This is nice, but I sure hope Apple lets those of us with the overpriced Airport Extreme use a USB drive to accomplish the same. Many of us bought it with Time Machine in mind.

@ejl10: WORD

Um, forget Time Machine. How about Apple fixes the GLARING issues with simply mounting an AEBS disk, and then we'll worry about backups. I love Apple, but have been frustrated beyond words with my AEBS. If they don't fix my AEBS, I will get my refund or file against them in small claims court (and get my refund). This feature is documented all over the place, but it doesn't work!

@ejl10: @Ricky: reWORD

COMPLETELY agreed.

It's just WRONG if they don't open up that USB port for those of us who already have this router and want to use our own external drive.

My prediction is that they will, but not for a month or two to see if they can get some people who already have the N eXtreme router to buy the "time capsule" version...

Looks great? Took a great designer to make a squashed white box.

The Time Capsule is larger. the Extreme is about 6.5" and the Apple site says the Time Capsule is about 7.5"

APE
Size and weight

* Length: 6.5 inches (165 mm)
* Width: 6.5 inches (165 mm)
* Height: 1.3 inches (34 mm)
* Weight: 1.66 pounds (753 grams)1

TC
Size and weight

* Length: 7.7 inches (197 mm)
* Width: 7.7 inches (197 mm)
* Height: 1.4 inches (36.3 mm)
* Weight: 3.5 pounds (1587 grams)

This is lame.
Seriously there is no duplication os data for actual data safety and no software to duplicate data to the cloud. How do you upgrade it for more storage?
Can it remove data from the puny Apple TV hard drive?
SDK?
Windows server pawns this thing so bad.

@turbineseaplane: That's exactly why I bought mine-I saw the initial touting of an external USB drive being compatible with Time Machine and was immediately sold. When that feature was removed from the product's page, I assumed that they were just running into bugs and would fix it in a Leopard software update. With "Time Capsule", I see they've fixed it. Time for a firmware update, Apple!

Nice WHS clone. At least Apple have their version finally.

I'll be pretty angry if they don't provide an update for the AE and time machine. I bought the AE particularly for the time machine backups. Don't leave the early adopters out to dry, apple.

I actually believe this is the best product Apple released today. It is reasonably priced, and ultimately helps keep folks with Macs from losing valuable data. My concern remains that I am not certain enough people will see the value of this, but it is a great idea.

Get a Drobo with or without droboshare- best for time machine.

@alukard: Hahaha, a clone?

This is like WHS lost a limb that morphed into a white box.

WHS is bigger, is capable of being built on your own with a spare PC, is as upgradable as the motherboard (or the device makers MB) you use and the number of slots in it. It just isnt a router, nor is it compatible with Time Machine over Wifi (i presume the only thing that is is the Time Capsule).

External devices with built-in hard drives are just too expensive for the person who knows about PC's to invest in.

I can get a 1TB for 249.99 right now. Toss in the extra hardware and i would still be under 400 for a 2 slot NAS box and a router (both gigabit). But for those who are complete morons when it comes to doing anything with computers, this is perfect.

@Monty: While I do tend to agree with your sentiment, I also see it as a bit of a snub. Many of us already have wireless routers, and many of us already have remote storage available in other ways. Why should I have to shell out $500 in order to use Time Machine the way its supposed to be used when I already own a Linksys wireless router and a 1 terabyte NAS drive. Apple should have focused on upgrading Time Machine to work with the infrastructure that many of us already have in place rather than offer an expensive Apple-branded solution.

yup @ pretty much everyone. frustrating for sure.

@barkingart: wouldn't it be awesome to have that on an existing aebs...in a fireproof box to boot!

I'm seriously hoping that Apple comes with a fix for the Time Machine bug on the Airport extreme and not just develop a new product and overprice it expecting us to throw away our airport extreme and cough up $299 or $499 for their new Time Capsule. I am so mad at Apple at the moment that they did not bother to fix the bug before releasing this new Time Capsule. A lot of people purchased the airport extreme having in mind that it will work wirelessly with TM but here we are now, being told in the face to get Time Capsule instead. What's the point? We alread own these white boxes so what's the point in developing a new one and putting your own HD into it expecting us to buy them. What happened to your promise of TM backing up wirelessly?

