pocket-size WiFi for $60
I always carry one of these tiny WiFi routers with me when I travel. Plug it into an existing high-speed Internet connection or local network, and you’ve got a nearly instant wireless network. Like most Apple products, you don’t need to be a tech geek to setup the AirPort Express Base Station 802.11b/g, using the AirPort Utility software that comes with it. Both this software and the router work with both Macintosh and Windows computers.
This is a good price from MacMall (probably won’t last long) for a discontinued model. This model is compatible with the WiFi-B and WiFi-G standards. (In geek parlance, these are called 802.11b and 802.11g. Catchy moniker, huh? You can see why the marketing types invented the name “WiFi” instead.) This means it will work with virtually any WiFi-enabled computer (or any other device compatible with either the B, G or N versions of WiFi), but it will not work at the faster speeds and longer ranges which are possible with WiFi-N devices. However, if you aren’t actually using a WiFi-N device, there’s little reason to spend the extra $40 for the latest AirPort Express Base Station 802.11n. (In fact, if you have even one B or G device on a WiFi-N network, every device will be limited to the slower speed; lowest common denominator rules with WiFi.)
Oh, and these make a perfectly good router in a small home, for many folks, especially if you only have one computer, or all your computers use WiFi (none need an Ethernet connection). Or it can be used as second router, to extend the reach and features of another AirPort Base Station. I’ve written in more detail about this in the past. But today, if you’re one of those folks that have seen me on the road and envied my “portable network”, now is a good time to get your own, on the cheap.
