Two of the first things I did with my new powerbook were

• Install the MacStumbler wireless scanning tool.
• Follow Dennis Cox' instructions on getting OS X to check /etc/hosts for dns lookups before checking the netinfo database.

A MacStumbler-like tool is just plain handy when trying to get wireless access while your laptop travels with you from work to home to friends' home. And because of some of the details of my home network (my Netgear RP114 does do TCP port forwarding, but doesn't support loopback) I need to fiddle with my host lookups a little; Dennis Cox' page was the most straightforward I found on how to "turn on" /etc/hosts.