Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Broadband Connections

If you have a cable modem, DSL, or office network, you’re one of the lucky ones. You have a high-speed, broadband connection to the Internet that’s always available, always on. You never have to wait to dial, to disconnect, or to download. You’re connected to the Net via your Mac’s Ethernet jack, leaving its built-in modem benched.

You set up your account like this: Open System Preferences; click the Network icon; from the Show pop-up menu, choose either AirPort or Built-in Ethernet (or the name of the Ethernet card that’s connected to your Internet equipment), depending on how your Mac is connected to the broadband modem. Now, you see something like Figure 18-3.

The next step is to make a selection from the Configure pop-up menu. Only your service provider (cable TV company or phone company, for example) can tell you exactly which settings to use, but you’ll generally choose one of these options:

• Manually. Your cable or phone company will tell you precisely which IP address (Internet address) to type in here. The bad news is that you’ll also have to fill in all the other boxes here—Subnet Mask, Router, and so on—with cryptic numbers separated by periods.

  On the other hand, look at the bright side: You’ve just been given a static IP address, an Internet address that is all your own and that won’t change. Because your Mac has this one reliable address, several cool Mac OS X features are available to you. For example, you’ll be able to access your files from anywhere ...