[NTLK] [OT] really...please reply off list...Apple Airport questions

OK. I'll reiterate this...DO NOT reply to this email without first replacing the "To" field with my email address, tech_ed@yahoo.com
 
 
Here is my question to all you Apple people out there...
I have a specific need that I think a *GASP* Apple product can fill.
 
My parents live in an area where broadband is prohibitively expensive, so they have dial-up.
My mom has her laptop with a PC card modem in it, and my dad has a desktop with an internal modem in it as well (both Windows machines). When one uses the "Internet" the other cannot because the modem has taken over their single phone line.
 
so, here is my solution.
I was going to purchase the DLink DI-714 router, hook it up to an old SupraFax 56k external modem I still have lying around and set that up for my parents to use...Until I saw that the DLink DI-714 was over $150...That's a little more than I was expecting to spend...and kind of a kludge to set up..
 
Now, I know that some of you are saying "hey, just make the desktop share the modem connection", or "get an old computer and install linux on it". Well, yeah...if it were me, this is what I would do...but this is for a household that has 60 and 70 year old people in it, and technology for them was a rotary dial phone! (JK, but point being made here)
 
Now, for my question:
Someone mentioned in another group I was reading that an older Apple Airport will do what I want. The Apple M8799LL/A Airport Extreme with Modem.
 
The nice thing I like about this solution is that it has a modem build into the thing and it is a single unit.
 
Does anyone on this list have experience using this router in the configuration I have described above?  Basically, I want this thing to sit on a desk next to my dad's computer. When someone (either my dad using the wired Ethernet port or my mom using a generic 802.11b/g card in her laptop) opens a webpage, I want this thing to dial the modem to their dialup account and connect to their ISP and load the page (I believe the ISP is earthlink...)
 
I also see that it has a USB port on it as well...does this allow the unit to be a print server too? And how well does the internal antenna work in a standard 3,000 SF wood frame house?
 
And finally, if this does what I want, does any one want to unload one on me?
 
Thanks
Ed
web/gadget guru
http://newton.tek-ed.com (download Newton packages)
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- 'Fake' Steve Jobs 3/24/08 blog entry

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Received on Thu Sep 11 13:55:19 2008