Chapter10.Setting Up a Wireless Connection, or How to Check Your Email in a Coffee Shop

Chapter 10. Setting Up a Wireless Connection, or How to Check Your Email in a Coffee Shop

The proliferation of wireless networks means that access to the Internet is easier than ever. From many coffee shops, for example, you can open up a laptop or PDA and check your email. You can do so merely by configuring your laptop's wireless connection, which is what this chapter is all about.

One of the areas where XP's latest Service Pack has had the most noticeable impact is with the configuration and management of wireless connections. So in many ways, this chapter is not only about wireless technologies, but also more generally about Service Pack 2.

Wireless means different things to different people, so we'll start with an overview of today's wireless choices, as well as a quick glance at what's down the proverbial Road Ahead. Then, I'll show you how to quickly set up and secure a wireless connection, and what options need to be configured to ensure the most trouble-free wireless connection possible.

The chapter concludes with a brief section on infrared connectivity, which can be very convenient, but which today, with the ubiquity of wireless, is less and less prevalent.

Keep in the back of your mind that this chapter is also an extension of the topics introduced in the previous chapter. Wired or no, we're still talking about computer networking.