Network Adapter Location

• Most laptops are shipped with a wireless network adapter integrated onto the motherboard of the computer these days. A quick clue of whether the computer has a network adapter is whether it has a network port. The socket into which the network plug fits is always wired directly onto the network adapter. Although a laptop needs a wireless network adapter to get wireless Internet, it will also have a network port for wired connections. The computer will also have, somewhere around the edge, a small dark window. This is the location of the transmitter and receiver of the network adapter.
  
  

Network Adapter Functions

• The wireless network adapter is also called a wireless network card, a wireless network interface controller and a WNIC. The adapter converts the data the computer wants to send into a radio wave. It also listens for incoming signals. It advertises its presence with a periodic signal and listens for replies from any in-range devices. Despite the fact that it is broadcasting into thin air, the network adapter still has to listen for space in the radio spectrum before it can start transmitting.
  
  

Wi-Fi Router

• The Wi-Fi router creates a Wireless Access Point. It provides access to the outside world for all wireless devices within range. The individual computer user does not necessarily need a private router to connect to the Internet. There are many Wi-Fi Zones, also called "Hotspots" where computer users can connect to a commercially-owned router. These hotspots are provided free of charge in restaurants, bars and cafes or on subscription. A number of public transport locations, such as airports, railway stations and bus stations, provide Wi-Fi hotspots.
  
  

Internet Service

• Laptop owners can communicate with each other without the need of an Internet service. This is called "Ad Hoc Mode." The networks adapters on nearby laptops detect each other's presence and contact each other without the need of infrastructure devices like routers. However, if the laptop owner wants to send email to a far off place, or access the web, or file sharing sites, an ISP is required. Once again, the laptop can connect to the Internet without the owner having to subscribe to an Internet Service Provider, if it is in range of a Wi-Fi Zone in a public place.