[X4U] Networking PPC and MacIntel

[Philip J Robar]

On Jan 11, 2007, at 10:41 PM, Earle Jones wrote:

>> On Jan 11, 2007, at 11:56 AM, nk wrote:
>>
>> Anyone here who owns both and can talk about whatever issues there  
>> might be networking them together?
>> I'm thinking about the small, at-home set up with either a simple  
>> router, or a DSL switch/router.

There are no issues inherent to differences between PPC and Intel  
based Macs.


> nk:
>
> If your G4 is pretty old (that is, not compatible with Airport  
> Extreme), and...
> If you can find an old original Mac Airport card (not Airport  
> Extreme) for it,
> Then, you can use the Airport Extreme Base Station, which will  
> recognize both the Intel Mac (which has Airport Extreme wired in)  
> and the G4.
> ...

It is compatible with Airport Extreme, which is just Apple's branding  
of the 802.11g wireless networking standard, given that you install  
the correct hardware. What it is not compatible with is the Airport  
Extreme card, however there are several 802.11g USB and PCI solutions  
that will work just fine in an AGP G4 and with an Airport Extreme  
BaseStation. (See http://www.xlr8yourmac.com for user reports on  
working solutions.)


> You can save a couple of pennies with 3rd-party routers (Linksys,  
> etc.),

Actually you can save several tens of dollars by choosing a non-Apple  
solution.


> but for ultimate reliability, stick with Mac.

This is nonsense. Do you have any statistically valid data to back  
this claim up with? The early Airport Extreme BaseStations actually  
had enough reliability problems to gain public notice.


> My next project is to connect the Airport Extreme Base Station to  
> my (upstairs) TIVO, if I can convince myself that the TIVO wireless  
> adapter is compatible with the Base Station.

Short of an implementation error by TiVo or Apple there's no reason  
to believe that it won't work. The TiVo part is just an expensive  
802.11g adaptor.


Phil