Tag: gigabit ethernet

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AirPort Extreme 802.11ac (Generation 6, 2013)

The AirPort Extreme was a wireless base station that combined the functions of a router, network switch, wireless access point, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), and other features. Apple released a total of seven AirPort Extreme Base Station models. This Generation 6 was the final model.

The original version of the AirPort Extreme Base Station used the “flying saucer” form factor. Generations 1–5 used a flat square form factor with rounded corners. The final Generation 6 model kept the concept of a square with rounded corners, but the base station used a tower design, measuring 3.85 inches x 3.85 inches and 6.6 inches tall.

The Generation 6 AirPort Extreme 802.11ac was announced on June 10, 2013. It offered three-stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi at 1.3Gbit/s (three times faster than 802.11n). Time Machine was supported in this model using an attached external USB hard drive.

The packaging listed the following features:

  • Simultaneous dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi with up to three times faster performance than 802.11n
  • Compatible with 802,11a/b/g/n/ac-enabled computers, networks, and Wi-Fi devices such as iPhone, iPad, Pod touch, and Apple TV
  • USB port to share a printer or hard drive and access it wirelessly
  • One Gigabit Ethernet WAN port to connect to a DSL or cable modem or Ethernet network; three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
  • Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) security and built-in firewall protection
  • Ability to set up a separate guest network to share your Wi-Fi connection

Sources: Wikipedia, Apple

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Mac Pro (Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, Mid-2010)

The Mac Pro Quad Core 2.8 uses a single 2.8 GHz Quad Core Xeon W3530 processor. The “quad core” designation refers to its single processor with four independent “core” processing centers that can work independently or together to increase computing speed and efficiency. It used 3 GB of RAM (DDR3 ECC SDRAM), a 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive, an 18X dual-layer SuperDrive, and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card.

The design of this tower was identical to its Power Mac G5 predecessor, using the same anodized aluminum alloy case with a removable side panel. The sides of the tower were solid aluminum with a light gray Apple logo printed on center. The front and back used a pattern of aluminum perforations as a design element, a structural feature, and as part of the ventilation for the internal systems.

The front of the tower included spaces for two optical drives at the top. On the lower-right was the power button and five ports: 3.5 mm headphone jack, two USB ports, and two FireWire 800 ports.

The back of the tower included five slots. Slot 1 includes a dual-link DVI port and two Mini DisplayPorts. Slot 2 is unused (and uses a ventilated cover), while slots 3–5 are unused. Rear ports include three USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire 800 ports, optical digital audio in/out ports, a 3.5 mm line-out audio jack, a 3.5 mm line-in audio jack, and two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports. Internally, wireless networking options include AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1.

Inside, the Mac Pro includes two 5.25-inch optical drive bays (both are outfitted with Apple SuperDrive drives in this example); four internal 3.5-inch cable-free, direct-attach hard drive bays (this model has three 512 GB drives); and four PCIe 2.0 slots, one with a graphics card installed.

Source: Everymac

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Power Mac G5 (Dual Core, 2.3 GHz, 2005)

The Power Mac G5 tower represented a major design departure from the four previous Mac “pro” tower designs. The Power Mac G5 used an anodized aluminum alloy case design with a removable side panel that replaced the hinged door on previous Mac towers.

The sides of the Power Mac G5 were solid aluminum with a light gray Apple logo printed on center. The front and back used a pattern of aluminum perforations as design elements, structure, and as part of the ventilation for the internal systems.

This model is a Power Mac G5 Dual Core running at 2.3 GHz. The same design was available in a G5 Dual Core (2.0 GHz) and a G5 Quad Core (2.5 GHz) variation, with all models using 970MP G5 processors with two independent cores on a single chip. This tower included 512 MB or 1 GB RAM (SDRAM), a 250 GB (Serial ATA) hard drive, a 16x dual-layer SuperDrive, and a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 video card.

The front of the tower included a single optical drive, the power button, and three ports: one 3.5 mm headphone jack, one USB port, and a FireWire 400 port.

The back of the tower included four slots. Slot 1 includes two DVI ports (one single-link DVI and one dual-link DVI port), while slots 2–4 are unused. Rear ports include two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports, one FireWire 400 port, one FireWire 800 port, optical digital audio in/out ports, a 3.5 mm line-out audio jack, a 3.5 mm line-in audio jack, and three USB 2.0 ports.

Internally, the tower supports AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless protocols. Everymac reports that the inside of Power Mac G5 models were divided into “four different thermal zones with nine computer-controlled fans for optimum cooling.” Also, this Power Mac G5 has two internal hard drives.

The case design with its front and back aluminum perforations and handles is, indeed, reminiscent of a cheese grater—albeit a beautiful one.

Source: Everymac

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Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (unopened, 2012)

According to Apple, the Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter “lets you easily connect to a high-performance Gigabit Ethernet network. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac computer and provides an RJ-45 port that supports 10/100/1000BASE-T networks.”

