Quote:
Originally Posted by McG
my M$ world
Xbox 360 (obviously not replaceable) but it does have to connect with an apple server
Linksys 610 dual band simultaneous router - does it survive or do i need an airport?
HP Windows Home Server - is there an equivalent in the Apple world? backups, syncing media and acting as a media hub for the 360 and laptops; is there an equivalent to this in the apple world? Does it stream video? (its a dumb question but i have to ask)
Home Computers - will my laptop and Desktop function in the new apple environment until i replace them?
DLNA and wireless for TVs - does the apple environment support DLNA?
USB devices - i have a few; do they work in the apple environment or is that an "it depends". What is the deal with apple and usb?
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Looking at this list, there's no real need to do a whole-hog replacement of everything. Apple's Time Capsule is a nice router/NAS, but it doesn't talk with a 360 for streaming (no DLNA at all in the Apple world). Unless you go with third-party software or hacks, you're stuck in the iTunes ecosystem, which can be a PITA for some people, but in general the AppleTV is really nice.
I suppose you could revamp your media with:
-Time Capsule
-Mac Mini (or a laptop, as you need an active Mac to stream to an AppleTV, unless you hack it)
-AppleTV
Otherwise, just start small by adding a laptop/desktop and go from there. I have the following:
Games: 360, PS3
HTPC: Mac Mini (running Plex)
NAS: FreeNAS box with 4x2 TB
Laptop: MacBook Pro
Desktop: Custom PC
Router: Linksys WRT running Tomato
All work fine together.
Re: Apple and USB. It "just works" most of the time (especially with printers).