Now you see it, now you don't -- and now it's back. The very brief tenure of AirPort Extreme Update 2008-003 (it was available on Tuesday for a while, but then withdrawn) has given way to the shining reign of update 004. The update is a 2.2 MB patch recommended for all Intel machines on 10.5.5, resolving "some issues with Airport connections when roaming in large WiFi networks."

Some of the commenters who installed the earlier build didn't experience any obvious ill effects; others reported installation hangs, lockups on reboot or problems connecting to wireless LANs, so your mileage may vary -- with any luck the new build has a steadier grip on stability.

You can download the new update via Software Update or (shortly) from the Apple support downloads page.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in

Apple released AirPort Extreme Update 2008-003, but then pulled it several minutes later. The update now no longer shows up in Software Update, and the page it was on is missing from Apple's site.

The update was originally recommended for all Intel-based Macs with Mac OS X 10.5.5. The update said it resolved "some issues with AirPort connections when roaming in large Wi-Fi networks."

The file was available from this page on Apple's website, and via Software Update. It's unclear why the update was pulled, or if there are any consequences for those who have installed it already.

If you installed the update, do you notice anything amiss? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Thanks, Danny and Randall!

Boingo Wireless, the global market leader in Wi-Fi hotspots, has just released a new version of its GoBoingo! client for Intel-based Macs running Tiger or Leopard (Powerbook users can use the client in Tiger). The GoBoingo! client makes it super easy to connect to any of the more than 100,000 Boingo partnered hotspots throughout the world. Boingo powers hotspots in bookstores, airports, hotels, retail stores and restaurants. They have access plans available in daily or monthly increments that provide unlimited access to all Boingo hotspots (in either North America or internationally).

The GoBoingo! client is cool because not only can it automatically connect you to a Boingo hotspot (meaning you don't have to go to the login page and enter in some really long username and password), but it also gives you access to tons of Boingo-partnered hotspots that would be otherwise be inaccessible from Boingo.com.

For instance, if you are at the airport and you buy a Boingo Connect Day pass (which is $7.95 for US & Canadian access, $9.99 for international access) and then later that day, go to a McDonald's with Wi-Fi, you don't have to pay a separate fee at McDonald's, because they have a roaming agreement with Boingo. Boingo has a romaing agreement with AT&T as well, meaning that you can soon use your Boingo account at Starbucks.

The client is designed to be lightweight (the download is less than 1 MB) and it runs in the background, only popping up when it detects a Boingo network. After you have entered your account information once, you just have to click "connect" to login. I tested the client out at a few places in my neighborhood today, one that I knew was a Boingo-powered hotspot (because it always brings me to the Boingo login screen) and two that were Boingo roaming-partners and I was able to connect to all three easily and without any excess typing (or even better, money).

The GoBoingo! client is available now.

Along with the Mac OS X 10.5.4 update tonight, Apple also released firmware 7.3.2 for Time Capsules and AirPort Base Stations. Apple states that it "includes general fixes and compatibility updates" for both Time Capsule and AirPorts with 802.11n.

Most likely your AirPort (or Time Capsule) will find and download the update automatically; however, you can also visit the Apple Support Downloads page to download the installer package for Leopard, Tiger, or Windows.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Linksys is offering their Linksys EasyLink Advisor (LELA) Setup Wizard as a native Mac application for managing some of their more recent router models. Similar to the Airport Setup Utility the EasyLink Advisor allows users to setup and manage their Linksys router based networks without going through the web page based setup that Mac users have traditionally had to suffer.

The LELA Mac Wizard is compatible with the Linksys WRT54G2, WRT111, WRT160N, and WRT310N routers and will be on on the setup CD included in the retail packaging. It is also supposed to be available for download on Linksys' Mac page, but I cannot yet find the download link.

Update: Thanks to a reader, found a download link (select version 1.0 from the dropdown menu to reveal it).

[via Macworld]

Apple has released AirPort Utility 5.3.2 for Leopard. According to the release notes, the package includes AirPort Base Station Update 2008-002, and applies general fixes and compatibility updates for AirPort Utility and AirPort Base Station Agent.

The update is available via Software Update, or from Apple Support Downloads.

Thanks everyone who sent this in!

Rogue Amoeba has announced Airfoil 3.2, the latest release of their audio utility which allows you to play any Mac audio over your Apple TV, AirPort Express, or other Macs. In addition to improving support for the latest generation Expresses ("including full password support and better synchronization"), the big addition with version 3.2 is remote control support. With either the Apple Remote on the Apple TV or the Keyspan Express Remote for an Express, Airfoil now allows you to play/pause and move forward/back on tracks playing through either iTunes or QuickTime Player.

The upgrade is free for registered users, while new copies of Airfoil for Mac are $25; a demo is available.

Back in the day, the white dome Airport Base Station supported Power over Ethernet, which allowed the station to be mounted far away from an outlet (e.g. on a ceiling) powered by just the ethernet data cable, great for preexisting buildings where running power for base stations might be expensive or impossible.

The most recent Airport Extreme Base Stations have lacked this convenient feature, but MacWireless is now offering a PoE kit that works with the 802.11n AEBS. The $59.98 kit contains both an injector that plugs into the outlet and a splitter for the other end that goes to the AEBS, allowing both data and power to be sent over a single Cat5 cable up to 330 ft long. A shorter 200 ft range kit is $39.98.

