iFixIt.com got a new Airport Extreme 802.11n and has posted takeapart pictures and benchmarks of the new Apple access point.

We decided to deviate from our standard modus operandi and run some benchmarks before we took it apart. (I know, I know– our screwdrivers were lonely for a while.)

The new base station is amazing. We achieved a 10x performance boost, and a 3x usable range increase! We achieved over 9 MB/s in short range lab testing with a MacBook Pro. Long range testing was equally impressive. At 300 feet (with a building in the way), we reached transfer rates of 500 KB/s.

Airport Extreme 802.11n Disassembly >> iFixIt.com

technorati tags:airport, extreme, 802.11n, wireless, takeapart, benchmark

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Given the hype, attention and overall speculation regarding Apple’s iPhone, we thought it was time to put the question to our readers: do you plan to buy this thing when it’s released?

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According to an article on Macworld News, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital introduced its My Book Premium ES Edition external hard drive on Monday.
The drive will feature both USB 2.0 and external Serial ATA (eSATA) protocols and is available in 320 gigabyte and 500 gigabyte capacities. The 320 gigabyte model will retail for US$179 and the 500 gigabyte model will retail for US$229.
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Engadget has a cool story about the upcoming iLuv i182 docking station.
The iLuv i182 docking station allows live video recording from a composite or S-Video source to your iPod or choice of media card. The i182 can reportedly bring in a wider variety of video formats and allows users to establish pre-set recording lengths while keeping 640 x 480 resolution video down to 2.5 megabits per second and 720 x 480 resolution video down to 5 megabits per second.
The device synchs to a computer via a USB 2.0 protocol and according to the Engadget story, can be expected to appear on the shelves in March for about US$229.99.

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iPodObserver has a story about third-party hardware firm Fastmac extended its “Just Say No To Crack” iPod LCD replacement program to also include iPod Mini models.
The firm offers the replacement as a same day mail order service as well as a Do It Yourself kit, complete with tools and instructional videos. The replacement program currently cover fifth generation iPods with video, the fourth generation iPod (Click Wheel), the iPod Nano and the iPod mini.
The replacement LCD screens arrive with a one year warranty as well as a 30 day money back guarantee and the prices for the screens range from US$29.95 to US$49.95 depending on the model serviced.

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Digg.com is running a BSAlert.com story wherein Apple is warning users that iTunes 7.0.2 may not work with Microsoft’s recently released Windows Vista on many PCs.
Apple has recommended that users wait until a compatible version of iTunes, which is due for release within the next few weeks, is available before migrating to Visa.
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Engadget is reporting that build 3150 of Parallels Desktop for Mac 2.5 has been released.
The newest build, a 38.5 megabyte download, adds full USB 2.0 support, full CD and DVD burn support within the virtual machine framework, true drag and drop functionality, a more streamlined interface and support for VMWare and Virtual PC disks within the program.
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