I hope someone gets this message to Steve Jobs and his apple crew. It wouldn't be long before some of us will file class action suit against Apple for misleading ad claims.

will be back.

@turbineseaplane: Oh, the USB port is open - it can share hard drives and printers. You can even trick Time Machine into kind of working. There's no reason they cant simply enable this for current owners and I suspect they will.

Well I sure hope so.

Some things I expect to potentially screwed on if I "early adopt"...(the Mac Book Air may be one, but I'm not actually buying anyways)...

The AirPort Extreme is one that we should NOT be getting screwed on! (in terms of being able to use the existing USB port with our own external backup drive I mean)

How much positive response has this keynote received so far...?

Is there any chance this will work alongside a different network? I'd like to use my existing router for internet access (shared with others) and keep this separate for the backup functionality. My guess is no, as wireless cards can't connect to two networks at the same time. I guess you could work around it by manually changing networks, but that would lose the automatic part which is the whole point.

From Apple.com --
Wireless drive sharing

Time Capsule also works great as a wireless hard drive whether you have a Mac or PC. It sets up in a snap, giving you a networked hard drive you can use for storing and sharing any kinds of files.

Isn't that NAS?

I can't find anything that says this on Apple's site, but I would assume that an OS update will be required to make this work... hmm, unless the drive looks to TM like an external shared drive on another Mac, which is currently supported. I'd sure like to see TM backup to my existing NAS be "officially" supported.

I still wonder how they allocate space for multiple computers.

Dress it up in a white box, change the name and charge twice the price. Great business model.

P.T. Barnum was right.

I believe the apple website contradicts your posting... it can be used as a NAS and the USB can be used for additional HDs.

@IphtashuFitz: Not to sound like a jerk, but isn't that what you paid for when you decided to go Apple? Little to no 3rd party to compete, so you're forced to stick with whatever Jobs decides to feed you at the price he decides to charge. Instead of putting those Apple logo stickers in their boxes they should include a postcard with Steve giving you the middle finger and a speech bubble that says "See ya!"

Non NAS is the deal breaker here. Condolences to those left out in the cold d/t Time Machine software limitation. I can't believe, though, they'd continue to go with such a "dumbed down" version of that program ... I'm thinking once the fleecing is done, the revenue channel is established, the software will be fixed. It certainly wasn't an oversight ....

Apple's a blade. One side is cutting edge style and the other is loss of consumer choice.

You need to go to Apple's website and read up on this before you go slamming it. A few choice paragraphs:

"The included USB port is great for sharing a printer throughout your wireless network. Time Capsule and the Bonjour networking technology let everyone in the house or office - Mac and PC users alike - take advantage of one centrally located printer. And if you want to share both a printer and an additional hard drive, you can. Just connect a USB hub to Time Capsule. Whatever the combination, Time Capsule divides and conquers."

"Time Capsule with Time Machine in Leopard is the ideal backup solution. But that doesn't mean Tiger, Windows XP, and Windows Vista users can't enjoy the benefits of Time Capsule, too. Because it mounts as a wireless hard drive, Tiger and Windows users simply access Time Capsule directly from the wireless network for exchanging and storing files quickly and easily."

My guess is that the two week delay is for an OS release that enables Time Machine on network mounts generally. (though possibly only network mounted HFS+ volumes... Time Machine hardlinks directories, which is not supported in most filesystems)

@treetrunk: Well I'm assuming that you would be able to plug a network cable into the switch side of the airport and have it act as an extension to your existing network. Kinda like an extra link in the mix. I'm sure a tad knowledge of some networks would come in handy, but it shouldn't be that hard.

@treetrunk: All the Airport base stations I've run into could operate in bridge mode, essentially just piggy-backing onto an existing network and repeating the signal. I'm sure you could do that with this device too.

