Your source for indispensable Apple and Macintosh news and reviews, plus the best-selling Take Control ebooks.

 

Viewing Wi-Fi Details in Snow Leopard

In Snow Leopard, hold down the Option key before clicking the AirPort menu. Doing so reveals additional technical details including which standards, speeds, and frequencies you're using to connect, as well as what's in use by other networks. With the Option key held down and with a network already joined, the AirPort menu reveals seven pieces of information: the PHY Mode, the MAC (Media Access Control) address, the channel and band in use, the security method that's in use, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) measurement, the transmit rate, and the MCS Index. In Leopard, some, but not all, of these details are revealed by Option-clicking the AirPort menu.

Submitted by
Doug McLean

 

 

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Take Control News: Create Better AirPort Wireless Networks

We are pleased to announce the release of the significantly rewritten "Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network," the latest in our line of Glenn Fleishman's Take Control titles about AirPort wireless networking. With his usual good-natured enthusiasm, Glenn has created a fully updated ebook about AirPort networking, covering not only the practical details and real-world steps that you need to set up a fast, reliable, and secure wireless network, but also lots of details of interest for everyone from the beginner (basic terminology and concepts) to the experienced user (tricky IP addressing scenarios, IPv6, and software base stations). The 242-page ebook (perhaps our most comprehensive yet!) is available for $15, although those of you who already have one of Glenn's AirPort books should have already received email about free or discounted upgrades. Topics covered include:

  • Real-world advice - with diagrams - about setting up the 802.11n models of the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule
  • Advice on whether the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band is best for your network
  • Tricks for including older 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi gear without damaging performance
  • Step-by-step instructions on connecting from Macintosh and Windows clients
  • Details about handling complex Internet addressing configurations
  • The ins and outs of sharing USB disks, including a Time Capsule
  • Help with connecting shared printers to Leopard, Tiger, and Windows
  • A discussion of networking with and configuring an Apple TV
  • How to set up a multi-base-station network to extend the area of wireless coverage
  • The scoop on the up-and-coming IPv6 standard for handling IP addresses

Although the ebook focuses on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, it also covers Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.

 

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