“Reports have been surfacing about Apple retail stores running out of stock of Time Capsules and AirPort base stations,” Chris Foresman reports for Ars Technica. “That’s usually an indicator that a hardware revision is coming soon, and it appears Apple may make its updated Time Capsules far more useful for Mac OS X and iOS users.”
“According to sources speaking to 9to5 Mac, Apple has been internally testing using Time Capsules as an intermediary cache for software updates for Mac OS X and iOS,” Foresman reports. “The Time Capsule can recognize what devices connect to it, and then download and store updates for those devices on its integrated storage.”
MacDailyNews Note: For more, see related article: Apple reportedly testing cached software updates via Time Capsule for Mac and iOS devices – June 2, 2011
Foresman reports, “Our own source tells Ars that the revised hardware is believed to be built around Apple’s own A4 or A5 processor, and will run iOS much like the most recent Apple TV model.”
Read more in the full article here.
Hmm, just bought a refub’d time capsule a couple of weeks ago. Anybody know the return policy for refurbished stuff bought at store.apple.com?
14 days
I hope this means that any songs/video on the Time Capsule will show up on any AppleTV’s which are connected to it without requiring a computer running iTunes.
Or maybe any songs on my Time Capsule will be streamable to my iPhone over the internet (5 users via password), not needing to use Apple’s North Carolina facility?
Even better, no computer needed for ios! To the cloud indeed! Why back up your own music if Apple is going to let you download it again, just like apps do?
Wooooo! Imagine a family of iDevices all sharing the timeCapsule for backup and storage and getting updates directly.
Talk about a post PC world – wowza.
Talk about a post PC world – wowza.
You nailed it dijonaise.
Apple is giving birth to a new paradigm that forgoes the ball and chain that is the Desktop, while opting for social mobility, and developing tools to facilitate that process. Why not, when you lead in such a decisive manner, as does Apple, you decide the future.
Apple is in control of the vertical and the horizontal…
In the very near future, the vast majority of devices that use the internet will be post-pc. Apple will have the lion”s ( 😉 ) share of those devices. The only reason you’d need a desk bound pc is to develop apps. And you will need a Mac to do that!
It is already too late, the noose is in place, it’s just a simple tightening adjustment…
Steve Jobs visited a company a few years ago who had router software that allowed any subscriber to use anyone else’s router to access the internet over WiFi i.e. neighbourhood sharing.
Maybe Apple bought/licenced the technology and this is a feature in the new TimeCapsule?
So… You have no problem letting everyone access the Internet through your router… Using your bandwidth..
Sorry but my router, my Internet provider I pay for, I’ll let only the people I want to access it.
I’m NOT going to be a public hotspot….
Yeah, dadgum socialists. You tell ’em. Also.
Yeah, them damn socialist and their public parks, public pools, public road systems, public schools, public universities, public services such as police, fire and other emergency services. Oh and what about the military, it’s run a socialist institution, with free health care to it’s members…. bad, bad bad.
If you share music you should PAY for it. Listen to a song and your mom wants to listen in to your router from home, she must PAY for it. It fact, if you buy anything from Walmart and you share it with anyone, like a BBQ grill cookout, they should have to PAY.
Silly socialists are bring down America!
Share and share alike …..
Hey that’s my Bud ….
Yeah, that sounds a bit illegal.
Well, there could be a whole system update where all we do is buy the router and each wifi carries over to other spots creating a area of internet for anyone in that area, kind of like what South Vietnam does. I just think of the amount a neighborhood spins on internet and seems ridiculous, there should be like a neighborhood buy-in sort of thing….where internet is feed through the whole neighborhood on the telephone poles and maybe a signal boost in the house. It would allow people to go outside, and you could probably get a cheaper internet bill. But, we are Americans! We have to think individually, because group ideas are never good.
Indeed. When Mr. Drive-by uses your network connection to download child porn the authorities will come knocking on your door…
Exactly.
Your brain is stuck in a box.
A box of reality…..
