New Apple Lust Objects for 2010 and onward

They all have optical out. I have the very first model and it's still functional, although occasionally glitchy and you have to install the older version of the utility to tweak it -- which isn't a big deal, because Apple basically is maintaining both pieces of software: the new one as a more user-friendly one based on the iOS GUI, and the old one as a more feature-rich one.

That said, pretty much any one you'd find will be newer. If I can get the oldest one to still work, they'd probably all be fine. I've never hooked mine up with optical out, but it uses the mini-jack version and should be functional.

On a random note: if you don't need the USB port for a printer or have a need to extend your wireless network (or set one up), I'd recommend getting an Apple TV instead! Pretty much exact same functionality -- streaming to it for airplay audio doesn't require a display -- and it's getting software updates. It's priced the same as an Airport Express, and you can probably get a used one now that the 1080p ones are out.

any reason i get an apple tv instead if i don't have a tv?

i mean i guess i could get a tv if i got an apple tv ... but then i'd want to wait and get an actual apple tv once those come out next year

late great i have used airport express for streaming for like 4-5 years now and it has been a half-decade of heartache and frustration :(

if you have any interference in your house or your router is far from your computer you may experience the same.

Meh, not really, I guess. It seems like more of an audio device to me than the airport express, but it's pretty much a wash if you'll never connect a screen.

hmm well i would be within 20 feet of the express at any given time and it would either be line-of-sight or through one wall

also the extreme would be like 10 feet away from the express, on the other side of a thin interior wall

does that sound okay?

i am picking up like ten different wireless networks right now though

its possible, i spent so much time figuring out solutions to this shit and sometimes it just seems random. is there a wireless phone or a microwave in your house or nearby? those seemed to be trouble. i used to hear my neighbour's phone ring through the wall and as soon as she picked up the sound would cut out.

I think the new ones are better than the old. If you're in the 2.4GHz spectrum, then microwaves and cordless phones will hound you! I think it you have all N equipment and use the 5GHz range it's better.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/03/18Apple-Conference-Call.html

cash call

the wireless network my dad set up inside his house involves an airport extreme and two airports express being used as 'extenders' -- if you pick up a signal from one of the extenders instead of from the airport extreme (which you will if you're closer to an express, even if there's still a strong signal from the extreme) there are really noticeable and annoying speed differences

extenders halve the available bandwidth by the way they work, iirc

yeah, that sounds about right. i dont know if its possible to turn off the "extending" capability of the express, but if it is, you should

Yeah, you can. The way I've always used it is as a client on the network.

tHe NeW iPaD is truly amazing but every old low-res app looks like arse. Reading text in newsstand and newsstand-alike apps is giving me the shits.

The ones that used high-res images look good! I have The Wire, NYTimes, and (lol) The Daily in Newsstand and they all look OK.

Readability is good, as is flipboard

i saw a new one today and it was sharp and had good contrast but it didn't really seem like a game changer

in fact i didn't really see a difference except when we were looking at enlarged 1080p photos

I use Zing in iPad bc I care a lot more about handy quote and formatting buttons than I do about looks. Good thing bc it looks like utter crap.

Biggest difference is in text, for me. I could never comfortably read a website or article on the old iPads, but the new one is fantastic.

Chinese text is where it goes stratospheric for me. No more strokes lost in low-res fuzz. Every single character is crisp, even at small text sizes.

Are you day 1 fanboys finding it takes ages to charge? I'm not, but there are loads of complaints about 10–12 hr charging times.

The iPhone 3G never looked too low-res at the time, it was just standard, and when the 4 came out it was properly "woah".

