Wireless the name says it all: Cut the cord. Wireless networking is cable-free, no-strings-attached networking. Most wireless networks send data through radio waves, broadcasting in all directions. One or two proprietary products use infrared light to send data. Other than infrared links between laptops...

Mobile wireless adapters come in three basic flavors: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular. If you want to connect to a cellular network or to Wi-Fi access points, you need a wireless adapter to do so that is, unless your PDA has wireless capabilities built in. In addition to the type of wireless that an adapter...

Two organizations are responsible for setting and certifying the wireless standards. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (sometimes called Eye-triple-E) is an international, nonprofit, technical professional organization. The Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) alliance is a membership organization...

Another alternative to extending your access point's range is using a wireless repeater. A wireless repeater is a device that retransmits the signal from another access point on the same channel as the original signal. Today, many access points have a repeater option built into them; rather than having...

The Global Positioning System is a network of 24 satellites used for navigation. The U.S. Dept of Defense launched the first GPS satellite into orbit in 1978. By 1994, the network as we know it now was complete. Although the GPS system functioned prior to all 24 satellites being operational, it's far...