AirPort


The following section is a more in-depth look at AirPort networking, including installation of the card in your machine, and setting up a base station to use. AirPort now comes in two flavors, AirPort (802.11b) and AirPort Extreme (802.11g). AirPort Extreme is faster, and available only on Macs manufactured after January 2003. An AirPort Extreme card is small and silvery. An original AirPort card is white and the size of a regular PCMCIA card. When we speak of an AirPort capable/equipped Mac, unless otherwise specified, it won’t matter if it’s AirPort or AirPort Extreme.

Installing AirPort cards

Macs that are ready for AirPort have a built-in antenna and a special slot for Apple’s AirPort card, but if your Mac doesn’t have one of these cards installed, you may need to obtain one, connect the antenna to it, and install it in the slot. Of course, you don’t need to install an AirPort card if you order one with the computer or if someone else already installed a card.

All iBooks and all slot-loading and flat panel iMacs are AirPort compatible, except for the 350Mhz models that lack FireWire ports. The new iBook G4s are AirPort Extreme compatible. For the most part, iMacs produced after February of 2003 support AirPort Extreme. Table 15-3 shows the AirPort capabilities of all 10.3-compatible Macs.

Table15-3: AirPort Capabilities

Macintosh Model

AirPort Capable

AirPort Extreme Capable

Blue and White G3

PowerBook G3 (Lombard)

PowerBook G3 (Pismo)

PowerMac G4 PCI

PowerMac G4 AGP

PowerMac G4 Gigabit Ethernet

PowerMac G4 Digital Audio

PowerMac G4 Quicksilver

PowerMac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors (2002)

PowerMac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors (2003)

PowerBook G4 Titanium (400-1GHz)

PowerBook G4 Aluminum (12”, 15”, 17”)

iBook G3 (Clamshell and White)

IBook G4

iMac Tray-Load

IMac Slot Load 350 MHz No FireWire

iMac Slot Load

iMac G4

iMac G4 17” 1GHz

iMac G4 (USB 2.0)

PowerMac G5

All PowerBook G4s are AirPort-compatible. Only the Aluminum G4 PowerBooks are compatible with AirPort Extreme. The PowerBook G3 Pismo with FireWire ports is the only G3 PowerBook that is AirPort compatible. Earlier models need a third-party PCMCIA card.

All PowerMac G4’s that have an AGP graphics slot are AirPort compatible (this excludes the original “PCI” G4). G4s made after 2003 are AirPort Extreme compatible. All the G5s are AirPort extreme compatible.

Not surprisingly, the procedure for installing an AirPort card is different for each Mac model. Instructions for installing an AirPort card in your computer are in the manual that came with it. You can also find detailed, illustrated instructions for your Mac model in Apple’s Knowledge Base (www.info.apple.com).

Creating a computer-to-computer AirPort network

If you have two or more computers with AirPort cards installed, you can create an ad hoc wireless network. Apple calls this a computer-to-computer network. This network connects the AirPort-equipped computers without an AirPort base station. One computer creates a computer-to-computer network, and other computers within about 150 feet can join it.

Note

Any computer with a wireless card that complies with revision b or g of the IEEE 802.11 standard should be able to join a computer-to-computer network created by Mac OS X. The IEEE 802.11b and g standards cover ad hoc wireless networks called IBSS (Independent Basic Service Set), and the Mac OS X AirPort software complies with IBSS.

Computers connected to an ad hoc wireless network can share files and participate in multiplayer games. They can also access multiuser databases and use other software designed for multiple users.

The easiest way to create a computer-to-computer network is to choose the Create Network option under the AirPort menu bar icon. If you don’t have the AirPort icon displayed, you can always launch the Internet Connect application and choose the same option from the Network pull-down menu. Figure 15-15 displays the result of choosing to create a computer-to-computer network.

click to expand
Figure 15-15: Behold, the birth of a computer-to-computer wireless network.

Click the Show Options button (which changes to the Hide Options button shown in Figure 15-15). This gives you the ability to set a password for your network. Check the box to enable WEP encryption. Setting a password for your network is a good habit to get into, for security reasons. Type the name and the password in the appropriate fields. You must retype your password in the Confirm field for verification.

You may need to change the Channel setting if there are other wireless networks in the vicinity. Each wireless network listed in the Network pop-up menu should use a different channel. When two networks share the same channel, their performance decreases. Because adjacent channels actually overlap, you should leave two unused channel numbers between each used channel for best network performance. Also, because 2.4-GHz cordless telephones use the same frequency range as 802.11b wireless Ethernet devices, they can interfere if they are on the same or a adjacent channel.

After you have created your network, users on other computers can join it. If you have set a password, they’ll need to type it in. See Chapter 10 for more on sharing files and Chapter 6 for how to join and leave an AirPort Network.




Mac OS X Bible, Panther Edition
Mac OS X Bible, Panther Edition
ISBN: 0764543997
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 290

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