[geeks] Airport Express arrived yesterday!

[Lionel Peterson]

Hello all,

My pre-ordered Apple AirPort Express arrived yesterday, and last night I was able to set up both our Apple notebooks (my PowerBook and her iBook) in about 90 minutes - but this included setting up a new Cannon i960 printer.

The process was quite simple:

 - Unpack printer, install cartridges, etc.
 - Attach printer to PowerBook and power everything up
 - Install i960 drivers, print test page (make sure everything OK)
 - Unpack AirPort Express
 - Attach USB printer, cat5e drop, and plug into wall outlet
 - Install AirPort Express software
 - Configure AirPort to join existing network
 - Add printer to PowerBook over Rondevous (sp?)
 - Print test page - all OK

Big smile!

All the Apple-compatible print servers I saw required a Postscript printer, the AirPort Express has no such limitation...

Setup was very easy, the only "trick" was to make sure the client laptop/desktop has the appropriate driver installed for the printer you are sharing - the AirPort Express is really like a wireless USB extension cord...

The one question I have is this (haven't tested yet): My home network has a DHCP server that gave the AirPort Express it's IP address - what happens when I remove power and move the unit - will my Apple laptops find the AirPort Express even if the IP address changes?

I'll probably try the iTunes streaming tonight, but don't know if I'll use it for any length of time... ;^)

Very cool.