Tag: network

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AirPort Extreme (Generation 3, Apple Service part, Early 2009)

According to Apple, this AirPort Extreme (Generation 3) provided “simultaneous dual-band wireless 802.11n networking. When you set up your AirPort Extreme Base Station, it creates two high-speed Wi-Fi networks.”

The AirPort Extreme Generation 3 had 5 ports:

  • 1 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet Wide Area Network (WAN) port (for DSL/cable modem)
  • 3 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) (for Ethernet devices, such as printers or computers)
  • 1 USB port (for a USB printer, hard disk, or hub)

This device is packaged as an Apple Service part and does not include the retail packaging. The box, labeled Part Number 661-4908, contains the three parts needed to repair or replace the device including a power adapter, a power plug (North America), and a base station.

This AirPort Extreme model was available for less than 8 months before it was replaced by the Generation 4 model. It measured 6.5 x 6.5 inches square and was 1.3 inches tall. It weighed 1.66 pounds.

Sources: Apple (manuals), Wikipedia

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Apple product poster (July 1993)

This fold-out poster is from July 1993 and lists product names and feature grids of every Apple product available at the time. Its headline reads “Everything you need to know about Apple products” in Apple Garamond, Apple’s corporate font used between 1984 and 2003. Folded, the poster measures 8.5 x 11 inches—but it unfolds into 16 panels to reveal a 34-inch wide x 44-inch long poster (nearly 3 x 4 feet).

The poster is printed on one side and includes the following product categories:

  • Macintosh Computers (25 options)
  • PowerBook Computers (11 options)
  • Displays (9 options)
  • Printers (12 options)
  • Networking
  • Peripherals

The list of devices offered included separate devices with different names and configurations—creating a dizzying array of options for consumers.

I was able to unfold this poster, perhaps for the first time, carefully enough to provide a photo from above that offers high enough resolution to read most of the grids.

The poster is printed on heavy white paper (yellowing slightly with age), primarily with black ink and dark green accents.

Source: Apple

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AppleShare Server 3.0 box (1992)

AppleShare 3 is an early implementation of a networking system by Apple that connected several network services in one package. This version, AppleShare 3.0, predates the Internet and serves primarily as a file sharing system and print server. AppleShare ran on a Macintosh Plus, Macintosh SE, or Macintosh Classic with 4 MB of RAM, and also on a Power Macintosh.

Low End Mac compiled information about AppleShare and published the following features:

  • requires System 7.0 or later
  • runs on 68000 or later with at least 4 MB RAM

For file services, Low End Mac reports that AppleShare 3 allows up to:

  • 120 connected users (v. 10 for file sharing)
  • 346 unique files open at one time
  • 50 shared volumes (vs. 10 for file sharing)
  • 8,192 users and groups (vs. 100 for file sharing)
  • 65,536 files per volume (limited by HFS file system)
  • 4 GB volume size (System 7.0 through 7.1 are limited to 2 GB)
  • 2 GB file size (requires AppleShare Workstation 3.5 or later on clients)

File sharing in AppleShare 3 was accomplished through AFP, Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), a proprietary network protocol that offered file services for the classic Mac OS.

This boxed version of AppleShare 3 is from 1992 and includes the original manuals and floppy disks required to install AppleShare on a Macintosh of the time.

Sources: Low End Mac, Wikipedia (AppleShare, AFP)

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AirPort Extreme Base Station (original, 2003)

The AirPort Extreme was a wireless networking base station that combined the functions of a network router and wireless access point. When the Extreme model of this device was released, the “extreme” modifier denoted its increased Wi-Fi speed from 802.11a/b to the faster 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, a major speed difference at the time. 

The AirPort Extreme base station model retained the form factor as the original AirPort base station in shape, but the AirPort Extreme was cast in opaque white plastic, used a mirrored Apple logo, and moved the ports to the bottom of the device. The shape was sometimes referred to as the “flying saucer.” Not only was it shaped like a flying saucer, a 1999 TV commercial that introduced the original AirPort showed it behaving like a UFO.

The original AirPort Extreme Base Station could provide wireless access to up to 50 Macs or PCs simultaneously, although performance was noticeably affected as connections exceeded about 12 connected devices. This version was also notable to include a 56K dial-up modem that allowed homes without broadband Internet to have wireless Internet.

Reference: Wikipedia.com