Airport Express Just Weird

Question

I have a new Airport Express. I have managed to connect to the internet with it - I'm sending this post by it in fact - and yet the light on top is still flashing amber.
I have to say that having switched 6 years ago, this is the first time I have been disappointed at the ease with which an Apple product can be used.
I think I have managed to enable a bridge connection after a fashion - but to be honest I haven't got a clue because setting up this wireless is like reading Greek upside down.
I have the bold wireless indicator in my menu bar, there's a connection <-> indicator too. Their roles seem to overlap.
I had a setup previously which seemed to be a mix of Ethernet and Wireless - again using a wireless base station as a bridge.
Then there's the network settings in System Preferences. Again these are related but different.
What does it all mean? I want a wireless bridge to replace a cable?
Currently I have a choice.
1) Plug in cable - 1 second.
2) Configure wireless bridge - a few hours of bemused frustration.
Do the math.

Answer 1

Yes, it is the first time I've had what I can only call a windows-experience on a Mac. I have been extremely satisfied with Apple's products so far and am and avid Mac-fan.
As mentioned I am using an 1.2GHz iBook G4 with 768MB SDRAM and OS 10.4.
My internet connection is a modem (6Mbps DSL I guess) provided by my ISP in Hong Kong -
www.netvigator.com
I must provide my email address and password for login ID to their server. This is a PPoE protocol as far as I am aware.
Yes, my beef is that the light is flashing amber - I like my LEDs green when they should be green and amber when they should be amber, which is why I switched to Macs because they are invariably blue on a PC.
Also, I cannot print wirelessly. I have a HP Officejet 4255 all-in-one plugged into the Airport Express USB socket. The driver is installed on the iBook and works normally with a direct USB cable connection. The manual refers to a printer setup application in Utilities that doesn't exist, there is a HP application but that can't find the printer.
The other wireless bridge device is no more. It was a Belkin thingy that you could just plug into a LAN socket - very small, good for travelling, hotel in-room connections etc. Anyway it has gone now and I deleted any reference to it in the network settings.
My frustration stems mainly from the wireless set-up process not being particularly friendly. My normal Mac experience is "plug-in-and-use". I guess I have been spoilt. Configuring the iBook for wireless, however, brought back horrible memories of setting up a network connection on windows 95......shudder....Obviously I am exaggerating, as nothing could be quite that bad.
Nevertheless, I am still not entirely certain why I can connect.
I connected the AP-Ex as instructed, then powered up. I installed the software, and ran the Set-up application.
Prior to set-up the AP-Ex started green, changed to solid amber then went to flashing amber after a minute or so.
I have a feeling that during the set-up, I didn't select that the AP-Ex must use my login details even though I recall that I did enter them.
Anyway, I couldn't connect, so I tried to use the Admin Utility which doesn't show an indentified Base Station - even with rescan.
At some point, I don't recall whether before or after using the Admin Utility, I used the Network Settings in System Preferences. I enter details for the Airport PPoE settings etc and I managed to get hooked up.
This is similar to what I did with the Belkin device - however, that device kept dropping the connection and my wife complained that she could never get it to connect properly. I generally could but it often took a few attempts.
This bridge connection seems to employ Airport settings to allow us to use wireless, but Ethernet settings to actually make the handshake with the ISP.
This relies on the Network Settings being set for the base station.
I figured that the Belkin kept dropping the signal because it is not particularly strong, and perhaps it wouldn't connect well automatically because it was not an airport. So I ditched the Belkin and paid that little extra to get an Airport Express which I expected to make friends with my iBook without me doing anything.
The sales assistant did offer to set-up the AP-Ex for me, which should have rung alarm bells, but I declined.
On the positive side, this is not just an Apple issue. I have set-up a number of different wireless devices on different systems in the past and they have all been a headache. Too many SSIDs, BSIDs, MACs, WAP password this,128 Hex that, parity, stop crackle and pop - who needs that. If I wanted stable but confusing I'd use Linux.
I got my first iMac in 2000 after being driven mad by you know who. I was delighted that the internet connection hooked immediately up to my ISP when I entered my username and password as requested.
Wireless ought to be like this - especially if, as in my case, all it is replacing is a cable - the login settings etc being the same as before.
As I say, its not only an Apple issue, it is the main failing behind wireless as far as I can see. Its great when its up and running but getting there is a pain in the ***.
Stephen