It's an increasingly wired world, but many people are finding that the best way to get connected is to do away with wires entirely. From cable replacement to universal Internet connectivity, wireless technology is changing the way we connect to our machines and to each other.
As with any new technology, buying your gear is only the first step. Understanding how to make the best use of it is another story. Wireless Hacks offers 100 industrial-strength tips about wireless networking, contributed by experts who apply what they know in the real world every day. Each Hack can be read in just a few minutes, but can save you hours of research.
Inside, you will find a wealth of useful techniques for making the most out of wireless technology, including:
Making sense of the alphabet soup of the 802.11 standards, and understanding which technology makes sense for your solving particular problem
Using Bluetooth, mobile radios, mobile data networks, and other exotic methods to keep you connected, no matter where you are
Practical methods for detecting, analyzing, and monitoring wireless networks
Extending the range of your network, and making the best possible use of the available radio spectrum
Designing and building your own antennas
Engineering long distance network links that span several miles
Understanding the security issues of wireless networking, and protecting yourself and your users from unauthorized access and eavesdropping
Written for the intermediate to advanced wireless user, Wireless Hacks is full of direct, practical, ingenious solutions to real-world networking problems. Whether your wireless network needs to extend to the edge of your office or to the other end of town, this collection of non-obvious, "from the field" techniques will show you how to get the job done.
Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The tool on the cover of Wireless Hacks is a wire cutter/pliers combo tool. It is typically used to cut or trim a piece of wire, and can bend it into an appropriate shape. In a pinch, it can also strip the insulation from heavy gauge wire, although a wire stripper is really the proper tool for that job. Its insulated handle provides a small measure of protection from electricity, but when using a wire cutter, be sure to first disconnect power from the wire you are cutting. Always wear eye protection when using a cutting device of any kind. Mary Brady was the production editor and the copyeditor for Wireless Hacks. Colleen Gorman was the proofreader. Brian Sawyer and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Matt Hutchinson and James Quill provided production support. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index.
Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a photograph from the Stockbyte Work-Tools CD. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.
David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Julie Hawks to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Rob Flickenger.
