AirPort Extreme and Wireless in General

Wireless is that cool technology that everyone wants to work. I know people who just can't survive unless they have a wireless keyboard and mouse. I know people who have set up their entire network as wireless and wouldn't have a wired connection if you paid them to do so. Now, I've nothing against either technology...they have their place. But from posts that I've read on some technology sites, wireless network connectivity is just not quite ready for prime time.

Seems pretty simple...set up a router or access point, set up some security, do the same to your laptop and bingo there you go. Unfortunately reality isn't quite as simple. Let me give you a couple of examples. At my office we've set up a small wireless network so that sales folk who aren't normally in the building can connect when they are there. We have security set up and I have two access points in the facility so that they can connect where ever they are in the building. At least once a month one of them comes to me with a connectivity problem. Usually a reboot solves the issue, but the question is why and why not all the time? We are even using really good and somewhat expensive access points so that's even more puzzling.

At my home, I have a wireless connection to a backup broadband connection that my wife uses for work. I have the same high-end access point and my PC and Mac are in the next room with nothing major between them and the acess point except one wall. Even with that closeness my PC never has anything better than a low to good signal strength rating. The Mac is a little better, even though it's farther away by a few feet.

For no apparent reason, the PC and sometimes the Mac will just lose connectivity to the wireless access point. Rebooting usually does NOT solve the problem so I just switch back to my wired connection.

Becuase I am moving away from my PC to my iMac, I bought an Apple AirPort Extreme base station. I set this up and put it in exactly the same spot as my old access point. My PC now never gets anything less than excellent on signal strength and both it and the Mac are on wireless all of the time without issue. And, I did check and I did not have the radio transmission turned down on the old access point...it was at 100%. I am seriously thinking about replacing these two access points at work with a couple of AirPort Extremes and see if that helps out issues there as well.