new imac and wireless

harryson0605 · Oct 26, 2008

this is probably a really dumb question but i could do with a straight forward answer. is my new alluminium imac a wireless router. after all once it is connected to a broadband modem via a ethernet cable it should be as it has built in wireless capability. but all i read on the net is that people still connect via a wireless router why? what i want to do is connect my wii in the easiest poss way. how is this done ? help

Santino · Oct 26, 2008

Think what you need is to check "Internet Sharing" unndar System Preferences/Sharing.

But don't know if that is the correct way to do it, i'd wait until someone that actually knows shows up

podraig · Oct 26, 2008

your modem needs have wireless capability too, if it does, no problem, if it doesnt, then you cannot connect wirelessly

Jaygray · Oct 26, 2008

A PC having "wireless capability" means that it has the ability to communitcate with a wireless router 'wirelessly'.

You will need a wireless router. The router is a gateway that allows 'wireless capable' computers to connect to the modem. It also usually has ethernet ports on it so that non-wireless devices can be connected to the network as well.

You can not connect a modem directly to a wireless PC and then use it's wireless features to broadcast the modem's signal to other PCs.

There are a few modems out there with wireless routers built into them, but this is not the norm.

cwa107 · Oct 26, 2008

Jaygray said:
A PC having "wireless capability" means that it has the ability to communitcate with a wireless router 'wirelessly'.

You will need a wireless router. The router is a gateway that allows 'wireless capable' computers to connect to the modem. It also usually has ethernet ports on it so that non-wireless devices can be connected to the network as well.

You can not connect a modem directly to a wireless PC and then use it's wireless features to broadcast the modem's signal to other PCs.

There are a few modems out there with wireless routers built into them, but this is not the norm.

...and just to expand upon this further. It is possible to use a PC or Mac as an ad-hoc wireless access point (which is probably what the others were referring to), but this is far more difficult to setup and maintain than a traditional wireless router.

You can pick up a wireless router for about $50-$100, depending on what model and features you choose. I highly recommend the D-Link DIR-655, which should be available for about $100 at any electronics store.

harryson0605 · Oct 27, 2008

cwa107 said:
...and just to expand upon this further. It is possible to use a PC or Mac as an ad-hoc wireless access point (which is probably what the others were referring to), but this is far more difficult to setup and maintain than a traditional wireless router.

You can pick up a wireless router for about $50-$100, depending on what model and features you choose. I highly recommend the D-Link DIR-655, which should be available for about $100 at any electronics store.

i have succeeded and connected my wii using the imac as the router, the firewall was causing the problems because it was set up to block everythink except safari. problem is i want my firewall on, how do i make an exception for the wii.

cwa107 · Oct 27, 2008

harryson0605 said:
i have succeeded and connected my wii using the imac as the router, the firewall was causing the problems because it was set up to block everythink except safari. problem is i want my firewall on, how do i make an exception for the wii.

Trust me on this, you want to get a wireless router. It's not going to be worth the trouble and reliability issues you're going to experience. In order for the Wii to get out, you're likely going to have to allow all incoming services, which would be a very bad thing.

harryson0605 · Oct 28, 2008

cwa107 said:
Trust me on this, you want to get a wireless router. It's not going to be worth the trouble and reliability issues you're going to experience. In order for the Wii to get out, you're likely going to have to allow all incoming services, which would be a very bad thing.

are you 100percent because the set up i have works, there must be a way for the firewall to allow the wii through.

cwa107 · Oct 28, 2008

harryson0605 said:
are you 100percent because the set up i have works, there must be a way for the firewall to allow the wii through.

Just because it works doesn't mean its safe. You'll need to open up the firewall on your Mac, which means that your Mac will be on the public Internet and accessible to anyone with a port scanner. This is very bad news.

With a router, it's basically set-it-and-forget-it, plus you get the added benefit of being behind a NAT firewall and you can connect as many machines as you want. If something doesn't work right, just reset the router and you're back in business within seconds. It won't be so easy with your Mac acting as a WAP.