Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A 802.11n 500 GB Network Backup Hard Drive

List Price: $299.00 Discount Price: Too low to display

Features:

• A revolutionary backup device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard
• Time Capsule can back up and store files for each Leopard-based Mac on your wireless network
• 500 GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA server-grade hard drive gives you all the capacity and safety you need
• More than just a wireless hard drive, Time Capsule is also a full-featured AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n technology
• Works with Mac and PC

Customer Reviews:

This is a keeper!!! [Posted on 2008-07-08]
I've got to admit, I had quite a few reservations about ordering the Time Capsule... The experiences I had with my late, unlamented AirPort Extreme (mostly bad) caused me to hesitate more than a few times before clicking on the button to finalize the sale. As a parenthetical note, I got one of the first Time Capsules, as I had pre-ordered through the Apple online store. When I received the Time Capsule (on a Tuesday), I waited until the following Saturday to begin the set up process, believing that I would need a full day to work all the bugs out of the network...

In the end, I could have set the Time Capsule up on a long coffee break from work, including the commute back and forth! All I had to do was download the latest version of the AirPort Utility, plug it up to power and the cable modem and run the set-up wizard. Within 5 minutes, my Macbook Pro was on the network at a jaw-dropping 144 mbps connection speed. Another 10 minutes and I had a Windows-based dinosaur personal laptop, my work laptop, three Win desktops, my Wii and the wife's Mac Mini connected wirelessly. The Time Capsule has run flawlessly since late February without a single dropped connection. The reliability of the Time Capsule has been stellar, and in a household with two avid online gamers and a technology-adverse spouse who is constantly shopping online, I would have immediately been informed of any issues. Using my MacBook Pro, connected wirelessly, I can achieve an astonishing 20 mbps download speed on a regular basis through my ISP, which is exactly what I can achieve when I check using my Core 2 Quad QX9770-based machine through a wired connection. I've got the Mini and the MacBook Pro both using the HDD of the Time Capsule for Time Machine back-ups without a hitch, as well as having an additional 750GB shared drive and a shared printer on the network.

Yes, the first time you initiate a Time Machine backup, it's going to be dreadfully slow. A slow initial backup is not the fault of the Time Capsule and, according to Apple product message boards should be done hard-wired in any case. That said, the Time Capsule/Time Machine combination has saved my virtual bacon on two occasions where I flubbed a software installation and had to slick the HDD and reinstall Leopard.

This is one concept that Apple has certainly delivered!

Amazingly Simple [Posted on 2008-07-10]
I bought the Time Capsule with a bit of trepidation because I'd never set up a network before, wireless or otherwise. When I went through the AirPort Utility, I couldn't get online because the router wasn't recognizing my internet connection.

But all it took was one search of the database at apple.com and I found a step-by-step guide to installation of Comcast cable modems onto an AirPort router (which is the guts of the Time Capsule), and after I followed the directions VOILA!! I'm online!!

Once again Apple JUST WORKS.

Great concept, but buggy for local peer traffic [Posted on 2008-07-13]
This is based on my experience with three different Time Capsules. I am confident I don't have a defective unit.

PRO:
* Solid radio performance for good distance
* Easy setup with Mac or Windows
* Works as a Time Machine target for multiple Macs simultaneously
* Adds fixed IP reservation by both MAC and bootp/dhcp request name
* Flawless for a single machine, or multiple machines needing Internet and NAS access only.

CONS:
* Single radio, manual band selection. Newer 802.11n routers auto-select between 2.4ghz and 5ghz or use both bands at once.
* No web configurator. Configuration via Linux and some Windows versions unsupported.
* Bad collision arbitration. Local peers communicating over wifi relay off the Time Capsule if configured as an AP. Throughput is only about 15% of either machine communicating with the Time Capsule. Other APs maintain closer to 50%, or 100% with dual radios.
* Locks up periodically when routing traffic between an attached device and a wifi device or between two wifi devices.
* Time Machine backup is invalidated after a hard lockup or power failure if a backup was in progress. Repairing the disk image on the Time Capsule means saturated network load for a day or more.
* All configuration changes - even port mapping - require a lengthy reset that drops network connections

The local traffic lockup issue is a big drag. The workaround is to always copy files from the source machine to the Time Capsule, and then to the target machine. Never copy files directly between machines and you won't experience the lockup or slowdown. Unfortunately, this workaround doesn't work when transferring recordings from my TiVo to a PC, which also periodically triggers the lockup. I haven't found a workaround here.

Very easy setup [Posted on 2008-07-15]
I am surprised to see the number of reviews here indicating the Time Capsule was difficult to setup. I have a 24" iMac (Intel) with 70 gigs of data running Leopard. I just received my Time Capsule (500mb) a few days ago. I replaced my existing Airport Express with the Time Capsule. I was immediately surprised because it was pre-configured for DHCP, so my Internet worked with no configuration at all. I stepped through the wizard to set it up, which took about five minutes (giving it a name, password, etc). It then started backing up my data. The initial backup took about 24 hours to complete wirelessly. It did NOT affect the speed of my Internet at all however. In addition, Apple recommends performing the initial backup with the machine in the same room as the Time Capsule (if backing up wirelessly) for best performance. Because of my cable setup (the Time Capsule is actually on a different floor), I just let it run slowly - I didn't mind. All-in-all, it took about 5 minutes of my time to setup, plus time to unpack the device and plug it in of course! It's been running great behind the scenes ever since. This is a FANTASTIC product and truly a life saver for people that want to backup their photos, music and files - but can never find the time.

Works Great [Posted on 2008-07-21]
been using for 45 days, setup was a snap (Macbook pro with Leopard) - did the initial backup with an ethernet connection to the time capsule and configured the wireless to only use N mode bridged to an existing access point. So far does exactly what it's supposed to do.

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