Mike Brittain

I’ve been reading about network problems with the AirPort Express recently. I just bought one two weeks ago and was finding that the wireless connection between iTunes and my stereo would drop intermittently. The same problem has been reported in a number of other forums, including Mac OS X Hints and MacFixIt.

When I started looking into the network problem, I figured that it was not specific to iTunes. The issue didn’t only affect iTunes, and was problematic even when iTunes was not running. It seems that playing iTunes over your wireless network is the best way to notice the issue, however. If you’re just surfing around or checking your email and your network drops, it may just look like a temporary latency issue. But if you’re playing music and it suddently stops mid-song, that really seems to get your attention.

So there have been a few things I’ve looked at, and I’m writing them up here because I feel they could all be at fault. I seem to have ironed out my own problems with the AirPort Express. Hopefully this will help if you are having similar problems.

First of all, I will mention that I’m running a Windows XP laptop on the wireless network — not a Macintosh. Initially, I wondered if there were inherent network issues due to that. However, these products seem to be completely compatible. Within minutes of plugging in the AirPort Express, I had my connection to the Internet up and running, wireless printing (USB to the AirPort Express), and wireless music (audio plugged into my stereo).

My AirPort Express is also configured with some default settings, allowing both 802.11 B and G networking. Some have suggested that turning this to one or the other might resolve network drops, but will also reduce compatibility. The network channel is also set to auto, which should help with reliability.

Also note that while I am striving for the widest compatibility and range on this network, in practice I am using a single Windows XP laptop that is parked about four and a half feet away from the wireless hub. Not much in the way. I live in an apartment building in Manhattan, however, and am subject to interference from neighbors next door, upstairs, and downstairs from me. When searching for wireless networks, I typically see a listing of at least six or seven that I can pick up — though all are dutifully secured to prevent hitchhikers.

On to the fix(es)…

1. I initially had setup the AirPort Express using WEP network security. It was listed as being “more compatible”, and since I really don’t know much about the differences between WEP and WPA I went with what sounded easiest for my first stab at setting up the network. When I ran into network trouble, I tried changing this over to WPA2. I don’t know whether this is inherently more stable or not, but it seems to be fully compatible, and supposedly much more secure.

2. There is a setting in the AirPort Express for “interference robustness”. Figuring that was a simple checkbox, I selected it when I was having network trouble. Before taking anymore steps, I noted that this didn’t fix anything on its own — there were still network drops, whether they were less frequent was difficult to tell. After further testing, I turned off that setting, as it is supposedly reduces your network range. Again, note that my laptop practically sits on top of the hub, so this really shouldn’t be an issue.

3. My last test, which I think really did the trick, was to unplug my wireless home phone and replace it with a standard corded phone. Since I rarely use my home phone in this age of cell phones, it doesn’t bother me that it’s not wireless. In fact, the main reason my wife and I have a home phone is only as a backup to our cell phones. If we take more than five calls on that phone is a month, I’d be surprised.

This issue with wireless 2.4 GHz phones was mentioned by Apple, and was also repeated in other forums online. Another suggestion is to avoid certain microwave ovens — something I have not tested.

Since turning off the wireless phone, my network drops seem to have disappeared almost completely. Living in a New York apartment, I can only assume that other interference will strike from time to time. As long as that is minimal, I’m not going to complain.

Sean’s recent article about using SAJAX was published at IBM today. He constructs a simple photo viewer application using an XML file for meta data about each photo. PHP and the SAJAX (Simple AJAX) toolkit are used to present the images.

In my follow up article, part 2 in the series, I describe how you can use client-side JavaScript to implement a history cache for the application that mimics the history utility in web browser software. Many AJAX applications suffer from the lack of “undo” functionality, or history navigation, that normal web browsing employs. That’s what I will be addressing. However, the solution will not involve hijacking the back button as other developers have demonstrated. Instead, it shows how to track a history of events using JavaScript within a single browsing session.

This has got to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen on YouTube, yet. I think the best part of It Only Takes a Second is the guy falling from the lift (around the 3:00 mark) — not only does he fall 15-20 feet, but he lands on what looks to be a plate of knives!

I’m strongly considering heading over the the opening of the new Apple Store tonight in Manhattan. I’ve been watching Flickr for photos that are being submitted of the store, somewhat as a webcam of the madness (a la Shack Watchers). It seems that this guy is making a pilgrimage to the grand opening tonight, and documenting it from his phone. Nice. Well, considering the madness, maybe not so nice.

It may not seem like ski season, but I was testing out my mobile snow reports application again tonight to find the likes of A-Basin and Snowbird are still reporting nice, spring conditions:

Snowbird
New Snow: 0"
Base: 133"
Surface: Spring Conds.
Open: 71% (60 trails, 4 lifts)

Not too bad for May. I think I could deal with that…

Last week, I got together with a few co-workers (Sean, Wil, and Tim) for the inaugural meeting of Refresh NYC. As part of the Refreshing Cities movement (for lack of a better term), we’re simply trying to get some people in the web design and development industry here to get together to socialize, network, and talk a little shop.

We met up in Brooklyn for the first meeting, and immediately started discussing how we should not do that next time. Obviously, people who work in the metro area converge from CT, NJ, and NY. Holding a meeting in Brooklyn might put out those from Jersey who are going to have to schlep back across two rivers.

We also made a nearly unanimous decision that meeting any more frequently than once every three weeks will cut into everyone’s personal lives, so the next event will probably be sometime between May 15th and May 25th.

Finally, we’ll plan to give a little more heads up in the future.

We hope to get a few more people involved. If you’ve got thoughts or ideas, please post them at Refresh NYC.