Author Archives: Chris Wheeler

Finally, after a tad more configuration, all my wireless stuff is working pretty much to my satisfaction.  It all started with the introduction of my new Time Capsule into my network.  It being the “most advanced” device, I of course (perhaps to my own detriment) decided it should be the top dawg (yes, that’s proper spelling in Georgia).  This meant swapping out the AirPort Extreme Base Station that was doing my primary Internet routing (see this post).

The last piece to this puzzle was my secondary Xbox360 (in the bedroom).  It must connect wirelessly because I could not get a wire through the floor after two full evenings of trying.  The problem is apparently, the Xbox360 Wireless Adapter (an overpriced piece of crap) is not compatible with the Time Capsule. It apparently had this same issue with AirPort Extreme when it first was introduced, but Microsoft fixed it with a firmware update.  Rather than wait a year for that, I decided to just create a WDS network with my Time Capsule as the boss and the AEBS as a remote unit.

This is not entirely intuitive, so let me give it in step-by-step form:

1. The first key to all this is that you have to set the primary device to “Participate in a WDS network” rather than “Create a wireless network” which is what I would’ve thought it should be.  Changing that setting allows the hidden WDS settings to show up.
2. Now, add the client (in my case the AEBS) MAC address to the allowed WDS clients section in your main device’s settings.
3. Then, I had to do a factory reset or two on the AEBS and set it up similarly.  Here, you want to set the WDS setting to “remote” and add the MAC address of the main device.
4. Lastly, I configured the AEBS’s IP addresses manually using 192.168.xxx.2 as the IP for it and telling it the router and DNS server was 192.168.xxx.1.  Manual settings just seemed smarter than allowing DHCP to assign the AEBS an IP.  Make sure you remove the IP you just assigned from the DHCP range.  Also make sure the remote station is set to “Bridge mode.”

So, now I have the Time Capsule sitting with the cable modem in the basement and doing my primary routing/DHCP stuff.  It is also hardwired to my Media Center PC.  The AirPort Extreme is in the bedroom next to the Xbox360.  It is configured as a WDS remote station/bridge and the Xbox360 is hardwired to it.  (Know anyone who wants to buy a slightly used Xbox360 Wireless Adapter?)  Either one can be used as an access point, but due to the basement location of the Time Capsule, all of my wireless clients typically connect to the AEBS in the bedroom.  I may actually swap them in the near future so that the Time Capsule does most of the wireless stuff and the AEBS is the primary router/DHCP/WDS device.  It just feels like that would be faster–especially when it comes to Time Machine backups.  For right now, I’m tired of looking at the Airport Utility screen, so I’m not changing anything for at least a few days.

I stumbled on this thanks to TUAW.com (The Unofficial Apple Weblog). This ranks very high on my list of the dumbest things ever invented.

Behold, the MagStay PRO (not sure why it’s called “PRO”–is there a non-professional, simpler version?). It’s sole purpose in life is to keep your Apple MagSafe power connector from doing what it’s supposed to do–disconnect in the event of a sharp tug!

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In nearly 2 years of using my MacBook, I can honestly say I’ve had this problem two or three times. Each time, I was able to easily work around it by slightly modifying my body position/posture.  On the flip side, I (or someone I know) has tripped on my power cord at least a dozen times (including a few tangles the dogs have had with it) and each time, the MagSafe connector has done its job and kept an expensive device from flying off the table.

How absolutely stupid.

I got my new Time Capsule yesterday when I got back to the office and decided to set it up last night. Wow, what I thought was going to be an easy swap turned into a 2+ hour, rebooting pain in the neck.

I was excited due to an AppleInsider article that made it seem like an easy thing to “upgrade” my current AirPort Extreme Base Station to the Time Capsule. Here’s the screenshot that got me excited:

So, it would seem like the software would use the config file from my AEBS to configure the Time Capsule in a similar fashion and I’d be all set up in no time flat. In fact, that’s what it seemed to do before I took it downstairs to plug into the cable modem…

Problem number one was that I had to reboot the cable modem after I swapped the AEBS for the Time Capsule. No clue why, but maybe that’s not Time Capsule’s fault. Took me a few minutes to figure that one out, though.

Problem number two was that no matter what I tried, I could not get wireless off it. Everything was reporting functioning, my wired desktop was connected fine and could access the internet. I could even see the wireless network from my Macbook. No wireless–the connection just timed out every time. After trying everything (new password, no wireless security, different SSIDs), I finally did a full “reset to factory defaults”. That didn’t work either–the Time Capsule never booted up fully. So, I did another full reset, this time by pulling the power cord and holding the reset button as I plugged it back in. That seemed to work and I started over.

So, this time, I tried setting up the Time Capsule as a completely new device on a new wireless network. Worked fine. Until I tried to import my config file from the AEBS to get things like my DHCP reservations and port maps back. When the Time Capsule rebooted, again no wireless.

Finally, I factory reset one more time. Again, the software reset wouldn’t work–the Time Capsule never came back online, so I had to do the hard reset with the power cord. This time, I set it up completely from scratch using the config file (it’s just XML) to copy/paste things like the MAC addresses for my Xbox DHCP reservations. Working nicely.

