802.11: "Preferred networks" vs. "A specific network"

Question

I've got a new MacBook Pro and it appears that -- at least in my opinion -- has eliminiated one of the key advantages OS X networking has over Win XP.
With my G4 PowerBook, I can create a one-to-one relationship between locations and network access points. For me this is critical, as my work location has multiple access points -- some on our corporate network and some open to the internet. For the corporate nets, I have a static IP address and need various proxy configurations to be stored, whereas for the public nets, its DHCP and no proxy info needs to be stored.
On the MacBook Pro, it appears to me that I can't force network settings to access one and only one access point per location setting. Worse, I can't even change the prioirties of access per location.
This causes unpredictable behavior when my truly preferred access point is momentarily out of range. It appears that the MBP is grabbing another access point automatically. When this happens, my network settings are incorrect, and my connection is broken.
Am I missing something obvious? 'Cause this is the exact problem I've had with XP for years -- and something that has always been a ton better on Mac.
17 in MacBook Pro   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
various   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

Answer 1

Thanks for the suggestion, but the behavior described in the article is the actually the issue. Here's the problem: in my work environment, there are three VLANs with three APs, all three are always visible from my desk. According to what I'm doing, I need to shift between them a couple time per day.
Physical Location: Work
Access Points Available:
- "Internet" (closed SSID, DHCP, no proxies)
- "Corporate" (closed SSID, DHCP, proxies)
- "Development" (closed SSID, static IP, no proxies)
Location "Outside Network"
- Preferred Airport: "Intenet"
- DHCP
- no proxies
Location "Inside Network"
- Preferred Airport: "Corporate"
- DHCP
- appropriate proxy settings
Location "Development Network"
- Preferred Airport: "Development"
- static IP
- no proxies
So the "Preferred network" option would work (though less than optimum) if I could change the order based on location. It would be optimum (and better than the 10.6.4 PowerPC version) if I could change the order and add/delete netwoks according to location. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one preferred network list that is global for all locations. And that causes the unpredictability that I tried to describe.