@IphtashuFitz: Exacty. And when you add in the fact that the drive ONLY works with Time Machine and can't be used as a NAS for anything else...the pointlessness in only added to.

If you take the time to read the product information page on apple.com, you notice it can be used as a network drive also.

well i also have a Airport extreme base station which will be making its way onto ebay now, because lets be real even if apple comes out with a fix for it to work with time machine a really good 500GB hardrive will cost you the same as the time capsule so am not even goin to bather with it

Check the product page everyone... you can use it as a network drive......

Windows Home Server FTW. This? FTL.

@MConnor:

"Exacty. And when you add in the fact that the drive ONLY works with Time Machine and can't be used as a NAS for anything else...the pointlessness in only added to."

Actually, it does work as NAS: from the Apple website: "Because it mounts as a wireless hard drive, Tiger and Windows users simply access Time Capsule directly from the wireless network for exchanging and storing files quickly and easily."

No need to add to the pointlessness.

Please Who truly trust there Files Been Sent trough the Air.. ?
Yes we can all be hacked Via Internet connection if we allow it.
How long until People Time Capsules are Hacked and Exploited.. ?

@fastm3driver: Windows server? Jesus dude get over yourself... some of us want it to be easy and nice looking. I'll talk this white box over one of your ugly, hard-to-use 'servers' any day.

Windows server!! HA yes... I assume you mean XP too. God knows Vista is such a classy piece of work!

HA! Turd.

I've never seen so many 'Windows Home Server' dorks in one thread. You guys should all get together and have a little fun. Just be careful - one of you has to eat the cracker when it's all over.

I think, in general, computer/tech savvy enthusiasts forget or don't realize they're a minority in the consumer market. The majority or my friends/coworkers/relatives - though they use things like computers, ipods, dvr's, itunes, etc. daily - do not understand (or want to) the mechanisms behind these electronic wonders and would never be the least bit interested in building a server - or opening the case of anything electronic to modify it. If your in tech industry, which is probably the norm for the average gadget blog subscriber, your social group will be different. A big difference between to two tech moguls is that Microsoft builds good technology solutions - Apple builds good consumer solutions.

How anyo windows head can compare an apple router with anything else? need to try one to know.

anyway Windows fans go and get your toyselsewhere here we are taling about apple toyz.

I would really love to see DIABOLUSUNKNOWN post the components needed to get the equivalent 1TB WHS for under $400.. Because I would buy it instantly.

As far as I've ever seen, WHS is not a competitor here. The cheapest I've seen is 500GB for $600, although the extra hot-swappable SATA slots are very nice.

No, to me the competition here is the Buffalo LinkStation. For somewhere between $200 and $300 (let's just average that out and say $250), you get a $500 GB NAS device with pretty much the same features as the Apple Time Capsule. But that is only the NAS device (with some backup software).

Apple, for about $50 more, is throwing in an 802.11n router and a small gigabit switch.

To me, the decision is this: If you want an NAS device and are also in the market for a router or a gigabit switch, then the Apple device is a great deal. If you don't need a router or a switch, then the Buffalo Linkstation is the best deal for you.

damn you people bitch alot. if you bought a product and it doesn't work, then i understand that you're unhappy, but that has nothing to do with this. this is a great product that you should be glad the company you like has created, as it will do very well.

and to those who can't shut up about whs. i can't believe i have to be the one to tell you this, but this is a hard drive. so, OBVIOUSLY, it will be much less featured than whs. please, do not attempt to grow a brain.

The only thing holding me back from buying the 1TB model is trying to find out if there is a way to connect a usb cable from my computer to the time capsule usb port and backup files that way. aka NOT using wireless. the apple site only says you can use it to connect a printer or hard drive to it. ????
I need to set it up this way for a project im working on.

anyone have any more info on this?

I just bought one (299$), It's a great box, and the price is quite competitive if you know that this is the first box of it's kind on the market. Go Apple ! (Windows compatible :-)