So, last thing, I go up to try and get my mother-in-law’s computer back on the wireless. I tried to use the feature of the Airport Utility software that allows you to join a wireless client without actually entering the WPA password in the client. No dice. Not only did it not work, but it hung the Time Capsule. I tried to change the WPA password and Airport Utility crashed leaving the Time Capsule (now, two floors down) needing yet another reboot.

All-told, I must have rebooted that thing about 15-20 times and hard-reset it twice during setup. A word to the wise: Do NOT try and use your AEBS config to quickly set up your new Time Capsule.

Apple should have probably delayed Time Capsule and its accompanying updated version of Airport Utility (or not promised it in February to begin with) for at least another month to work the kinks out. It’s working now, but I can never have those 2 hours back and I was hoping to play some Puzzle Quest last night!

Mac Tricks and Tips has a great post listing their Top 100 Essential Applications for the Mac. Some are must-have, some are good, and some I would avoid like the plague (Quicken 2007, why must you suck so?).  Some, I even question the use of the word “Essential” in the article’s title (come on, Aperture? Seriously?), but this list is a nice collection of some great Mac applications in one place.  Of course, the clincher for me was finding GrandPerspective which is an open-source Mac OS X re-imagining of SpaceMonger, one of my all-time favorite Windows utilities.

Here are a handful I have had good experiences with and can recommend:

• GrandPerspective
• Adium
• CSSEdit
• Cyberduck
• VLC
• Audacity
• Delicious Library
• Handbrake
• Pixelmator
• iAlertU (only for notebooks with the sudden motion sensor)
• Carbon Copy Cloner
• Flip4Mac (warning, Microsoft product)
• Growl (comes conveniently packaged with Adium)
• Parallels (if you must run Windows)
• iWork (nearly half the price of the cheapest MS Office package)

Here are a couple that didn’t make the list, but I still love:

• MainMenu
• miniStat2 (a widget and the only one I’ve been willing to pay for – $5)
• TextMate (a must if you do any coding)
• 1password
• Peggle
• and, of course, Safe Eyes (to keep your family safe online)

Sorry I was too lazy to include links to all of them, but all the ones from the “Top 100” list are linked on their site and usually Google does a good job of finding them too.

So, by now the news of Apple’s announcements is all over the interwebs.  I’m not going to give details here, you can find that on all sorts of other great sites (Engadget and MacRumors, to name a few).  I just want to give my quick impressions of the four primary announcements they made.

1. Time Capsule/Airport Extreme HDD – I think this one has potential.  I recently bought the Airport Extreme and it has been nothing but impressive.  It’s the best home router I’ve owned (not that I’ve owned a lot) and it shares my Canon MP500 printer nicely between my always wireless MacBook and the PC.  I’d pay $299 for that great functionality bundled with a 500GB server-grade internal HDD for storage.  I think this has potential to compete with Windows Home Server and be a nice all-around solution for Time Machine backups and syncing multiple computers (Windows and Mac).
2. iPhone/iPod Touch Software Update – I updated the InternetSafety.com iPhone to 1.1.3 minutes after Steve got off the stage.  Even with the potential for many thousands of people updating at once, it downloaded and installed quickly and cleanly.  1.1.3 offers a few new features, but nothing earth-shattering (in my opinion).  Still, it’s nice to see an update that adds features rather than just stopping people from applying the latest hacks, cracks, and custom ringtone apps.  The real shocker was that iPod Touch users are going to have to pay $20 for the update that enables Mail and Notes and the Stock and Weather widgets.  Way to reward your loyal, early adopters, Apple, by making them pay for stuff that should’ve been there day one.
3. iTunes Store Movie Rentals/AppleTV Refresh – This is probably the only announcement that would make me consider spending money ASAP.  The AppleTV just dropped to $229 (sucks to be that guy who bought it over the weekend for $299).  It’s a nice device, but at $300, I felt it didn’t really give you much.  Now, with the ability to purchase content directly on the AppleTV, it seems a lot more worthwhile, and I could see myself buying one eventually.  I doubt I’ll rent many movies from iTS as the prices are a little high for my tastes, but that’s not going to stop a lot of people and Apple will make a killing on it.  I think the content is also slightly less expensive than similar Microsoft Marketplace content.
4. MacBook Air – This was probably the highest octane announcement.  I’m sure it’s something a lot of people are looking for.  Personally, it’s not for me.  The size of my MacBook doesn’t bother me.  The size of the MacBook Pro doesn’t bother me.  If I were going to drop $2000 on a laptop (because, let’s face it, you can’t buy it without at least a few extra pieces that will bring the total up), I’d go for the more powerful Pro with a 15.4″ screen.  That’s me, though.  Additionally, the internet is aflutter with the fact that it has a non-user-replaceable battery.  Personally, I think they’re blowing it out of proportion as by the time the battery starts to die out, most of these same people will have upgraded through at least 2 iterations.  It is one sexy-looking laptop, but it’s not for me.  Oh, and for the record, that’s one of the dumbest names since the Lisa.

So, that’s it.  That’s my summary of my feelings about it.  Overall, it was a pretty good time following it.  I have to give props to MacRumorsLive.com and their coverage.  Engadget went down a few times, but the MacRumorsLive stream kept coming and didn’t even require refreshing.  That was a great experience, guys!  (Not to mention, it was sponsored by MacHeist which I have purchased both years now–great products in that bundle.)