[via MacNN]

As we noted when the latest Airport Extreme Base Station firmware shipped, Time Machine now seems to recognize USB hard drives connected to the AEBS as valid backup locations. Was this feature added deliberately? Well, Glenn Fleishman over at TidBITS took the trouble to ask Apple about this and he reports that they told him that this is an unsupported feature (and not much else). This is unsurprising given that Apple never made mention of the feature connected with the firmware update (though it was originally promised before Leopard shipped). Fleishman himself even speculates that it was turned on by accident.

So what's the upshot? Apple is offering no support for using your AEBS this way, and so if you have a problem you're pretty much out of luck as far as they're concerned. Further, considering that there have been reports that the Airport Disk can be unreliable, it's probably not a good idea to depend on an Airport Disk and Time Machine for your only backup.

If I had to pick one feature of the Airport base station that makes me absolutely tear my hair out every time, that feature would be WDS. Getting a wireless network extended across multiple base stations with no wired interconnect is dark magic, and it seems like it never works the same way twice; it's always a mystery blend of MAC address input, switching between encryption modes, hard restarts, matching security settings and swearing. When I had to link up an Airport Extreme with two Airport Express units last week, I resigned myself to a long afternoon of trying to tame the user-hostile.

This time, though, it was different -- thanks to the power of N. 802.11n, now supported on both the Extreme and Express models, provides a remarkably easier WDS setup than earlier protocols. Rather than having to set the MAC addresses of the remote base stations and restart in sequence, on an all-n setup you just check the "Allow this network to be extended" on the master, and choose "Extend a wireless network" on the remotes. Easy as can be, and compared to the old way it's a big relief.

Along with the Keynote update, today Apple posted an update for the Graphite and Snow AirPort Admin utility. You can read more information about this Admin Utility update on the Apple support website; in a nutshell, it adds Leopard compatibility -- a good thing.

If you want to download the update, you can either open Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or download the installer package from the Apple support downloads site.

Note that he newer AirPort Utility (v5.3.1 or later) should be used for Time Capsule, and for AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express Base Stations. The update here is for the older base stations' admin tool.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Quickertek has produced an antenna for the Time Capsule which, according to them, increases the device's range by 50%.

It's compatible with 802.11 A, B, and G, and comes either as a self install kit or an installation service. Or, if you don't have a Time Capsule just yet, you can order one from Quickertek with the antenna pre-installed. It comes with a good amount of cable so you can spend your weekend obsessively placing and replacing it in your home until it's just right. So that will be fun.

The 500GB self-install kit is $129.95US, and the service is $200US. Prices are the same for the 1TB version kit and service. If you want to do it all in one fell swoop, you can order a 500GB Time Capsule + pre-installed kit for $500US, or $700US for the 1TB version.

[Via Engadget]

Update 9 pm ET: Our comrade David Chartier from Ars Technica points out that the 7.1.3 firmware itself may not be necessary for the new functionality to work; he says he tested a 7.1 AEBS with a machine running Time Capsule & Airport 1.0, and Time Machine was able to see the remote disk. Other readers have reminded us that the disk must be formatted as HFS+ with journaling, and you may have to mount it in the Finder before Time Machine sees it. The freeware TimeMachineScheduler is disabled by this update, comments note.

Update 6:45 am Thursday: More comments point out that if you take a locally-connected Time Machine drive and attach it to an AEBS, you will be starting over with new backups (because the remote backups are stored on sparseimages, not as folders). Something to keep in mind if you already have a long backup history -- you might want to use a different drive.

Sometimes the fixes are subtle and quiet. Once TUAW reader Peder downloaded today's Airport updates and ran the utility, he noticed a new version of the Airport Extreme firmware queued up and ready (v7.3.1). When he installed and rebooted his AEBS -- which happened to have a USB hard drive hanging off of it... well, let him tell you:

After downloading the latest Airport-update I checked for updates for my AirPort Extreme. After upgrading to version 7.3.1, Time Machine recognised the attached USB-drive.

If this is a reproducible result -- this means you, everyone, go ahead and start testing this firmware! -- that means that the now-you-see-it, now-you-don't Time Machine to AirDisk feature of Leopard has finally arrived. Sure, the Time Capsule is a one-piece solution and quite economical, but for all the AEBS owners out there who have been waiting patiently, this would be a very nice bit of March madness indeed. [Response to "just-a-guy" below: Remember, this is the Airport EXTREME only; the Express doesn't support AirDisk at all.]

Seeing the same results as Peder? By all means let us know. He was kind enough to send us a few screenshots, see below.

AirPort Flow is a way to see all of your traffic flowing to and from your AirPort base station in graph form. The bit rates are retrieved by using SNMP (which means you must have an AirPort router that supports this and have it enabled).

The user interface for AirPort Flow nicely fits in with Mac OS X Leopard; as it was designed for Leopard. The display stays above all other windows so you can keep a check on the bit rate as you are working. AirPort Flow was recently updated to 1.2 which added the ability to check for the number of wireless clients connected.

You can download AirPort Flow from the Memention website for the lovely price of free.

Apple has released updates for Time Machine and Airport, giving us three update reboots in three days. The update improves Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule and offers some fixes for AirPort drivers. I don't, at this point, see any indications of the rumored Airport-Extreme-as-Time-Capsule abilities, but I'm assuming that will require an Airport Extreme firmware update.

The update is available through Software Update.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!