The Apple AirPort base station was introduced back in 1999 with
the original 300 MHz iBook and
brought a new feature to the Mac: wireless networking and wireless
Internet access. When I first heard about it, I remember thinking
that it was a great idea, but too much of an expensive toy to
really become popular.
Three years later, I see that I was wrong - many people are
using AirPort base stations and cards in their Macs today. It
caught on for the PC, also; Microsoft along with numerous other
companies are now selling base stations (or "access points," as
they call them).
First of all, AirPort is Apple's name for the 802.11b industry
standard for wireless networking, so it is not and was never an
"Apple only" thing, but it happened that the iBook was the first
Mac to come with a slot for an AirPort card. In fact, it was the
first laptop so equipped.
Why did 802.11b become so popular?
Apple wanted users to adopt this technology, so it eventually
included slots for AirPort cards in all of its new Power Macs, and
it shipped a card already installed in the slot on some of the high
end models. Users really started recognizing the usefulness of this
technology once broadband Internet started becoming popular.
Basically, wireless networking meant that you could have your
laptop in any room of the house, at any time, and be connected to
the Internet at the same speed as if you had a long cable running
to the back of the computer. This essentially made wired networks
obsolete in homes.
The other place that 802.11b is starting to get some use is in
schools. Wireless Internet is ideal for schools, because it allows
students to use laptops directly in the classroom on their regular
desks without any wires trailing all over the floors posing a
safety hazard. This means that research projects can be done right
in the classroom, instead of having to go to the computer lab.
802.11b is also ideal in coffee shops, conference facilities,
and small office spaces to provide Internet access to anyone with a
laptop and a wireless networking card. Sometimes signals are so
powerful that you can actually access the network from a nearby
building or road!
There are people who go around, looking for 802.11b networks.
No, they don't hack them but they like to know where they're
located and whether they're accessible to the public or not. This
is known as war driving. Sometimes these people will mark the
sidewalk showing that Internet access can be had in that specific
area. That's called war chalking.
Most base stations allow you to turn on security (the older
Apple models didn't support 128 bit), and you should do this and
set a password if you don't want anyone logging into your network,
although I've left security off on our network. I don't have file
sharing enabled, and if someone happens to be driving by our house
and needs Internet access on their laptop, I don't mind helping
them out.
Will 802.11b be the "big new thing" in Internet access? So far,
it's popularity has already taken off, and it's probably only going
to increase as prices for base stations and cards decrease and the
number of people that have broadband increase.
