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Option-Click AirPort Menu for Network Details

If you hold down the Option key while clicking the AirPort menu in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, you'll see not just the names of nearby Wi-Fi networks, but additional details about the selected network. Details include the MAC address of the network, the channel used by the base station, the signal strength (a negative number; the closer to zero it is, the stronger the signal), and the transmit rate in megabits per second showing actual network throughput. If you hover the cursor over the name of a network to which you're not connected, a little yellow pop-up shows the signal strength and type of encryption.

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Published in TidBITS 688.
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14 Jul 2003 | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

More Details on AirPort 3.1 Compatibility

by Adam C. Engst Send Email to Author

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More Details on AirPort 3.1 Compatibility -- Darn those nit-picking product numbers! Last week I wrote in "AirPort 3.1 Supports Third Party 802.11g PC Cards" that Buffalo Technology's 802.11g PC Card costs about $60 and works with Macs thanks to the AirPort 3.1 update. Alert reader Dale Rice pointed out that Buffalo Technology actually sells two 802.11g PC Cards: the $60 WLI-CB-G54 card is not actually compatible with AirPort 3.1, whereas the $80 WLI-CB-G54A is. Make sure you get the right one!

<http://db.tidbits.com/article/07256>
<http://www.buffalotech.com/wireless/products/ airstation/wlicbg54.php>
<http://www.buffalotech.com/wireless/products/ airstation/wlicbg54a.php>

Dale also noted that he'd seen reports of AirPort 3.1 working with a Belkin 802.11g PC Card. More interesting, for those people who would like to connect a pre-AirPort Extreme Power Mac to an AirPort Extreme network, are anecdotal reports of 802.11g PCI cards from Buffalo Technology (the WLI-PC-G54) and Linksys (the WMP54G) working with AirPort 3.1. The moral of the story would seem to be that compatibility is broad, but check for specific compatibility claims or at least user reports before buying. [ACE]

<http://catalog.belkin.com/ IWCatProductPage.process?&Product_ Id=136500>
<http://www.buffalotech.com/wireless/products/ airstation/wlipcig54.php>
<http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp? grid=33&scid=36&prid=520>

 

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