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The initial launch of AirPort, Apple's wireless networking technology, wasn't for the squeamish. Connections were slow. Setup was often difficult. Lost connections and passwords were hard to reconfigure. And some people couldn't get AirPort to work no matter how hard they tried. Not surprisingly, many initial users threw up their hands and walked away in disgust.
Now it's time to take a second look. The updated AirPort is easier to set up and use, connection speeds are faster, and it's far easier to regain lost connections. Apple has worked hard over the past 18 months to improve AirPort, and it shows in version 1.2.
Minus the initial hassles, AirPort always looked like a great idea: letting everyday users connect to other Macs, a network of Macs, or the Internet without those tangles of endless wires.
What exactly is AirPort? Well, for one, it's the first wireless network built for personal computers. AirPort uses radio signals, a method that boasts several advantages. For one, your PC is set to go wireless once you hook up to a base station via standard telephone or Ethernet lines in home, office, or school. No need for fancy digital lines from cable or telephone companies, although you can use them with AirPort, too.
FOOTLOOSE.
Another advantage is that, unlike infrared technology, radio waves pass through obstacles like walls, your kid brother, or pet dog. So once you're hooked up, you can move anywhere in your house or school -- just so long as it's within 150 feet of the base station.
The AirPort network consists of four parts: antenna, base station, PC card, and the software to run the system. The antenna and software come built into Apple's newest models, which include the iMac, iBook, PowerBook, and Power Mac G4. You have to buy the AirPort PC card, which sells for $99. With the PC card, software, and antenna you can transfer or share files, or play games with another AirPort-enabled Mac. You can also use an AirPort-enabled Mac as a base station, with physical connections to a telephone line or Ethernet network, to access e-mail and the Web.
Or you can buy the AirPort base station, which retails for $299 and works much like a cordless telephone except that it supports up to 10 users at the same time. That means several users (the exact number will depend on your Internet access account) can simultaneously surf the Web or use e-mail.All of these parts have been available since AirPort was introduced about two years ago. Trouble was, the system wasn't quite ready for prime time. Many initial users were confused by the setup procedures. AirPort ate the passwords of some users, and resetting the software was difficult. But the biggest complaint centered on slow connections that grew even more sluggish when additional users signed on through the same base station.
HASSLE-FREE.
Not anymore. AirPort now connects at speeds up to 11 megabits per second, which is about 10 times faster than most home-networking products.
Apple also has simplified AirPort's setup, making the procedure clearer and easier. It can, for example, import your existing online configuration into AirPort, and you can jump to the Internet by clicking on a "connect'' button. Previously, you first had to launch your Web browser or e-mail software. There's also a modem-status indicator to let you know if you're online.
AirPort's penchant for eating passwords has been purged. And there is no longer any need to reload the software if you forget your password or simply want to change it. Pressing the reset button on the base station lets you change the settings through the AirPort Admin Utility, a little program that is part of the technology's software.
Much has changed for the better with AirPort. The technology remains a work in progress, but Apple has it flying straight now. My guess is that in a couple years, many if not most Mac users will be trashing their cables and connecting without wires to e-mail and Internet accounts.
Haddad, Atlanta-based correspondent for Business Week, is a long-time Apple Computer buff. Follow his column every week, only on BW Online
EDITED BY BETH BELTON
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