airport
Latest
Japan bans Wi-Fi in the friendly skies
Ever since Monday, flying became that much more painful in Japan, as a new law was passed banning passengers from playing wi-fi capable systems while in transit. While the merit of a good book has always been one frequent travelers have never forgotten, it looks like their chances of getting paper cuts are increasing to drastic proportions. No more can one enjoy the boredom-killing capacity of smashing blocks with ones head or finding contradictions in a witness' testimony.Now, if you still have a GBA and live in the country, you're set. You can still whip that puppy out and play some Metroid Fusion or something, but rocking a DS is just plain old out of the question.[Via Joystiq]
ComputerWiz disassembles the new and old Airport Extremes
After all the trouble they had with their Airport Extreme, ComputerWiz did exactly what any sane person would do with a computer they didn't understand, and took it apart. No? That's not what you would do? It's what I would do.Anyway, the main goal was to find out if the new Airport's Gigabit speeds could have just been accomplished by upgrading the firmware of the old Airport Extreme, so CW ripped them both apart and took lots of pictures. All the watermarks make it a little hard to see, but what's clear is that the two different Airports use two different chips-- the earlier one uses the Broadcom BCM 5325, while the latest, Gigabit-speed Airport Extreme uses a BCM5395 chip.What does this mean to you, as an Airport Extreme user? Not much. But it does mean that the Airport update is firmly hardware based-- you can't, for example, use an expander or a software update to speed up your old Airport Extreme unit. On the other hand, thanks to CW, you can get a look at the innards of both units, without having to take them apart yourself and that's always fun.
Apple's gigabit / non-gigabit AirPort Extreme base stations compared
Considering that Apple has been known to release products without all the features, um, enabled out of the box, it seemed fair to question the (now previous) AirPort Extreme's inability to handle gigabit speeds. Apparently unable to shun curiosity, the investigatory folks over at ComputerWiz decided to break open both the gigabit and non-gigabit editions of the AirPort Extreme, and unfortunately for those hoping that their older iteration could be upgraded with a simple firmware patch, that doesn't look to be the case. After closer inspection, the non-gigabit model packed a Broadcom BCM5325 chip, which only contains "five full-duplex 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet transceivers," while the newest AE possesses a Broadcom BCM5395, which of course understands gigabit requirements just fine. Ah well, at least you can stop wishin', eh?
AirPort Base Station Update 2007-002 for Mac
Do you have an AirPort Base Station? Do you enjoy applying updates? Well then, buster, today is your lucky day. Apple has just released an update by the name AirPort Base Station Update 2007-002 for Mac. You'll need any flavor of OS X 10.4 to get this update, as well as an AirPort Extreme or Express. This update, 'includes general fixes and compatibility updates for the following applications: AirPort Utility, AirPort Disk Utility, AirPort Base Station Agent.'I know our very own David Chartier has encountered many issues with AirPort Disk, so here's hoping this update fixes it.
Could new airline regulations affect DS owners?
Traveling sucks. There's just no other way to put it. What is between you and your final destination is a maze of complications that one single blog post couldn't begin to cover. And, for gaming enthusiasts traveling with their hobby of choice, things just got worse.New regulations at U.S. airports dictate that those who're traveling with game consoles must remove them from their bags and process them as they would a laptop or DVD player. Of course, this doesn't affect personal electronics like MP3 players and, more importantly, your DS. But, could it in the future? Yes, and that's what scares us.
Suspicious 'game board' causes airport evacuation
A suspicious item found yesterday at Long Beach Airport, Calif. caused the terminal to be evacuated for about 90 minutes and left five aircraft stranded on the tarmac. The item, found in a checked bag, ended up being a "handheld game board." Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin says, "It certainly was nothing but it certainly looked like something. It had all the wires and components that you would see in an explosive device." The bomb squad was called to the airport -- but no word if they disposed of the nefarious device. Also, the adult passenger is "being interviewed."We wonder if those TSA agents played the Airport Security game to train for their jobs. So, best suggestion on how to avoid a similar incident would probably be not to put your gaming devices together in your bag. A bundled up package of DS, games with cord could look like a bomb to the untrained eye TSA. Better safe than sorry, please wrap each component separately and keep your DS and/or PSP on your body at all times.[Thanks Tacohead]
Deadly blast rocks Virgin Galactic rocket test
This week is quickly becoming a tough one for the aerospace industry, as just a day after NASA reported tampering on an ISS bound computer, an explosion at the Mojave Air and Space Port has claimed two lives and seriously injured four others. The blast reportedly occurred during a "test of a new rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo -- a spaceship being built for Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space tourism company." According to a spokeswoman for the spaceport, the blast was "on a remote pad" at an airport home to Scaled Composite (which is the builder of the first private manned rocket to reach space), but the firm's founder Burt Rutan wasn't in attendance when the "cold fire test" went awry.
