If the system is connected to Time Capsule’s wireless network, the correspondent disk will be immediately identified and it’ll be offered for an eventual selection. If the user chooses the Time Capsule’s disk, the password to unlock the writing rights will be needed.

Time Machine will then perform its first system backup, which could take a few hours in case of a high amount of data. Once it’s finished, Time Capsule will then work on the so-called incremental backups every hour, which means that the software will only update the created or modified elements. Through the “options” panel, it’s also possible to define a list of folders to exclude from the automatic backups.

With the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, a new feature to backup data has been introduced. Apple named it “Time Machine”, and its graphic interface was designed to be easy to use: whenever the user needs to recover data that was accidentally deleted from the main system, it’s sufficient to start Time Machine that will show a “time bar” in which the user will be able to go back to previous system stages or files.

In order to make Time Machine work correctly, and in this case connected with the Time Capsule, it’s necessary to choose the hard disk from the configuration interface.

The configuration doesn’t depend on the kind of connection we’re using as we configure the device: even if we are using a network cable, we can still configure Time Capsule to create a wireless network.

According to the options chosen, the software will then correctly set all the parameter and at the end of the session, it’ll ask the user to restart Time Capsule in order to complete the changes. At this point, it’ll be possible to share the storage space present on the unit by connecting to the wireless network created by Time Capsule, and access it either through Finder, that recognizes it as a normal shared hard disk, or by using the automatic backup features present on Time Machine.

Once the AirPort Utility has correctly detected the device, it’s possible to access the true configuration that can be done completely manually or in automatic mode. Choosing the latter, the software will ask for a name to be given to the device, which will also determine the name chosen for the wireless network that will be created by Time Capsule. We can also decide to protect the access to the device with a password, to prevent any modifications or file sharing from non-authorized users.

The configuration will then establish what type of network settings to assign to the unit: we must choose whether to insert Time Capsule to a pre-existent wireless network, use it to create a new wireless network or whether to configure the device to be used exclusively through the Ethernet cable connection.

The installation is very simple, in fact, all the user has to do is follow the initial instructions found on the brief manual that comes in the package, then allow the auto-configurator to do it’s job. The auto-configurator will ask simple questions in order to configure the device according to the user’s needs.

The first thing to do is connect the Time Capsule to the electricity, using the cable that comes with it. It’s worth reminding that this device features an integrated power supply, contrarily to the old generation AirPort bases. During the first configuration, it’s advisable to connect Time Capsule to the system through a normal network cable in order to speed and simplify the steps. Once Time Capsule is working and ready to use, it’s time to start the Airport Utility  that will start searching for the device.

As for the storage unit, Apple has declared to have used a server-grade Serial ATA 500GB/1TB Hard Disk with 7200rpm. Opening the Time Capsule in order to see exactly what hard disk was chosen, we an find a Seagate Barracuda ES on the 500GB model.

IT’s an Enterprice class hard disk, certified to work 24 hours, 7 days a week and with a MTBF (meantime between failure) of 1,2 million hours. The disk features a 3.0GB/s SATA interface and works at a 7200 rpm speed. The cache size is 16MB

The Time Capsule features a wireless connection within the IEE 802.11n standards and it supports authentication technologies such as WPA/WPA2 and WEP, MAC Address filtering systems, NAT firewalls and communication protocols such as the 802.11a/b/g, Draft N, NAT, DHCP, PPPoE, VPN, DNS Proxy, SNMP and IPv6.

The device is also equipped with a 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN port for connecting an ADSL modem, three 1 Gigabit- Ethernet LAN ports and a USB port for the connection of an extra hard disk or a printer: the Time Capsule can, in fact, work as a printer server in the same way the AirPort base can.

With the introduction of an automatic backup feature with the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, called “Time Machine”, Apple has decided to supply also a hardware component that would be able to take advantage of that new feature on their Operational System.

This piece of hardware was named “Time Capsule”, calling the user’s attention to the connection between the hardware and the software utility. The Time Capsule isn’t anything extraordinary or stravagant, in fact: it’s simple an AirPort Extreme base featuring a hard disk of 500GB or 1TB inside.

From all the iMac models, the iMac 20″ seems to be the most balanced in all aspects. The system is in fact able to offer a good performance, also in video games for a not so exagerated price. Our opinion is that the superior iMac systems (beyond the one we tested) are only good for those that need a compact desktop system that also features a good workspace area.

If the iMac 20″ solutions are clearly aimed to home users, the 24″ models are easily adaptable to the needs of those that use many multimedia programs or video-editing thanks to the very large workspace that the monitor offers.

However, the extreme compact size results in little expandability. The only possibility for an update that a user can access to is the memory exchange. The rest of the hardware is, in fact, inaccessible.

The iMac’s strong point is, in fact, the ability of offering a complete yet flexible system, without the need of reaching extra-advanced performances in a reduced space without the need to compromise the visual experience.

Apple has equipped the iMac 20″ with an LCD panel featuring a 1680×1050 pixel resolution, with a contrast of 800:1. As we mentioned in previous posts, the panel is placed behind a plexiglass cover surrounded by a large black frame. In the upper part of the monitor, also, we can find the integrated iSight webcam. The integrated microphone is placed on the upper surface, while next to the webcam lens we can find a green led that indicates that the device is working properly.

The level of luminance on the iMac 20″ display can be divided into 17 different steps. From the lowest level, it reaches 110,777 cd/m2 that go up to 357,9 cd/m2 at the maximum level. The display is comfortably usable already at the lowest level, while the highest level can really be disturbing, especially when used for longer periods of time and with poor ambient lighting.