[Markovich]

Sorry if this is old stuff, but it's a new "discovery" for me,

A friend and I were in a mind bogglingly boring training class yesterday, but had our 12" G4 iBooks with us for entertainment. After lunch, I began thinking about why it "should" be possible to connect to his iBook through Aiirport ( even though we had no Airport station, or Express). The Airport Extreme cards obviously can transmit ( broadcast) data as well as receive.

So, there is a little documented feature called "Computer-To-Computer networking that permits you to connect wirelessly to other Macs ( and I assume, PC's) without an Airport, or other wireless router.

In 10.3.8, go to Network Preference Panel, select Airport and click on config. Click on the box that says " Allow this computer to create networks". Now, pull down the Airport menu from the top menu bar.Select "Create Network". Then you will have options for the network name, security settings,etc.


By doing this, we could send IM through Ichat Rendevous ( make sure you turn Rendevous on)and transfer files, play network games,etc.

Today, back in our new offices that we moved into last week, my friend has a spare ethernet jack in his cube, while I dont. We used his iBook (which was plugged into the spare ethernet jack in his cube) to share his internet connection, wirelessly.He created a network, as described above. Then in the Sharing Preference Panel, he turned on Internet sharing. So he shared his ethernet internet connection by using Airport. So, now, 50 feet away, I have internet for the iBook!! Have to be sure not to let his iBook go to sleep or the network is gone.Also, we both turned off our firewalls. We're still tinkering with this.

So, if you think about it, if you have 2 or more Airport Extreme ( not certain about the regular Airport) equipped Macs at home and want to share the internet connection, or even a printer, you dont necessarily need an Airport Express, or Base station.You can set one Mac up to create its own network and share the internet connection through that network.

Enjoy!

Mark

[ghporter]

Computer-to-computer networks, otherwise known as ad hoc networks, are useful in situations like your class. There are a few drawbacks, though. They are by design temporary; you can't set up to rejoin an ad hoc network, so you have to configure for it each time.

It's not so much that they're "little documented," as much as they're "little discussed." Infrastructure networks (those using some form of access point, be it an AirPort Base Station, a stand alone access point, or a wireless router) are much easier to set up and depend on, and are much more flexible in the long run.

I'm glad you figured something out for yourself, though, and it IS an accomplishment to do that sort of thing without coaching or written instructions. Congratulations!

[fromthecloud]

Ad Hoc networks have enormous potential, but are rarely used in practical situations. Computer researchers have a particular fetish for them and keep publishing papers like mad on the topic.

While they don't have a whole lot of practical application right now...I hope they will in the future. (At least that's what my senior project is about )