Mac Forum / Country Specific / Australian Mac Group / September 2005

You have everything you need except the airport extreme with built in modem
( I presume you still want to use dial up but broadband would obviously be
better).  The Extreme offers a USB plug and a built in print server so you
can share that.  You eMac would connect to the ethernet LAN port on the
extreme and you would connect wirelessly with the powerbook.  So everything
is connected and can be shared.  I don't have an express but it appears it
does all of this too plus allows you to plug in your stereo.  However it has
no dialup capability and all computers would need to be connected
wirelessly.  ALso the express doesn't have a WAN ethernet port that the
extreme does which allows you to connect up to hubs etc so I would think
there are a few more outlays with the express.

Hope that helps.

Nigel
Brisbane

If you have given up on sharing a dialup internet connection via
Ethernet (I would give up on that), then your choices are sharing a dial
up, or moving to broadband.

Airport Extreme Base Station (looks like a flying saucer) is available
with a dial up modem in it.  It is probably the only remaining Ethernet
or wireless base station that has a dial up modem.  It works just fine,
although I initially had a little trouble setting it up.  I used one for
about a year, and it is still my fallback dialup connection.  Initial
cost is, well whatever Apple are asking.  Monthly is your phone line
rental plus ISP dialup costs.

Personally I find a broadband (DSL) connection a whole lot better, if
you are sufficiently close to the phone exchange to get it.  A cable
connection could also be OK, in the event that happens to be available
where you live.  Either is significantly faster.  However the monthly
cost is generally higher, since you have the phone line rental plus the
somewhat higher ISP charge for ADSL.  Count on it costing say $30 a
month more than the dial up.

If going broadband, I wouldn't get Apple gear, as they don't have a
complete solution and their pricing isn't competitive.  You have to add
a DSL modem to the Airport Extreme Base Station or the Airport Express.  
The Airport Extreme Base Station connects to both the ADSL or Cable
Modem that you buy, and to a separate Ethernet connection.  However it
doesn't include a hub, so it you want more than one computer connected
via Ethernet wire, you also need to buy an Ethernet hub or switch.

The tiny Airport Express doesn't have the dialup at all.  If you connect
it to an ADSL modem, then your other connections have to be via wirelss
(you have used up the only Ethernet connector).  It comes in handy if
you want to send music to a stereo, or network a USB only printer.  It
is also handy for frequent travellers to hotels that have an Ethernet
connection in the wall (think Rydges), as you can then make that
connection wireless pretty easily.

If DSL, buy a combined box that does the entire thing.  That is, ADSL
modem, Firewall, router, four port Ethernet hub, 802.11g wireless access
point.  I used a Netgear 834g picked up when someone had it on special.  
However there are several other brands that also work fine.  They are
all cheaper than the Apple Airport devices.  Setup of boxes like the
Netgear is via an Ethernet cable, using your web browser.  You don't
need any software at all.  Takes about 5 minutes maximum, as long as you
have all the ISP details.

No point in going past 802.11g wireless as your Apple won't use the even
higher speeds anyway.  Slower 802.11b is the same as Airport.  802.11g
is the same as Airport Extreme, in terms of the connection.  802.11g
gear will revert to 802.11b speeds if there are 802.11b connections.  
Going this way you can use Ethernet, or wireless, as you see fit, and
swap around easily.  Plus you can add several more connections sometime
if you like (IP addressed camera for security when they get cheap, or
when friends visit with a laptop or whatever).  They work fine in a
mixed network of Mac and Windows (and Linux).