“I remember a call from Apple PR in October 2000,” Glenn Fleishman writes for Macworld. “They wanted me to test their wireless AirPort equipment, and would loan me a spaceship-shaped base station and the associated plug-in card required for my Mac. I was dubious. I’d tested and been disappointed by previous “wireless” (infrared) technologies, and hadn’t heard great things about an earlier, slower version of what was being called Wi-Fi.”
“Nevertheless, I told Apple I’d take a look. I was blown away by the consistency and performance,” Fleishman writes. “And thus began a 16-year-so-far love affair with Wi-Fi and associated technologies, and which led to a blog I wrote for a decade about Wi-Fi.”
“Now, according to reports that Apple never confirmed, Apple’s Wi-Fi road may be at an end. While it will still include the latest and greatest Wi-Fi technology in the radio systems embedded in its computers, mobile devices, and the Apple TV, it will apparently no longer release new versions of its base stations,” Fleishman writes. “If you’re an all- or mostly Apple household and it’s already full of Apple base stations, you may be concerned about pivoting away and losing features you rely on, or creating a mixed network of Apple and non-Apple routers. This article will help provide guidance on what features Apple allocated exclusively to its base stations, and what kind of options you have to supplement or replace an AirPort-centric home network.”
Tons more in the full article – recommended – here.