But iPad has always had a shit screen that is too low-res so when I saw the new one today I was expecting a massive leap. But it just looked ... normal, like it always should have. No "woah" to it. Maybe need to look at photos or something.

yeah I went to the apple store out of curiousity and couldn't even tell which ones were new

I thought iatee would recognize high density

lols

right between the eyes

If I pay attention I can tell that on the old one you can see the pixels and on the new one you can't, but it's not something I would ever pick up on if I weren't looking for the difference. Almost the same w/ iPhone 3 and 4 except b/c everything is smaller, the differences are more noticeable, but still if I had to go back to screen on 3 I wouldn't miss much.

xp ha!

stet otm. The iPhone 3G's pixel density was higher than that of the old iPad screens. The retina iPad's screen is whoa to me, but only because I've been staring at chicken wire for 12 months. When you break it down technically the whole 3m pixel thing is incredible on a 10hr tablet, but 99% of people won't break it down technically and will just be 'uh huh'.

xp I can see pixels on the new iPad but I have to look pretty hard. I can't see them at all on the current iPhones unless there's a very sharp line set at a weird angle.

like i said, you will notice a difference if you look at something that's really sharp to begin with, like a 1080p photo or video

I'm not going to be all typography-obsessive clown here, but you guys are crazy if you can't see a noticeable iPad screen diff between 2nd and 3rd gen.

Seriously. It's night and day.

I can see the difference when I compare them side by side, but as one who recently acquired an iPad 1st gen and played w/ the iPad, New, I don't feel like I'm missing much. I don't want to be aggressively "IDGI," but it's not a major difference to me.

How does the new iPad's screen compare w/ iPhone 4?

comparable in quality, but a lot bigger?

haha

it got biggggggger

I dunno, I mean sure when you compare them side-by-side you can tell the difference, but is the iPad actually THAT much bigger?

Um, yeah? Including bezels the iPad is like two iPhones high and three iPhones wide!

Some thoughts on my "The new iPad" which is also my first iPad

- Got 32GB "just in case" but it now seems like overkill.
- Got the wifi version as you can call ATT to upgrade your account for a month to include iphone hotspot if necessary - doubt I'll need it, but maybe during December traveling?
- It is heavier than I thought it would be - enough to be uncomfortable to hold for more than a few minutes
- It does take forever to charge, but battery life is good.
- Screen is incredible but mine has an ugly yellow cast in one of the corners - if it doesn't clear up in a few days I will exchange it. In fact, I might just return it and get a 16GB instead
- Having an iPhone 4 and a MBP, I'm not sure I actually need the iPad at all. Looking around my home office, there are just too many Apple things going on and for couch usage, the MBP is more comfortable - maybe a case will help the iPad's er, case.
- It really should have Siri.
- It does get pretty warm.

mh, I was making an hilarious joke!

hmmm

- Got 32GB "just in case" but it now seems like overkill.

When the retina-enabled apps start rolling out you may change your mind.

Now you can shoot AND edit home videos on there! Time to fill it up with footage.

* makes creepy post to craigslist

When the retina-enabled apps start rolling out you may change your mind.

^ this

infinity blade 2 is already a 791MB app. I'm wondering how big infinity blade: dungeons is going to end up being.

not that I'm a huge gamer or anything, but that's my bellwether for app bloat

The non-game retina apps aren't really that big. And even the big game ones can be re-downloaded. The vast majority of usage on my phone is music, which I'm not really going to keep on the iPad. 32GB isn't really large enough for a movie library so I'll probably just watch and delete if I'm flying or whatever.

I just feel like going over $500 for one of these things is getting into a more serious price-point and then I should be thinking about a macbook air or whatever.

Swap it now for an Air while you still can. What's the window? 14 days?

Upgraded from a first gen ipad to the new one. I was at a construction site visit today and pulling up photos and websites in the field over the LTE connection was crazy fast.

http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm

Most amazing finding there re battery life etc. is the iPads' power consumption at maximum brightness – 2nd gen 2.7 W v 3rd gen 7 W. The retina iPad is smashing more light through the higher-density display to achieve the same effective brightness.

xxpost, yeah 14 days. Air is tough for me to design on, have a 13" MBP which is great. Just wanted the iPad at home to save my eyes from constant iPhone-ing.