WiFi Hotspots

If you want to take advantage of public WiFi hotspots or start a wireless network in your home, the first thing you need to do is make sure your computer has the correct speed. Most new laptops and many new desktop computers are built with wireless transmitters. If your laptop does not work, you can buy a wireless adapter that plugs into the PC card or USB port. Desktop computers can use USB adapters, or you can buy an adapter that plugs into the PCI slot inside the computer. Many of these cards can use more than one 802.11 standard.

Once you have installed your wireless adapter and drivers that can run, your computer must be able to automatically discover existing networks. This means that when you turn your computer into a WiFi hotspot, the computer informs you that the network exists and ask if you want to connect. If you have an older computer, you May need to use a program to detect and connect to a wireless network.

Being able to connect to the Internet in public hotspots is extremely convenient. The wireless home networking is useful too. They allow you to connect multiple computers and move them from place to place without disconnecting and reconnecting cables. In the next section we will see how to create a wireless network in your home.