1.4 About This Book

The ultimate goal of this book is to get you excited about this technology, and arm you with the information you need to make it work in your community. We will demonstrate various techniques and equipment for connecting wireless networks to wired networks, and look at how others "in the know" are getting their neighborhoods, schools, and businesses talking to each other over the air. Along the way, we will visit the outer limits of what is possible with wireless networking, including how to stretch the range to miles and provide access for hundreds. If your budget won't allow for all of the networking gear you need, we'll show you how to build some of your own.

Through the efforts of countless volunteers and hobbyists, more bits are being moved more cheaply and easily than at any other time in history. There is more happening in the wireless world right now than is practical to put down on paper. Get online and find out what others in your area are doing with this technology (extensive online references are provided throughout, and in the Appendixes).

I hope you will find this book a useful and practical tool on your journey toward your own wireless utopia.