Tip #4291 - All About WiFi
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All
About WiFi
I received
an e-mail the other day from a reader asking for some basic information
about the term "WiFi." After reading it,
I immediately went to our archives, because I thought for sure we had
done a tip on that in the past. Well, come to find out, we have done
a few things on WiFi, but we've never covered just the basics of it.
As soon as I realized that, I knew I had to take care of it right away.
So, that's exactly what we're going to do today. We're going to get
down to the nitty gritty of WiFi, so if you're up for the ride, let's
get going!
To
begin, WiFi is short for Wireless Fidelity and the term is always used
in conjunction with any 802.11 wireless network. That can be 802.11b,
802.11a, dual-band and so on. There are several devices that work within
a WiFi range, including computers, digital cameras, music players, cell
phones and even TVs. For example, if your computer is WiFi enabled,
you are able to connect to the Internet from any WiFi access point,
often called hotspots (usually found in airports, coffee shops, etc.
and are free to the public). The WiFi technology also allows for peer-to-peer
connectivity, which enables multiple users to connect with each other.
And that's just one other awesome feature WiFi has to offer!
The
WiFi term is credited to the WiFi Alliance company and they strive to
make as many products "WiFi Certified" as possible. If a product
is "WiFi Certified," that means it can operate with any other
device of its kind. For example, if you have a WiFi enabled computer
that you purchased from the Dell company and a WiFi digital camera you
bought from Kodak, you'll still be able to use both of those together.
As long as they're both "WiFi Certified," they are interoperable.
The WiFi technology has grown a lot in the past couple of years and
as you can probably tell from what I've told you today, it's only getting
better. Now, you can consider yourself a WiFi expert. Go and tell all
your friends!
~ Erin
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