In the year 2000, the Apple AirPort was just beginning to make an appearance in the world, the precursor to what would become the AirPort Extreme. Being one of the first companies to delve heavily into the wireless networking arena, Apple positioned itself well by offering a wireless router that appealed to the general public.

The introduction of the Airport Extreme brought with it the ability to switch between 802.11b and 802.11g networks. Now, the Apple AirPort Extreme offers 802.11n compatibility, meaning that it's now faster than ever before. And with the addition of a USB port, it offers even more options as a wireless print server or computer backup device. The AirPort Extreme could be a great addition to your office for the following reasons:

1. The AirPort Extreme allows you to connect wirelessly to the Internet, printers and backup drives, keeping your office less cluttered

2. Setup one printer for employees to use and hook it to the AirPort base station, saving you the money necessary to provide employees with their own printer

3. Setup a backup drive for use with the Time Machine feature found on all Macs running Tiger and keep multiple machines backed up at the same time

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide if Macintosh AirPort Extreme is right for you by reading reviews

These days it seems as though everybody has a wireless router and wants you buy theirs. Take some time and read Apple AirPort Extreme information and reviews online. You should inform yourself before purchasing a Mac AirPort Extreme.

I recommend: The first place to stop is MacInTouch, where they talk in detail about the various features available on the AirPort Extreme and how they could assist you in your day to day routine and a list of Pros and Cons. The other place for a well written review of the AirPort Extreme and an AirPort Extreme list of features is Ars Technica.

Find AirPort Extreme providers to make your purchase

While there are many options for wireless routers available, the AirPort Extreme base station offers a selection of options you might not find with other routers. If you have decided that these features would be a benefit to your company, then you need to know where to purchase one.

I recommend: The first place to check out is MacMall, where you can purchase the Apple AirPort Extreme base station at a small discount. The other AirPort Extreme provider to find a great deal on an AirPort Base station is over at New Egg.

Find online tutorials for your Mac AirPort Extreme base station

As with all technology these days, the Airport Extreme base station is something that has much more than meets the eye. While it's fairly simple to setup the basic wireless networking features that will allow you to connect to the Internet, it's a good idea to understand what all those settings mean and how they can affect the security of your business.

I recommend: While this is a text-based tutorial, the write-up at iBoughtAMac offers excellent explanations on each feature of the AirPort Extreme and how each setting can affect you and your business. Macinstruct offers another tutorial that provides you with useful information.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When setting up wireless passwords on your Airport Extreme, use WPA instead of WEP. The security level of WPA is far superior than WEP.