Rig of the Week: Cube all-in-one
This week's rig is another Cube mod. Reader bigtimeproducer has posted a picture of an Apple Cube case that has been stripped clean and retro-fitted with a Mac mini, external hard drive and an Airport Extreme. It looks cool, and probably gets a good wireless signal (seeing as the basestation is inches away)."Mac Mini Cube Oblique View" posted by bigtimeproducer.If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Each Sunday we'll comb through the most recent entries and declare a "Rig of the Week!"
Rumor: Paris airport gets some serious PS2 and PS3 lovin'
All Paris PS3 fans would be wise to book all future flights out of Charles de Gaulle International Airport. According to a translated story off PS3 site Playfrance, on June 27th, 14 PS3 consoles will be connected individually to Sony Bravia 1080p HDTV sets in the "Galerie Parisienne" terminal. A slightly easier-to-read translation mentions the stations will be spread amongst "three comfortable" sections and "able to accommodate up to 28 players simultaneously." On an even harder to swallow note, "80 PS2 consoles" were deployed in the same airport, in order to allow a new generation of potential gamers to "discover the new plays of PlayStation 2." Wait, 80 PS2 consoles already deployed, and now 18 PS3's connected to 1080p Bravia HDTV's? Hmm ... something sounds awfully fishy about this. Until we can confirm it with more reliable sources, we're labeling this as "rumor." Although not the first case of gaming in airports, if it proves to be true it would certainly make flight delays a whole lot more enjoyable. By chance, would any of our French readers happen to be on their way to the Charles de Gaulle airport? Screenshots, or it never happened![Via PS3 Forums]
Apple posts AirPort Extreme Base Station w/802.11n Firmware 7.1.1
If you've got an Airport Extreme Basestation and haven't yet downloaded Firmware 7.1, this is your chance to do that and more. Today, Apple has released Firmware 7.1.1 for the Extreme Basestation with 802.11n. This includes all the fixes from 7.1, plus improved support for: Printers and Routers, VPN, PPPoE, WDS(ACL), WEP(TSN) Localized file naming, port mapping, IPv6, and NAS Improved stability with keychain passwords Improved support for third party applications saving files to a USB disk Improved support for AirPort USB disk stability and power saving, disk read/write performance, disk file sharing and passwords Addressed an issue where Base Station would not request a password when expected Get it while it's hot (though we're guessing this won't be the only "new" release from Apple today).[Via MacMinute]
WiFind replacement Airport menubar item
WiFind from Tasty Apps is a neat little replacement for Airport menubar item that adds some cool features. Specifically it shows right in the drop-down menu both whether or not networks are locked and also each WAP's signal strength. This is surely a much handier way to check all those networks at your local coffee shop, rather than just trying to connect to each one. It is worth pointing out, however, that WiFind does its magic via a SIMBL plugin.WiFind is $8 and a demo is available.[via Digg]
Virgin America cleared for take-off, CEO forced to resign
We'd heard rumblings that Virgin America was indeed lobbying for the US Department of Transportation's blessing to take off from American soil, and after getting a hands-on experience that was second to none, we couldn't help but hope for things to work out. Sure enough, VA has now been given the almighty thumbs-up to operate in the United States. Interestingly, the final approval was only granted after "several additional conditions" were finally agreed to, one of which will leave the current CEO sans a job. Unfortunately for Mr. Fred Reid, "US law restricts foreign ownership in airlines to 25-percent of voting stock," and apparently, the DOT didn't take too kindly to Reid's "longstanding association with foreign investors," most notably Virgin Group's Richard Branson. Nevertheless, the current head man will stay on board for another six months, and while a replacement has yet to be named, the airline hopes to get its birds in the air sometime this summer. Initially, flights will travel from its home base (SFO) to New York (JFK), and while there's no definite timetable as to when routes will be expanded to hit other US cities, feel free to click through for the full lineup of locales that VA hopes to be servicing sooner rather than later.Read - Virgin America cleared for take-offRead - Fred Reid forced to resign as VA takes flight
EU's intelligent cameras could nix the infamous 'bag drop'
One of the oldest and most successful tricks in the book could be finally meeting its match, as the infamous "bag drop" seen in countless silver screen suspense flicks is now the focal point of the European Union's latest investment in intelligent cameras. The EU has partnered with ten other companies and research institutes to fund the $3.11 million ISCAPS (Integrated Surveillance of Crowded Areas for Public Security) project, which does a fair job in and of itself explaining the duties. While the Brits are wading through gobs of surveillance issues in their own land, this attempt to utilize smart camera systems to pick up "abandoned bags, erratic movements, loitering, or suspicious vehicle movements" could cause quite a bit of fuss right next door. The crew has purportedly done extensive interviewing with security experts to program in what could be classified as dodgy behavior in a bustling locale, but the ultimate decision to approach someone of their motives would still be left up to a human (at least for the time being). Looks like your plans to pull off a Thomas Crown Affair of your own just got spoiled, eh?
