Macbook , Windows & external hard drive connection on Wifi Network

Question

I am intrested in connecting 2 Macbooks & 2 Windows operating Netbooks & a 1TB external hard drive on a wireless network operating at my apartment .The purpose of connecting the netbooks is purely personal for sharing of music & movies via network .
The modem , we have is the one supplied by telecom company ( STC , Saudi Arabia ) , nothing sophisticated about that .
Can you guys advise , what will be needed to connect the above mentioned stuff ?
Will a need a new modem ? If yes , which is the best ? Will ethernet gigabyte switch be also required ?
Also any suggestions for the external hard drive ?
Is the connectivity possible with Mac OS & WIndows .
Looking forward to your suggestions & solutions

Answer 1

Yes! it's that easy! The hard drive in the TC will be available to anyone who is on the administrative account. By default the TC and AExtreme will send two signals, one, for you and sharing your important information and a second one for guests that you may not want seeing all your files. It's quite simple.
And since there is a USB port on the back of both of these Routers, then you wil be able to also plug a usb hub with however many hard drive you want.
So if you have a hard drive that is big enough for your needs already, you could be fine getting the Airport Extreme. But again, I wanted both so I got the TCapsule.
Please note, you're looking for a router. The modem is usually provided by your ISP, however I bought one because I would have ended up buying it in the end with the rental system put in place for it. And I wouldn't get to keep the modem after I was done with the ISP (internet service provider).
So you are in the market for a ROUTER just to be clear, the modem is what recieves the signal from the ISP the router is what you can use to broadcast it and connect multiple devices to. Make sure all of your ethernet cables say CAT 6 on them, this is the gigabit connector, the other ones aren't so fast. Niether devices come with Ethernet Cables! this was a big pieve of mine but other then that I am super happy with my Time Capsule and given what you said you wanted to do, I think you will be too!!
to round it all up, I have a Time Capsule that I also have a usb storage device plugged into via a usb hub broadcasting these hdd's to anything that you want and nothing that you don't (admin user, guest user) but still allowing everyone to have high speed internet.
Security measures you should take with your router is setting up a WPA2 pass key and also to not broadcast your signal. Meaning you'll have to manually type it into whatever device you're connecting with. with all of this, your information will be wireless and secure.
hope this helps! I'm excited for you! let us know what you end up doing.