Hope they have replaced the lousy power supplies. Had two Time Capsules and both failed after about a year and a half. Both were power supply failures and you can’t find replacement supplies. Returned the first failure at the expense of losing my data. Took the last one apart so I could save my data. This is the only Apple product that I have ever regretted owning.
Agreed. I won’t buy a Time Capsule, nor let my customers buy one; get an Airport Extreme with an outboard hard drive, and you have the equivalent for less money, and with less likelihood of losing your data if something goes wrong.
I sent mine to Apple under the return policy, they removed the HD, put it in the new Time Capsule, and returned it, data intact.
Where’d you send yours?
I was unaware they would provide this service. I had previously read they would not do this, but merely swap units. I am overseas, so it is hard to get anything done here.
Thanks Wrong Again, for providing this info.
Actually this very web site reported a recall on certain time capsule serial numbers about last year September. My time capsule also failed because of the power supply. A rash of bad capacitors from a Chinese supplier affected not only Time Capsules but also DELL and HP laptops. My serial number fell within the range o I just brought it into my nearest Apple store and they exchanged it no problem. You might want to check Apple’s Support site.
Testing
What?
Sorry. I tried 8 or 10 times to post on another thread throughout the day and it would never take my post, so I tried here.
You passed!
I must be missing something here … so the TC would download and cache say an OSX Security Update while I’m out of the house. Obviously the TC would download it faster than my Macs because the TC would be directly wired to my modem, not going out over WiFi. Now I get home, and have to walk to each Mac (4 in total in my house) and do a Software Update, and each Mac will then have to download the cached update from the TC. As each Mac is connected via WiFi to the TC, and each should take about X minutes to download it. How is this saving me any time? Why do I care if it takes X minutes to download an update from Apple’s servers, or from a cache on my TC?
You won’t see much of a difference but Apple will. Yours downloading one copy off their servers instead of four. Same goes for App updates for all your iOS devices. Takes a huge load off their servers, but unless Apple has come up with an automated update home solution as well, you will still have to manually update each Mac.
You will definitely see a significant reduction in time.
The first download (to the TC) will be at the 5,6 or whatever MBPs you are now connected to the Interweb.
However, the other “downloads” will be at the 300 MBPs of your wi-fi connection as they would be done to the cached version of the software on the TC.
Thanks guys! GREAT responses!
I knew something wasn’t adding up to me, but I wasn’t thinking of one vs four downloads off of Apple’s servers – that makes a lot of sense, that it’s removing some of the load off of Apple’s end, and should therefore speed things up for everyone.
And with the new maxed out 27″ i7 iMac hitting 450mpbs via WiFi, the cache to machine should be faster when I eliminate the bottleneck in the delivery chain (the modem).
Just needed someone to point my train of thought in the right direction.
Do the Time Capsules last more than 1 year before melting down now???
I’m still using my original 500GB Time Capsule. It hasn’t ever failed. I guess it’s almost 3 years old now.
(of course, saying this is kind of tempting fate)
Wanna know something funny? Bought a TimeCapsule 14 months ago. It went poof. Called Apple, just outside of one year, no luck. Doesn’t fall under the recalled serials. But the rep asked if I had ANY Apple product with a Protection Plan. I said only my Apple TV2. Guess what? For some reason, the $29 Apple TV2 APP covers any wireless devices you own. 2 Days later, brand new ATC 500gb. (I now have it propped up on pennies to help airflow underneath the unit) – who knows. Probably will fail again in 14 months.
Have a Time Capsule on an elevated stand since day one…..
Now two years plus old and never a problem (except when backing up, computer slows done until backup is complete).
Nice work in the background as additional safety for important daily business files.
I too am on number 2 and my iMac protection plan took care of things for me (Go Apple), and knock on wood, number 2 preforming like a hooker on New Years eve.
@emmayche
……..get an Airport Extreme with an outboard hard drive, and you have the equivalent for less money…..
Could not agree more and I know Apple learns from boo boo’s better than any company ever!
where is the new macbook morphing into a tablet????
Hopefully Apple will decide to put a thunderBolt connection on the back of any new TimeCapsule. That only makes sense since they are pushing that technology.