sometimes I don’t like moving video around over wireless signals.

The point: As long as you’re running an Ethernet cable from here to there you may as well run two. Devices are increasingly network-ready. Blu-ray players, DVRs, Slingbox, game consoles. And of course, Apple TV. It just makes sense to have the Ethernet option if you want it. When I had an upstairs bathroom renovated the electrician ran an Ethernet cable down to the basement for me. I should have made it two…

Back to the Airport Express

So now I’m testing the Airport Express as my wireless access point. My Netgear router doesn’t support WDS so I can’t extend its wireless signal. But I don’t really need to because I’m wired.

I’m also using the Airport Express to play music and podcasts from the G5 upstairs. An iPod touch or a Mac make excellent remote controls using Remote Buddy.

I can take the Airport Express to another room too. First I turn Netgear wireless back on. ( I could just leave it on) Then I change the profile of the Airport Express from its wired state to a wireless AirTunes device. It works well connected to a Tivoli radio.

The Airport Utility software makes it easy to jump from one saved profile to another. The profile stores information on how the device is configured, which is good because there are many, many combinations of settings for the device. Profiles are especially handy if you want to take your Airport Express with you on the road. The utility is helpful, but I think the device should have a simple web interface.

If you’re in a hotel which only offers wired connections you can bring your Airport Express along and start working from the bed. What you don’t want to do is plug it into a corporate network without permission.

You can also use the Airport Express as your sole network router. Plug your cable or dsl modem into its Ethernet port and it can provide wireless access for up to ten computers. It provides the services you’d expect, like encryption, pass-thru vpn, and NAT firewall.

And don’t forget - the Airport Express is compatible with the WDS standard - making it capable of extending your wireless network. In other words, a laptop on your porch can get its signal from an Airport Express inside the front door, which gets its signal wirelessly from a Linksys WRT54G in the kitchen.

Finally, the Airport Express can also connect a USB printer to your network. If you’d like to keep the printer in a back bedroom or some centralized location the Airport Express might be just what you’re looking for.

What’s Next

I’d like to get an Apple TV when I turn Directv off next month. The Apple TV can handle the AirTunes duty in the living room. Then I might move the Airport Express to the kitchen with the Tivoli. That would mean moving back to wireless over the Netgear. Hmmmm…..

Retail Weirdness: Want to pay $219 + $29.95 shipping for your Airport Express? Toyzz has you covered. Otherwise click to get the reasonable regular price.

Note on Tivoli: This is the actual Tivoli device I have, but I don’t remember paying this much for it. The built-in rechargeable battery is nice.

One more product I find useful with all this stuff plugged into power strips: Extension cord shorties. When the Powersquid is overkill.

Related: Select a Playlist by Email

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