A Beginner's Guide to Mac: Connecting to Wired and Wireless Networks

Before we move on to talk about browsing the web and using email on your Mac, we need to get you connected. Of course you may have cracked this problem already, in which case feel free to move on to the next article, but there are a few features in Snow Leopard that you can use to improve the quality or performance of your computer, or to extend your battery life.

There are two main types of Network connection that you can use with your Mac, and which are common on most new computers, a plug-in connection using the Ethernet port, or a wireless, or WiFi connection using the Airport Card. Networking options are controlled by the Network section of System Preferences. You can find it on the third row, just click on the icon to see the options for your wired and wireless networks.

To connect to a wired network you simply plug in the ethernet cable, which will normally be coming from either a modem or a router, into the port on your computer. When you are connected to a wired network your Ethernet port will show as being connected within System Preferences, and the dot will be green, rather than red.

To connect to a wireless network you need to turn your Airport Card on. To do this you can select 'Turn Airport On' in either the Networking section of System Preferences, or in the drop down menu that appears when you click the Airport icon on the top navigation bar. The Airport icon looks like a pie shaped wedge. Once you have turned the Airport card on it will search for available wireless networks, and automatically ask you if you wish to join one. To join a network you select it from the list, and then enter a security password if it is required. In the Networking section you can tick the checkbox beside the option 'Ask to join new networks'. This will ensure that in the absence of a preferred network the computer will offer you alternative wireless networks that are in range that you have not connected to before.

You can build up a list of preferred wireless networks and store the passwords for these networks so that you don't need to type it in every time you wish to connect to the network. When you're entering the password for a new network simply tick the checkbox that says Save Password, and you will not be asked for this password again. Under the Advanced tab of your Airport card in System Preferences you can see a list of all the networks that you have saved, and remove them if necessary. You can also drag the networks up and down to create a preferred list. This is particularly useful if you have more than one wireless network in your home, office, or favourite coffee shop, and you want the computer to connect to the one that normally has a stronger signal, or which has a printer connected to it. If this network appears above all other nearby networks in the list your computer will connect to it by default.

One final option that you have in working with networks on your Mac is a location setting. By default your Location setting is Automatic. You can use Location settings to specify which network you would like to join, enter any password or settings that the network requires, and switch off other ports, such as the Airport card if the Location is an office in which you only connect by ethernet. Normally the Automatic option is sufficient, but it's good to be aware that you can setup different locations for home and office should you need to.

All wireless cards or ports on your computer, such as your Airport Card or Bluetooth adapter consume power. To save power and extend your battery life when using a laptop you can turn off your Airport Card, Bluetooth adapter, and even dim your screen.