Originally Posted by
variozin 
When I turn ON the airport of my MB, it display a list of items in the network pain. Are these avilable networks in the vicinity? I havent subscribed to any wireless network yet. Does the Mac search for networks in the vicinity and list them automatically?
To answer the question, yes--those are wireless networks that the Mac can detect. However, they are not "wireless providers" in the sense of Sprint, Verizon, etc. providing wireless broadband access.
What you are seeing are wireless networks set up by other users within 802.11 radio range of your Mac. Those are most likely access points set up by cable/DSL subscribers who want wireless access in their homes. There are some areas with wireless ISPs that provide 802.11 connectivity (Madison, WI has a couple wireless providers covering about half the city) so there might be one or two of those in the list.
Now, if you are a broadband subscriber, you too can set up a wireless access point at home and not need to use a network cable to get online (to me, one of the major reasons to have a notebook-portability). If you're smart (and being a Mac user, I'm sure you are
) you will password-protect your access point, just as the users around you SHOULD have done.
There may be one or two that are not password-protected and you could use for Internet access. Possible? Sure. Recommended? No. Besides using somebody else's bandwidth (which in some places could get expensive for the subscriber if the usage is metered), your own signals could be "sniffed" and personal information captured. Password protection usually also includes encryption, making your data harder to capture and use by somebody else.
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