Fobotso,
I'll give you a taste with laptop and lan first.
Arrive at hotel - this is real life not salesmanship so I will be specific. The Mariott, Torrance, Cailifornia. Bring Mac back from sleep mode, connect ethernet cable to room box. Browser automatically fires up with ISP page and I click to accept the 10 bucks per 24 hour charge. That's it - all done.
Wireless Lan is identical but without the need to attach the cable. Often charges to pay as well but I do know pilots who trawl the streets of cities furtively seeking free access............
E-mail works seamlessly but if an ISP is set to block it unless through their server a dialog box allows you to select another server to force it out or put theirs in. Of course, none of this effects inbound mail or using webmail programs.
Obviously main point is zero configuration for lan, wireless etc and all built in before delivery.
Rather than prattle on about all the other methods which are essentially the same, get to an Apple site and search the knowledge bases with the word 'Rendezvous,' this being their trade name for the seamless attachment of the operating system to any other outside source whether wired, wireless, bluetooth or IR.
Just to be absolutely straight with you; although the software and aerials are built into every Mac, should you chose to use, say, the Bluetooth system within you do have to buy an adapter for around the 25 quid mark to transmit and receive the data.
The experience is invisible to the user - I'm switching between cable adsl, copper phone line and wireless and, other than the obvious speed changes with the dial up, my browsers and mail haven't the faintest idea which conduit is sending and receiving the data. I have to open sub programs to see what's happening.
Regards
Rob
Last edited by PPRuNe Towers; 30th July 2003 at 21:47.