This adapter can be used with Apple computers with a Thunderbolt port, including MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015–2017), MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015), MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012–2015), MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012–2015), iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015), iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014–2015), Mac Pro (Late 2013), and Mac mini (Late 2014).

Source: Apple

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MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, early 2008)

This MacBook Pro 15-inch laptop was released in early 2008 with an identical case design as its predecessor. It shipped with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz SDRAM. It contained a 200 GB hard drive and 8X DVD RW/CD-RW SuperDrive. The display was an LED-backlit 15.4-inch widescreen at 1440×900 resolution.

Although the external case did not change from the “Santa Rosa” processor version of the laptop that preceded it, the keyboard design removed the numeric keypad accessed using the fn (function) key and replaced the right-side enter key with an additional option key, the same laptop keyboard layout still in use now (as of February 2020). This MacBook Pro also used the same trackpad design as the MacBook Air of the time, adding multi-touch gestures.

Ports on this MacBook Pro included an ExpressCard slot, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400, Firewire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, optical digital audio in/out, and DVI out. Wireless connections included AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1. It also included an iSight video camera and MagSafe power connector, both standard at the time.

When I acquired this laptop, its battery had burst while installed in the laptop. The battery failure caused the battery to bow in the center and it was lodged in the case. Using a few iFixIt spatula tools, I was able to extract it safely and then properly dispose of the ruptured battery.

Source: EveryMac

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AirPort Extreme Base Station (Generation 2, 2007)

The AirPort Extreme was a wireless base station that combined the functions of a router, network switch, wireless access point, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), and other functions. The AirPort Extreme Base Station Generation 2 was released in 2007 with a white, rounded-rectangle design that was similar to the look of the first-generation Mac mini and original Apple TV.

The The AirPort Extreme Base Station measured 6.5 inches square, 1.3 inches tall, and weighed 1.66 pounds. It supported 802.11a/b/g and Draft 802.11n2 wireless network protocols. Ports included one Gigabit Ethernet WAN port (for connecting a DSL or cable modem), three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports (for connecting computers or network devices), and one USB port (for connecting a USB printer or USB external hard drive).

Sources: Wikipedia.org, Apple

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iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch (2009)

The iMac Core 2 Duo 24-inch featured a 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two independent processors on a single chip), 4 GB of RAM, a 640 GB hard drive, a slot-loading DVD-R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 24-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD display at 1920×1200. Ports included four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and a Mini DisplayPort. Wireless connectivity included a built-in AirPort Extreme.

The iMac Core 2 Duo (Early 2009) models differ from a previous similar aluminum iMac design by adding a tapered foot.

I used this iMac extensively as my primary home iMac for graphics and GarageBand music projects.

Source: EveryMac.com

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iMac Core 2 Duo 20-inch (2007)

iMac Core 2 Duo 20-Inch featured a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (two processors on a single chip), 1 GB of RAM, a 320 GB Serial ATA hard drive, a slot-loading DVD+R DL SuperDrive, a built-in iSight video camera, and built-in stereo speakers. The screen was a 20-inch glossy TFT Active Matrix LCD at 1680×1050. Ports included three USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire 400 port, a Firewire 800 port, Gigabit Ethernet, and mini-DVI. It also included built-in AirPort Extreme.

The exterior aluminum case had a black plastic back. The iMac Core 2 Duo also shipped with a matching aluminum Apple Keyboard with a design similar to the keyboard on the MacBook at the time.

Source: EveryMac.com

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Mac mini (Late 2014)

The Mac mini Late 2014 included a Core i5 “Haswell” 2.6 GHz Intel processor (with two independent cores on a single chip), 8 GB of SDRAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. Ports included two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0, and an SDXC card slot.

This and all Mac mini systems ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. This model’s case is primarily aluminum with a black plastic back and base.

All Mac mini systems I have owned have served as my iTunes server allowing access to iTunes music/Apple Music, streaming video content, saved digital movies, and other media. This was the first Mac mini I owned with a direct HDMI connection to my primary home TV (others used VGA and DVI connections).

Source: EveryMac.com

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Mac mini Core 2 Duo (2007)

The Mac mini Core 2 Duo featured a 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1 GB of SDRAM memory, an 80 GB Serial ATA hard drive, a slot-loading 8X DVD/CD-RW Combo drive, and it came with an Apple Remote.

Ports included DVI (with a DVI-to-VGA adapter included), Firewire 400, four USB 2.0 ports, a combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/headphone, a 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port, and built-in AirPort Extreme/Bluetooth 2.0. It lacks an internal 56k modem.

This model had the same case as the original Mac mini: 6.5 inches square, 2 inches tall, and weighed 2.9 pounds. This and all Mac mini systems ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse.

I upgraded to this Mac mini from the original due to its larger hard drive and optical digital audio output/headphone jack. I used it for the same purpose as the original to access iTunes and digital movies. It also permanently replaced my DVD player in the age of physical-DVD Netflix (before digital streaming, Netflix movies arrived in the mail on DVDs that played in a DVD player).

Now that this Mac mini has been retired as my media server, I use it to power my digital fireplace.

Source: EveryMac.com