brand of wifi router equipment made by Apple Inc.

1999: According to a recent Low End Mac poll , over half those surveyed believe wireless networking is the iBook’s best feature. Other Mac webmasters seem to agree – AirPort is the most important ingredient in the iBook mix, even if it is an optional accessory.

Early attempts at wireless networking were either slow, too expensive, line of site, or some combination of these.

The most promising failure was probably IrDA , an infrared communication protocol that reached 4 Mbps. The big drawback – the IrDA ports on the two devices (computers, printers, PDAs, etc.) had to be aligned with each other. Move things far enough and the connection failed.

Specs (via Low End Mac)

• Airport: The Era of Easy Networking , iBook Page, 9/15/99
• Innovation: AirPort , MacKiDo, 8/4/99