Wireless networking technology has shown an explosive growth worldwide over the past few years, bucking the general downward economic trend in the telecommunications industry. What is it about wireless networking that makes it so alluring on a grand scale? Why did over 22 million Wi-Fi devices ship last year, with double that projected by some for this year? While marketing folk might tell you that the particular feature set and brand name of their product is driving demand, I believe the answer is much simpler: it’s magic.
Right where you are sitting now, there could be dozens of wireless data networks slinging information to the far corners of the Earth. A neighbor orders food online while someone across the street is using voice chat to talk to relatives (for free!) in Hong Kong, all the while someone upstairs is downloading a new album from their favorite band’s web site in San Francisco. The information flows all around you (and, indeed, even through you) without you seeing or hearing a thing. Make no mistake, wireless networking is probably the second most magical technology on the planet—just behind the Internet.
In hundreds of cities around the world, wireless networks are making ubiquitous connectivity more the rule than the exception, providing service (often free) to millions of users who suddenly need nothing more than a laptop and wireless card to get online. Wireless networking is getting people connected to each other more cheaply and easily than any other networking technology since the telephone.
The term hacking has a bad reputation in the popular press, where it used to refer to someone who breaks into systems or wreaks havoc with computers as their weapon. Among enthusiasts, on the other hand, the term hack refers to a “quick-n-dirty” solution to a problem, or to a clever way to get something done. The term hacker is taken very much as a compliment, referring to someone as being creative, and having the technical chops to get things done. O’Reilly’s Hacks series is an attempt the reclaim the word, document the ways people are hacking (in a good way), and pass the hacker ethic of creative participation on to the uninitiated. Seeing how others approach systems and problems is often the quickest way to learn about a new technology.
Wireless Hacks is about getting the most out of your wireless networking hardware. In this book, you will find practical techniques for extending range, increasing throughput, managing wireless resources, and generally making your wireless networking vision a reality. Remember that reality is what you can get away with, and wireless hackers have found that they can get away with quite a lot using surprisingly little. This book will show you some of the best bits of their collected experience.
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