54-Mbps

Hello everyone, I'm a newbie and I'm very sorry if this question has been asked and answered. I am planning on getting an ibook very soon and one spec has got me confused. When it says built in 54-Mbps Airport Extreme does this mean that while the computer is running on wireless in my house is the internet browsing speed going to be much slower at 54-Mbps? Thanks.

802.11G equates to the 54 mbps max txfer speed. This is the current standard for WiFi, and depending where your router is located you probably won't achieve these speeds. You should have decent speeds. It's basically the same as any other 802.11G-compliant laptop.

54 Mbps is the speed at which your Mac will be communicating with your Airport/internal network. This is usually referred to as 802.11g (as opposed to 802.11b, which has a maximum speed of 11 Mbps).

The key will be your router (which Apple sells under the name "Airport Extreme Base Station"). If your router is at the 54 Mbps (802.11g) standard, you'll be talking at speeds up to 54 Mbps. If your router is the older 802.11b standard, you will go no faster than 11 Mbps.

Internet connections typically go no faster than 5 Mbps (unless you're paying for a premium service). I can't think of any consumer-grade broadband internet connections that go faster than, say 10 Mbps.

In other words, even at 11 Mbps your computer will be talking to your router faster than your router will be talking to the Internet. This is a good thing, and the standard mode of operation for most people.

You have nothing to be concerned about.