Mac and the Internet

Ive had my macbook for about two weeks and was able to just jump onto my wireless network. After moving back to my house and setting up the wireless network there, I was unable to log on (unsecured, worked for PC) After failing to to create a new network for it ( didnt really know what I was doing) It suddenly worked. First question, how do I view a substantial list of options for configuring my internet like on windows, and is there any reason it should have not worked, and then worked? Appreciate any feedback.

In your menubar, on the right-hand side, there should be a roughly triangular or pizza-slice-shaped icon. When it's off, it's an outline, and when its on, it's composed of arcs or bars that measure signal strength. That's the AirPort menu, and it gives basic control over wireless networks. You can see a list of open networks and connect from there. 95% of the time that's enough.

To see all of your networking settings for all of your devices, open System Preferences and click the Network tab.