1) Has anyone had problems with Airport Software update 3.2?

After doing this upgrade (including the base station firmware) I am
totally unable to communicate with the base station. A hard reset of
the base station (power up while pressing reset button) ought to give
me a network named Apple Something-or-Other which I do not have. If I
try to create a closed network I simply get a "There was an error
connecting..." message. This is the same error I got prior to the hard
reset, after 3.2.

Apple decided the base station was broken and they are sending a
replacement. This will be the second replacement.

2) Is a base station required for a computer-to-computer connection?

With the base station rendered inoperable, I've unplugged it. Now I
find that computer to computer connections don't function either. A
name created on one machine is selectable on another but that's as far
as it goes. Nothing of the first machine ever appears on the second.
This is with the firewall off and Personal File Sharing enabled on both
sides.

During a frustrating afternoon on the phone with Apple regarding item
(2) I was told first that OS X dropped support for computer to computer
connections without a base station present and when challenged on that
the story changed to it having always been a requirement.

As I understand the explanation, the base station serves as a DHCP to
issue IP addresses.

3) Is it just me or are 802.11 networks *very* unreliable?

My connection drops frequently and unpredictably even though the base
station and laptop are only one room apart. There are others living
below me and to one side so I can't say what kind of interference they
may be causing. But my own microwave does not effect it.

Irwin <ipoche@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> 1) Has anyone had problems with Airport Software update 3.2?

Yes. There are some bugs.


> After doing this upgrade (including the base station firmware) I am
> totally unable to communicate with the base station. A hard reset of
> the base station (power up while pressing reset button) ought to give
> me a network named Apple Something-or-Other which I do not have. If I
> try to create a closed network I simply get a "There was an error
> connecting..." message. This is the same error I got prior to the hard
> reset, after 3.2.
>
> Apple decided the base station was broken and they are sending a
> replacement. This will be the second replacement.

Which indicates to me that the problem might be the AirPort ~card~ in
your Mac rather than the base station.


> 2) Is a base station required for a computer-to-computer connection?

No. That requirement would make computer-to-computer (or "ad hoc")
networks pointless -- like a device that will only run on batteries when
it's plugged into the wall.


> With the base station rendered inoperable, I've unplugged it. Now I
> find that computer to computer connections don't function either. A
> name created on one machine is selectable on another but that's as far
> as it goes. Nothing of the first machine ever appears on the second.
> This is with the firewall off and Personal File Sharing enabled on both
> sides.

Again this indicates that the problem might be with the card, not the
base station. Which two computers are you trying to network? Have you
tried creating a computer-to-computer network on the other machine? Does
the AirPort menu icon change to indicate that a network has been created
or joined?


> During a frustrating afternoon on the phone with Apple regarding item
> (2) I was told first that OS X dropped support for computer to computer
> connections without a base station present and when challenged on that
> the story changed to it having always been a requirement.

Utter rubbish. The next time you call Apple, get the name of the person
you are talking to. If you don't get some better answers, ask to have
your case advanced to a higher level. Tech support people who lie or
fabricate instead of saying "I don't know" should be fired.


> As I understand the explanation, the base station serves as a DHCP to
> issue IP addresses.

It can, but it doesn't have to. You can give each of your Macs an IP
address manually and do file sharing between them, either through a base
station network or a computer-to-computer network. Give one machine an
IP address of 10.0.1.201 and the other an address of 10.0.1.202 and file
sharing should work through either type of network.


> 3) Is it just me or are 802.11 networks *very* unreliable?

Well, less reliable than wired. As with cell phones, lower reliability
is one of the prices you pay for greater convenience.


> My connection drops frequently and unpredictably even though the base
> station and laptop are only one room apart. There are others living
> below me and to one side so I can't say what kind of interference they
> may be causing. But my own microwave does not effect it.

Possibly another indication of a faulty card or internal antenna in your
Mac; but lots of things affect wireless reception, and some
experimentation is needed to find the best locations and orientations
for base stations and computers.