What is a (wireless) “client?
Sometimes simply called a “wireless network card configuration program”, a client is a computer program that asks a wireless network to allow your network device to join the network. Each wireless network has different settings. Settings include things such as a name (SSID), encryption, speed, channel, and so forth. A client application will store the settings for each wireless network with which you communicate. That way, when you want to connect to a specific wireless network, you typically select the settings you’ve created from a list. Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000 (with service Pack 4) come with a built-in client called the “Wireless Zero Configuration” service. You configure wireless networks from the Network Connections portion of the Control Panel. For earlier versions of Windows, you will need to obtain a client application from the manufacturer of your wireless network card. Macintosh OS-X versions 10.3 and later come with a built-in client application as well. You co