AirPort Radar - 1.2

The Intel version now appears to work as well as the old G4 version.

This was one of the first widgets that I ever downloaded for my old G4. It was great then and it's great now. When the Intel Macs first came out, there was a time when the widget wouldn't work, but with this latest Beta version for Intel Macs, it appears that they have got all of the Intel related bugs out of the program.

During the time when they were fixing the Intel-related problems, I tried AIr Traffic Control, but it didn't give me nearly as much info as Airport Radar. But then, that could have been because the authors of that widget were fixing it, too. I really don't know. Now that Airport Radar has been upgraded to Intel compatibility and it does everything that I need and more, there is no reason for me to look at any further releases of Air Traffic Control, so I really can't say. I like the interface of Airport Radar much better than Air Traffic Control. It tells you more, is less space.

The only thing that the Intel version lacks that is in the G4 version, is the ability to set the scan interval. By narrowing the scan interval, you can use the G4 version to easily find hotspots, while mobile. I could have really used that feature at the airport the other day, while waiting for my wife's plane. I knew that they had wireless all over the airport, but it's hard to find such a spot in the waiting areas. I eventually found a hotspot, where I could check the flight arrival time (Flight Tracker widget). I had driven past that very small hotspot several times. With the G4 widget, set to a very frequent scan, that wouldn't have happened. You certainly wouldn't want to leave the scan interval set that narrow all the time. But, for mobile scanning (sometimes called WAR Driving) such an option is very helpful.

As a frequent traveler, I find Airport Radar to be an invaluable and reliable tool. I just wish that they would put the scan interval into the Intel version. If you own a laptop and use it outside of your office and home, then you must have Airport Radar. Since it is freeware, it would be cheap at half the price. 8^)

A better and more useful widget for wireless networks is Air Traffic Control, available on VersionTracker.

If you are running on an Intel processor, don't waste your time with this or earlier versions. Go to the developer site and download the Intel Beta version.

I have used earlier versions of Airport Radar on a G4 processor and was very pleased with it. I just tried to load it onto my MB Pro and the version that I had been running on my G4 didn't seem to understand that it was even in the Widgets folder. So, I came to VT and downloaded what I thought was the latest version and that one displayed some data, but alternately doubled the data and failed to display power levels. As a last resort, I went to the developer site and found that they had a Beta version for Intel processors. That one seems to work fine, as far as I can tell in just a few minutes.

Version 1.0.2 works fine on my iBook G4 using 10.4.3. Widget indicates networks as well as their encryption and strength.

I am running Tiger 10.4.1. AirPort Radar 1.0.1 only shows the name of the wireless network, the channel's number, and that it is encrypted, which is is NOT. It is supposed to do many other things, e.g. the connection's strangth; not a hint.
It resizes fine, but that's not the real purpose of such a widget.
Air Traffic Control, another similar widget, shows accurately encryption (whether activated or not), strength, name, channel.