Airport Extreme Base Station Update
Apple has just released a new update for AirPort Extreme base stations. The update includes general fixes, security improvements and addresses compatibility for the 802.11n base station. To install this update, you'll need AirPort Utility 5.1 for Mac or Windows. The first security concerns seem to be the AirPort's ability to allow incoming IPv6 connections, which it does by default. The new update changes those default settings to limit inbound IPv6 connections to the local network only. You can check your settings after installing the update by opening AirPort Utility, selecting an 802.11 Extreme base station, clicking Advanced -> IPv6, and making sure that Block incoming IPv6 connections is checked. A second security issue allows file names from a password-protected AirPort Disk to be viewed by users on the local network without a password. This is patched to require validation before file names (not file contents) can be seen.
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.]
TUAW How To: Use your iTunes library over AirPort Disk
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/software/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.
Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport puts omniscient X-ray to use
We don't envision very many people enjoying the idea of having TSA employees seeing every curve their body has to offer, but unfortunately for those who fail the primary metal detector test at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, you could be in for such a treat. While airport shoe scanners have already garnered sufficient criticism for holding up the show rather than helping things out, the "backscatter" X-ray machine is officially being trialed in Arizona as a means of snuffing out hidden "explosives and other weapons" that can't be detected by other means. While the technology allows the viewer to see just about every follicle on your body (and any stray .500 Magnums adorning your person), there is still currently a workaround if you're not entirely comfortable with going full-frontal before boarding your flight. A TSA spokesperson proclaimed that the process is completely voluntary, as folks who get dinged by the metal detector can opt for a standard pat-down in order to clear things up. Interestingly, the officials operating the machine have reportedly "adjusted the equipment to make the image look something like a line drawing" rather than detailing all your 2,000 parts, but critics suggest that altering the image also hampers the chance of discovering contraband in the first place. Still, unless this causes some serious uproar in the near future, it looks like it's there to stay, and folks traveling through LAX and New York's Kennedy Airport will likely face a similar beast (if they so choose) before the year's end.
First Thoughts: AirPort Extreme Base Station
I decided to jump on one of the new AirPort Extreme Base Stations primarily because both my wife and I now own MacBooks, and we both have varying levels of success at maintaining any kind of steady backup schedule. Now when I say 'varying level of success,' I mean: my wife pretty much doesn't, and I did a fairly good job back when I had an Intel iMac set up on the network to which I used ChronoSync to do incremental over-the-air backups. So what does a new AirPort Extreme Base Station have to do with our backup habits, you ask? Well, aside from the new 802.11n speeds (for which I have not quite gone ga-ga just yet), I am most interested in the new AirPort Disk feature, which allows you to plug a USB hard drive into the station for automatic mounting whenever connected to the network. Now I can have one large drive to which I can back up both mine and my wife's essentials, as well as a repository for my iTunes library to free up space for Final Cut Studio and even tinkering with Linux and (yes, sadly) Windows in Parallels for my work at our sister blog, Download Squad.I picked up the new base station Wednesday night, which I set up to relieve our trusty AirPort Express from its duties in the living room (now we have 'tunes in the basement office! hooray!). Since it's only been a few days and I'm still waiting for UPS to bring me a bouncing baby external hard drive, I thought I would post some general first thoughts on the setup experience thus far. A more detailed report is pending, and I plan on writing up how-tos for wireless backups and using this setup for a wireless iTunes library. Until then, read after the jump for some general thoughts on my initial experience with Apple's slick new base station.
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.
Engadget gets hands on with Apple's new AirPort Extreme
While I still need to drop $180 to get an AirPort Extreme Base Station for 'review' from Apple, Engadget just put theirs through its paces. Overall, they found that the obvious upsides were Apple's sleek design and easy-breezy setup thanks to the revamped AirPort Admin Utility 5.0. In the drawbacks category, however, were a bizarre lack - in fact a back-step for the AirPort base station - of gigabit ethernet, and less-than-optimal transfer rates, though Engadget concedes your mileage may vary, as it so often does with wireless hardware.Engadget has also posted a hands-on gallery, which includes their own screenshots of the new Admin Utility. Strangely, they didn't say anything about some of this base station's new found abilities, such as the new AirPort Disk, one of the key features making me count my pennies in anticipation of affording one of these.
