MacBook® All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Going Wireless

In This Chapter

• Finding out how wireless networking works

• Discovering wireless security

• Connecting to other Macs without a wireless access point

• Connecting to and disconnecting from AirPort networks

Nowadays, wireless connectivity is king. For example, wireless phones have gone from being a toy of the technological elite to a permanent fixture on the hip of the common man. The shorts that I'm wearing right now have a special pocket just for a cellphone to ride in; when I'm without my phone, it usually carries a 5th Avenue candy bar. (Perhaps that was too personal ...sorry.)

Because people have become accustomed to keeping in touch from wherever they are, they also want to have access to their network, at least within their house or workplace, without the hassle of cables. (Which, by the way, are magnets for pets that enjoy a good chew toy.) This desire for convenience and the advances in wireless technology have combined to bring you the concept of the wireless network — as well as wireless coffee shops, wireless access providers, and even wireless gaming centers. (In fact, Apple's iPhone is a wireless Internet marvel, with instant connectivity to any Bluetooth-enabled Mac and full-featured e-mail and browsing that'll knock your socks off.)

Now you can be connected to your home local area network (LAN) and your shared Internet connection (which I cover in Book VII, Chapter 4) from your balcony, deck, lounge chair in the yard, or even your bedroom. In this chapter, ...