Wireless Internet is everywhere these days. It's nice being able to get online wirelessly in public places or even throughout your own home. No more Ethernet cables running through the house, tripping people and getting caught on the furniture!
Since you purchased a MacBook instead of a desktop Mac, you probably plan to take your computer away from your desk anyway, and you'll want to use your built-in wireless card to connect to the Internet.
When you are at home, you can connect your laptop to the Internet with an Ethernet cable if you want to. You'll generally get faster speeds and maybe a more reliable connection, but if being tethered to a cable is too much of a hassle, connecting wirelessly all the time is fine too.
The wireless adapter card that is preinstalled in your computer is called an AirPort card. If you are connecting to a wired network, you'll use the Ethernet port on the side of your MacBook, but to connect wirelessly, you'll use the AirPort card. In order to use the AirPort card, there must be a wireless network available to connect to.
For now, let's just assume you are going to connect to your home network wirelessly. You'll be able to use the same steps to connect to public wireless hotspots later. When you set up your account with your ISP, you may have been given the option to select a wired or wireless account.
The ISP then probably sent you some equipment to set up based on your selection. If you chose wireless, you should have received a wireless router in your setup kit.
This allows multiple computers to connect to the same wireless signal. You don't have to rent or buy this wireless router from your ISP, however. You can save more money over time by buying your own. Just make sure that you've read some product reviews and that the company has a decent reputation for tech support.
If you want to stick with the Apple brand, you can purchase the Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station or AirPort Express from an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Store online.
The AirPort Express is the more affordable alternative for networks with fewer than ten connections. It's very portable and also allows you to stream music from iTunes to speakers connected to nearly any stereo in your home.
There are a few different types of wireless networking types, namely G and N. You should select the one that works best with the type of computer user you are.
Note that you can use the less expensive and slower routers for things like video and gaming, but the quality may suffer and you could find yourself waiting for the video to load and buffer, which can get irritating! Prices for these products are fairly reasonable, so although the N router is the most expensive, it's still not cost-prohibitive for most people. You should select this type of router if it's within your budget.
G - Routers marked with a G are the most affordable but have the shortest range, are more susceptible to interference from other devices, and are not usually fast enough for streaming video and online gaming. This is a fine basic router.
G Plus - This offers a little bit better speed and range. You could use this for web surfing, e-mail, and streaming music.
N - This is the most expensive of the options but offers the greatest range and the fastest speeds. If you plan on wirelessly streaming video or playing games online, this is the way to go.
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11152010
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