Last week we reported that Apple would allow all Core 2 Duo Macs (along with the Mac Pro) 802.11n support, provided you bought the AirPort Extreme. We now have confirmation directly from the source—Steve Jobs—that the purchase of a $180 AirPort Extreme is no longer necessary. News of the confirmation trickles down through Glenn Fleishman, the same man who schooled us, Wi-Fi style in his interview. Apple plans to offer an “AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler” patch for download sometime next month, which will extend 802.11n functionality to all systems sporting the necessary hardware.
Oddly enough, however, the patch will not be free. It will run you the low, low price of just $4.99. Why in the world would Apple charge just $5 for something so simple? Well the explanation actually stems from a law called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which prohibits a company from giving away an unadvertised new feature of an already sold product. Otherwise the company can be held liable for improper accounting, as they were recognizing revenue from an incomplete product.
Sure sounds silly to me, but laws are laws, and $5 really isn’t too much to pay for a feature I didn’t originally expect to come with my Mac. Plus, as Glenn notes in his piece, the 802.11n patch will most likely be widely distributed on the web (it will have no serial number) and may even be included in the next version of OS X, Leopard.
So if you own a Core 2 Duo Mac, keep your eyes peeled on Apple’s site and here at MacUser for an news of an 802.11n patch, due sometime in February.
[hat tip: Jason Snell]
What do us early Macbook Pro adapters do when we want 802.11n speed? Is there a way to install an "n" wireless card into our notebooks?
I would pay $5 in a heartbeat if I can get that type of speed.
No, this impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is bad news--very, very bad news. The real issue isn't this token payment.
About a year ago, someone in development at Adobe told me that it was "illegal" for them to put even modest improvements into bug fixes for products such as InDesign. I (politely) told her she was crazy, that Apple had added actual improvements to every new point release of OS X.
Now I know what she meant. Apple was apparently pushing the limits of that gosh-awful law by enhancing 10.4 without new charges. Their recent stock option woes are forcing them to be more careful.
The issue isn't the $5 charge, it's the draconian legal messiness this poorly thought-out law adds to any software enhancement to an already-sold product. Because of that law, Adobe isn't making any product enhancements, even easy to implement ones, for the 18 months or more between product releases. That is bad for Adobe, bad for users, and bad for our economic productivity.
Apple hasn't gone that far. It's selling this particular high-demand enhancement for a modest price. But in the future, how many useful improvements to OS X will be held back for major releases because of this stupid law, improvements we won't even hear about to lobby for?
No, we shouldn't let this matter pass. We need to lean very heavily on Congress to change this law. This sort of nonsense has absolutely nothing to do with Enron, where more than enough existing law was broken.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books, Seattle
@ Moe: I had the same question and for the most part the answer is negative.
The cost for us Core Duo Mac owners to move to 802.11n will be that of a new iMac/Macbook/Macbook Pro. In other words, we are $hit outta luck. At least until until Apple decides otherwise.
Why the all the whining?
Just head over to LinkSys ( http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1162354643512&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper ) and get the WRT350N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link. It has all the same features as the Airport Extreme plug Gigabit Ethernet.
Hey Island in the net: That contraption looks HOT!!!