i shoulda done this in the first place

So when I got the laptop this spring, I grabbed a new wifi access point to upgrade from 802.11b to 802.11n (draft). After looking at the prices on Apple's base stations I opted for a non-apple solution, and got one of the best reviewed base stations I could find. I intentionally avoided the fancy options, as I just use it in basic bridge mode and let my main linux box to the routing between the wired and wireless networks. It worked "ok" as long as my laptop was in the office. But as soon as I got out of the immediate room the AP was in, signal was inconsistent and connections were poor at best. Sitting in the living room, about 12 linear foot from the base station, through the ceiling and floor, I was lucky to get a connection, and usually had about 80% packet loss. Forget about connecting form the couch by the tv.... that woulda been 3 walls and 40'.

As I'm looking at ripping up the office next week I was really wanting to have the wireless *working*, I decided to take the plunge and grab an apple airport extreme and give it a try.



I'm posting this from the couch, just did a ping for 20 minutes... not a single lost packet. Going to have to do a test tomorrow to see just how far I can roam on this network. :)