Best book for Mac OX X for New ProBook Mac Users
I switched from PC to Mac in 2008. This book was very helpful in understanding the build in WI-FI of my MacPro . It also helped me learned about other WI-FI equipment for my laptop.
Adequate with Some Meritable Parts
I love the Mac, using it since System 4 (1989), and I wanted a good technical book on wireless technologies on Mac OS X. Naturally, I encountered this book seem to be the book that I needed. And I must say it does an adequate job, but I just don't find it all that exciting and I don't feel there's much value beyond basic information. I browsed Windows and Linux equivelent Unwired books, and those books are much more in-depth.
For getting a sense of what Wi-Fi products are available, this book is not enough. It mostly focuses on only Apple's wireless solutions, and not enough on third-party products that support the Mac. For example, there are 29 pages covering Airport Base Station, but a measely 3 pages for non-Apple wireless offerings. I was sorely disapointed in that.
For general Wi-Fi technologies and security (CHAP3 to CHAP5), it does a decent job. I like the security section, but I still felt there neaded to be more; for example, I wanted to know authentication protocols for WPA that Apple supports. This is useful in determining what products work with the Mac OS X, and also what OSes can work with the Airport BaseStation in regards to WPA features. In contrast, the Windows Unwired book even covers configuring a Radius server for use with WPA..., while the Linux Unwired has better nuts 'n bolts technical coverage of Airport Base station. Why can't Mac readers get the same coverage?
The blue-tooth chapter (CHAP6) was more exciting, and I felt they did a decent job covering cellphone synchronization and general Apple Bluetooth technologies. I do wish though they had more coverage of Bluetooth PDAs like Palm and PocketPC, with third party tools like MissingSync and PocketMac. More in-depth coverage of Bluetooth would be nice, e.g. file transfers especially with photos on the PDA, wireless headsets with the Mac, etc. The security coverage for Bluetooth was roughly a single page. I know there's more info. out there on this...
The other chapters (CHAP 7 to CHAP 9) I did not feel were much of value. Perhaps it is just my personal perference, but I am not much excited about RF and Infrared, or general cell phone technology. Maybe If my laptop could be a remote, that would be fun, but no such luck here...
There was a chapter on Rendezvous (CHAP 8), which is applicable to general networking technologies, but in the context of wireless, I did not feel this should have been in the book. I would have rather had the book focus more on core wireless technologies.
Lastly, I know it is hard to have a book that is technical enough, but doesn't scare away button-clicking users. My review is oriented toward expecting more advanced material for businesses, IT oriented people, or just advanced powerusers. This is what I felt the other Unwired books offered, and this book doesn't seem to keep pace with those.
Solid end-user based introduction to WiFi and Bluetooth
This is a fairly comprehensive, if brief, book on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for Mac OS X. RF stuff is covered in an appendix at the end. From my read it's meant primarily for end-users. Advanced folks will probably get a tip here and there, but not much more.Chapter by chapter; Chapter one is basic terminology and an overview. Chapter two covers Wi-Fi hardware. It does have a nifty fix for the Wi-Fi problems on the 15" TiBook. Chapter three covers base stations and antenas. Chapter four is a very brief look at Wi-Fi access from external sources, like Starbucks. The fifth, and last chapter on Wi-Fi, covers the basic protocol layer tools like SSH.
Chapter six covers Bluetooth, it's a good introduction but it's a little screenshot heavy. Chapter seven is on cell-phone connectivity, which is pretty cool new material. If you are serious about that you should get this book. Chapter eight is on rendevous and it's a nice, but short, introduction.
If you are just getting into Wi-Fi on Macintosh you should probably take a look at this book.
Not good enough
My purpose in buying and reading this book was to troubleshoot a Mac wireless problem: a Mac desktop G4 on a multiplatform home network (Mac, W2K, Red Hat Linux 9.0) that does not retain either the SSID or the WEP key in its wireless settings and therefore has to be reconfigured nearly every time it is booted. I am a network administrator by trade and support all three operating systems at work, but the Macs are work are on a wired network. No help there...and no help from this book, either. The book devotes all of three pages to non-Apple access points (mine is a Netgear ProSafe a/b/g firewall/switch/router on a 1.5 Mbps DSL connection) and offers no troubleshooting assistance for Macs trying to connect to such a device. In fact, the book is almost devoid of troubleshooting assistance. All does not always go well with wireless connectivity, even with Macs, and these authors seem unable or unwilling to admit that and deal with it. For an O'Reilly book, this one is a disappointment. It's not good enough if anything goes wrong.A few months later: another problem with another Mac on the same protected wireless network. This time a brand-new PowerBook's built-in Airport Extreme could not connect to the router--couldn't even see it. This book was the first resource I turned to for troubleshooting, and again it was useless. One sentence in a newsgroup discussion provided the very simple answer, and both Macs are fine now.
Perfect for understanding Mac OS X and wireless tech
If only this book had been available when I started delving in wireless networking! While my network is simple - and getting the AirPort network up and running for my Macs was a breeze - it does involve a DSL modem, a switch, an AirPort base station acting as a bridge to a wired Ethernet network, and several computers, including PCs. I remember spending a fair amount of time when first setting it up to get everything working correctly, especially the link between the wired and wireless network. Negrino and Smith walk the reader through all the steps required to set up and configure an 802.11 network, and cover the sticky issues concerning IP addresses, DHCP addressing and many other acronyms that novice users may be unfamiliar with.One of the strengths of this book is the authors' tone of voice. Negrino and Smith assume that the reader does not know a lot about the many protocols and acronyms used, and they explain these elements in a cool and patient manner. There is no talking down to the reader, nor is there any obfuscation. The explanations are clear and simple, and readers will be able to set up a wireless network - no matter how complex - with ease.
But the book goes beyond mere WiFi networking, with a thorough presentation of Bluetooth, cellular connectivity, Rendezvous and more. No matter which wireless technologies you want to use with Mac OS X, this book explains them in simple, non-geeky language.
As more people - even home users - have multiple computers, connecting them is the best way to leverage all their functions. Wireless networking is, as the authors say, "simple the most cost-effective and least obtrusive way to connect all of your computers." If you've been tempted by wireless networking, and have been hesitant, thinking that it's complex and complicated, invest in this book - it's the perfect toolkit for setting up all kinds of wireless networking with Mac OS X.
(7 reviews)
