Apple's Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme Get Upgrades

Apple added support for 802.11n, the forthcoming high-speed wireless standard. By adding dual-band Wi-Fi capabilities to the AirPort Extreme, it now supports both the 2.4GHz band utilized by older 802.11b/g devices and the 5GHz band used by newer 802.11n devices.

A second update to AirPort Extreme makes it easier for guests to connect to a protected network. The new functionality allows the person who controls the network to set up guest networks that visitors will be able to tap into easily. The network admin can choose to password-protect the guest Wi-Fi or not, depending on the preference. Meanwhile, peripherals such as a printer, external drives and other devices can remain attached to the secure network.

The Time Capsule update provides users with a Mac, OS X Leopard and a MobileMe account to access stored files from anywhere over the Web. Once registered with a MobileMe account, Time Capsule will appear on the sidebar of the desktop. From there, information can be retrieved from and written to the storage device from anywhere.

The AirPort Extreme base station starts at $179. Time Capsule starts at $299 with 500 GB but can be upgraded to 1 TB of storage for an additional cost.