Three updates to Airport Extreme and Time Capsule

Apple updated its Time Capsule and Airport Extreme’s with some new features today.  It isn’t yet clear if this is a hardware update or software only – we’re looking into this.  Guest Sharing and Simultaneous dual-band support.   Update: Oh, and a biggie, Internet sharing your Airport hard drive.

From Apple:

Guest Sharing:

Now it’s easier than ever to allow guests to use your Internet connection without sharing your password or giving them access to the rest of your network. Simply enable the new guest networking feature using the AirPort Utility application and create a separate Wi-Fi network just for your friends. You can set up this guest network with a different password or with none at all. Your primary network — including your printer, attached drives, or other devices — remains secure.

Simultaneous dual-band support

Some Wi-Fi devices use the 2.4GHz wireless band, including iPhone, iPod touch, and devices using 802.11b/g. Other devices can use either 2.4GHz or the higher-speed 5GHz band, such as the latest 802.11n-based Mac computers and Apple TV. Instead of choosing one of the bands, AirPort Extreme now operates simultaneously on both bands, and your multiband devices automatically use the best available band. This means all your Wi-Fi devices get the fastest possible wireless performance and the best possible range.

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Say you’re traveling and you need a file on the hard drive connected to your AirPort Extreme back at home. If you’re a MobileMe member using Mac OS X Leopard, no problem.* You can now access all the files on your shared drive over the Internet. Simply register your AirPort Extreme with your MobileMe account, and your drive appears in your Finder sidebar just like any other attached drive. It’s like having your own personal file server wherever you go.