WiFi wireless networking, what is it really????

I get asked by some of my parents friends a very simple question.  What is “wireless” ? They ask this with a very serious face most of the time.  

I understand why, the term “wireless” is in marketing paraphernalia all over the internet , papers etc. There are wireless phones, wireless alarm systems, wireless garage door openers, wireless cameras, wireless phones, you get the picture. With all these products using the word wireless, it’s easy to get confused. In the context of how they ask me, they are asking about wireless computer networking. This means how to connect their computers to the network (internet) with no cords to their computer.  

What do I need to make my computer wireless?  

1. You need 802.l1 wireless support in your computer.

Most newer computers have built in support, but check your documentation. You can look for terms like 802.11b or 802.11g or even 802.11n support, if you find words to that effect it’s likely wireless ready. Just a note here , 802.11 is not some magic term, it’s really just a name for wireless protocol support. 

I’d like to make a couple of analogies to make this a little easier to understand :

  Lets assume you have a truck or car and you want to tow something heavy and to tow that object has a big tag on it saying “this weight requires a V8 engine to tow”.

  You go check your car and it has a V8 engine and your set to go towing so if you PC is 802.11 wireless capable your set to go as well.

  Another person checks and finds they have a V6 and it will therefore not tow the weight. the PC will not support 802.11 and wireless is ltikley not in their future with that PC. 

The 802.11 support is just like the V-8 engine in a way. Like the V8 engine is a requirement to tow and a fancy name for a 8 cylinder engine, so 802.11 is is a fancy name for wireless support. 

2. Your internet connection needs to be broadband.

This means DSL, Cable, Fiber or Satellite if you have dialup over phone lines, wireless is not for you. I could think of contorted ways to make dialup work but it’s not pretty or practical in my opinion. 

3. Determine how you are connected.

 Usually the Internet Service Provider (ISP) delivers the connection to your home or business via the methods I mentioned above. The ISP usually brings the co-ax cable or wire into a cable modem or DSL modem or satellite modem. Here are few pictures to clarify this. 

If your setup looks like this: 

4. Get a Wireless Unit - Linksys- Dlink-NetGear-Belkin

You will need a wireless unit were I indicate (WRT54G) in the picture below,cable it up and configure the router. Configure your PC to use the wireless connection and you should be wirelessly happy.