Chapter 3: Going Wireless

In This Chapter

arrow.png Finding out how wireless networking works

arrow.png Discovering wireless security

arrow.png Connecting to other Macs without a wireless access point

arrow.png Connecting to and disconnecting from AirPort networks

Nowadays, wireless connectivity is king. For example, mobile phones have gone from being a toy of the technological elite to a permanent fixture on the hip of the common homo sapiens. 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 being able to keep in touch wherever they are, they also want to be able 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, ...

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