Does it work out of the box well ........NO

The Airport Express 'AE' has simply not lived up to its name 'Express' because mine still does not work as intended in a Windows Vista environment.
Oh and this is the second unit that I have been working with over the last three days. The first one was returned after the power plug came apart when unplugging the unit for the nnn [as documented by Apple as a method of resolving described issues] time exposing the 240V cabling fortunately or unfortunately depending upon Apple's law firms point of view contact with 'Volts' was somehow avoided. Oh and to Apples credit the unit was changed over with both a smile and apology in less time than it takes to blink an eye.
Just to set the tone and so as not to appear to be overly disgruntled I simply love Apple's packaging which I guess they hope conveys the message that what looks good is good what do they say you should not judge a book by its cover.
Well what are the issues summarized in order to keep this installment as brief as possible:
First Lesson:
2 x iPhone's 3G will only Wi-Fi connect with my DLink DIR655 802.11/n in 802.11/g mode which is a mystery because I thought that the iPhone was a '/n' device? The other mystery is that the iPHone will only Wi-Fi connect if the Router is set for auto channel scan selection which in my case is always wireless 2.437Ghz channel 6. Oh and the router is running WPA/2 AES but only after a recent firmware upgrade from D-Link now running version 1.21 'published 10/9/2008 and still current as at the date of this installment'. Before the routers firmware upgrade the iPhone would only Wi-Fi connect in WEP mode.
Another symptom is that if the channel is fixed to say '2' it takes forever to log onto the D-Link router giving the appearance that network performance has been degraded by this configuration.
Second Lesson:
You cannot configure the AE 'Firmware version 7.3.2' using AirPort Utility 'Version 5.3.2' unless you are communicating with the device via its Ethernet Port. Otherwise if you perform an update whilst connected via Wi-Fi after the device reboots a rescan simply fails to discover the device. At this point you can log to it provided that you know its IP address '192.168.0.nnn' using the menu item 'File/Configure Other...'
Lesson Three:
When run in 'Join a Wireless Network' the AE functions correctly the iPhone remote connects with the nominated iTunes Library then after a short period of time [minutes] connectivity between the iPHone running the Remote application and iTunes is lost 'Desktop is still awake and AE displays Green'. If you restart the AE this problem is not resolved however if you disconnect the Desktop from the D-Link Wireless Network and then reconnect the connectivity problem is resolved. Oh and by the way the DLink is configured with Wireless always on.
Lesson Four:
I have a Epsom R390 printer USB connected to the Desktop and shared over the network which worked without any issues whatsoever. The Inkjet printer is connected to a continuous ink supply. With the latest version of Bonjour installed I had no problem seeing and connecting to the pinter via the AE USB port however for some reason the printer was reporting an 'Error' when processing a print job that appeared to be related a run out of ink a problem was remedied without any other adjustments by simply reconnecting the printer to the Desktop.
Lesson Five:
If you configure the AE as a stand-a-lone Wireless Device it gives the appearance of being issue free as far as the iPhone - Remote - iTunes functionality only [did not test printing] but I did not purchase the equipment as a stand-a-line Wireless Device.
In summary:
Where is the point of failure well I am not sure it could be a AE/Vista or AE/Vista/D-Link or AE/D-Link or simply an AE issue.
Is the AE fit for the purpose for which it was intended [as described by Apple]? well only a solution as to how it can be made to work reliably will resolve that question.
For my part I am quite happy to continue making my time freely available to find a resolution.

HOW I SOLVED MY PROBLEM.
To get rid of the current network configuration/s:
Reset the AE and powered Off and disconnected Ethernet Cable
Disconnected the Vista Desktop from the D-Link Wi-Fi Network
Deleted the AE Network in Vista - Start/Network/Network Sharing Centre/Manage Wireless Networks
Deleted the D-Link Network in Vista -Start/Network/Network Sharing Centre/Manage Wireless Networks
Ran forget Wi-Fi Network on iPhones switched OFF WiFi
Ran forget all Remotes in iTunes
Reset D-Link Router and then powered Off
Shutdown the Desktop and powered OFF
Had lunch followed by a cup of coffee.....
To Reconfigure:
1 - D-Link Router
Desktop/Windows XP/Ethernet connectivity with the D-Link Router
Powered up the D-Link
Performed the Wireless Setup including changes to the factory defaults
DHCP Client
QOS Inactive
Wireless Enabled
802.11Mixed 902.11/n and 802.11/g
Channel Width 20&40Mhz
AutoChannel
WISH Active
Wi-Fi Protection:
Security Mode WPA-Personal
Auto WPA or WPA2
TKIP and AES
Restarted the D-Link
2 Desktop- Vista
Cold Start
Connected to the D-Link Wi-Fi Network 'proved Internet Connectivity - Broadband Cable'
Powered on the AE without Ethernet Network connectivity
Ran Airport Utility 'Found the Airport Express without any problems'
Retained default Airport Express SSD Name:
Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network
Network name the D-Link SSD Name
Wireless Security WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel 6 Automatic
Connect using Wireless Network
Robustness Off
Restart the AE waited for it to complete its power up processing
Start/Network/Network Sharing Centre/Manage Wireless Networks changed the AE network properties to WPA2 AES enabled 'this is not automatically configured by the Airport Utility Software
Confirmed that the Visa Network order of logon priority was the D-Link then Airport Express
Disconnect Desktop from D-Link WiFi connectivity and then reconnect Desktop to D-Link WiFi
Connect iPhone to the D-Link Wifi network
Launch iTunes
Launch Remote on the iPhone and paired the device on iTunes
IT NOW WORKS WITH EXCELLENT RANGE 'distance between the AE and the iPhone
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM
Well my guess is a corruption in some aspect of the network setup which was resolved by deleting all the existing network configurations and basically starting again.
IN CONCLUSION
I can now report that the AE is fit for my purpose and looks as good as the packaging.... it almost had me though....

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