I am considering purchasing a usb system for my desktop and PC card for my laptop so that I can share my DSL access to my laptop.

Anybody have any experience with this system from Intel?

I looked at that one, but opted for the wired Linksys dealie-o instead.

Anypoint has a wired version too. Good you give me an idea of what was required to set up the wired version. I don't want to have to get into running a lot of network cable in my house, so I thought wireless might be a good deal. It is not that much more expensive either. The anypoint wired system using your existing phone lines, but they do not have a pcmcia version for a laptop so I would have to use a usb unit on my laptop, which would make things a little bulky.

Id go wireless, the intel product is supposed to be good.

I would stick with WiFi compatible products and stay away from the Intel stuff. They are swimming upstream with their proprietary wireless protocols.

I have a wireless Lan at home and love it. I can be 30 meters from my base station or talk computer to computer with my wife's system. The 802.11b standard is solid and interopable with many vendors.

-t

If I don't go wireless with intel, could you give me an idea of what I would need to purchase from somebody else to network a PC and a laptop. The desktop has the DSL connection currently.

You will need a wireless access point which attaches to your network (maybe just to your DSL modem), and wireless Lan cards for the laptop and the desktop system - assuming you want both to be wireless.

In my configuration I use a wireless access point as a DHCP server and NAT router connecting my home network to a cable modem. The AP works as a firewall (I block all unsolicited incoming traffic) and routes traffic from both my wired and wireless nodes through the cable modem using NAT. The cable company thinks I have one computer connected (the AP). I have several. Only the APs IP address is ever seen on the Internet.

I only use laptops wirelessly at the moment in the house, well unless you count my Handspring Visor. That makes three roaming devices and a number of fixed wired computers on the network. The AP is simply a node on my network and all the computers use it both as a DHCP server and a gateway. I use the cable companies DNS servers.

I happen to use Apple's Airport AP, but I use it with Macs, PCs and the Visor. It's a rebranded Wavelan system from Lucent.

-t

Let me see if I understand this correctly.

I can come out of my DSL modem to a wireless Access point. I can then run a wired connection from the Access Point to my desktop's Ethernet card. I can put a wireless lan card in my laptop. With this configuration I can share a single login to my DSL account to both computers. Correct?

I've not done it with DSL myself, but I do exactly that with a cable modem now.

I share my cable modem connection with a fairly large number of computers at my home - all hidden from the Internet behind the NAT routing capabilities of the wireless access point, serving as a gateway into my network.

There are some fairly generic PDF files on this page that document ways to configure a wireless network. They have some specific Airport references in them, but you can generally apply the same info to any wireless Lan.

http://www.apple.com/airport/


-t

witt,

Thanks for your help. I am starting to get a grasp on this concept. I have been looking at a linksys wireless access point that has a 4 port switch that I can get for about $240 and wireless pc card for $99. So I am looking at roughly $340 to set up my network. The desktop will be wired.

Again, thanks.

Once you go wireless you can never go back :).

The other night I had a whole bunch of email to clear, and I sat out on the deck with a cool drink and watched the kids splash around in the pool while answering email.

If you have to sit at a keyboard, why not do it somewhere pleasant!

-t

I've got the linksys with the 4 port hub myself. Haven't been able to hook up the other computer with it just yet however. It seems that even though some places label their products as compadible with win95, it's only part of it that is. D-link for example. The pc card adapter is compadible with win95, however it only works with one pc card (the wireless one) which isn't compadible with win95. So I'm sitting there thinking to myself... why in the *opposite of heaven* would anyone make only half a product compadible when you nee a whole?! We're trying out a linksys version right now which isn't working either because the configuration utility doesn't appear to be opening. Linksys still hasn't responded about that after over a week... The wired connection (soon to be connections) is working great though. :)

thewitt, all I need is the laptop, pool, and kids then I'll be living the dream like you. :D

Justin,

I have a laptop and a desktop, both running Windows ME. so I am hopign to have better luck than you are.

you may also try ubid
http://www.ubid.com/cat/get_cat_page.asp?CatID=3016

might be a way to save a few bucks
but make sure you read what is included and if it is new or not in package or not etc...
I have had good and bad luck with auction stuff
just a thought
I use Linksys for home and have had good luck with is
also had good luck wiht D-Link cards got em on a killer deal so they are working
best of luck

How's the speed in your wireless systems? I have always gone wired because of that factor, but would like to know how it actually is. Ever tried playing games on the internet or what speeds do you get D/Ling off the internet with the wireless compared to your normal?

First, My laptop came from Ubid. I love it. I don't know why I didn't check there to begin with.

The Linksys system is 11 mbps at up to 150 feet. Speed drops off to 1 mbps at 900 feet (I think) and that is indoors. The range is better outdoors.

Using the bandwidth meter at 2wire.com I show no difference in performance between my hard wired systems and my wireless systems. The cable modem is the limiting factor in my performance on the Internet.

Okay, here is what I think I have decided on:

D-Link DI-711 wireless router with on port for a single hardwired computer. That will go to my desktop. I can then have up to 251 additional devices as wireless.

D-link 650 wireless pc card for my laptop.

I can get the two of them for $278 with free ground shipping.

This is an 802.11b compliant system.

Any comments?

The only question I would have is do they certify this on Windoze ME. Other than that, it looks great.

-t

yep, I already downloaded the windows me installation guides.

Thanks for all help, thewitt.

Well Marty and thewitt, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! now I wish I got the wireless version :bawling:

Originally posted by Chicken
I looked at that one, but opted for the wired Linksys dealie-o instead.

hows that working out? i found on on buy.com for $200 is that the one?

buy.com url (http://www.us.buy.com/retail/computers/product.asp?sku=10259366&loc=219)

I can get over 550KB/second on my current cable connection. If I switched to wireless could I get these kinda speeds?

I would think you can since most of all lan cards are 10/100 and usually they are defaulted to the 10 megs rather then 100

Working out good, though I still haven't set it up to link the computers together (not all that needed I suppose), nor the laptop to print. I got: http://www.us.buy.com/retail/computers/product.asp?sku=10235958&loc=419

-but the wireless ones seem pretty neat and it would be nice to use it. Seems to be almost $150 just to get a desktop able to be connected, $100 for a laptop, plus the $200 unit itself. Not the cheapest way to do it, but certainly nice.

Originally posted by Chicken
Well Marty and thewitt, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! now I wish I got the wireless version :bawling:

Sorry. I will make sure to email you when I am sitting outside and enjoying the sun. :)

By the way here is the link to what I am looking at. This is a link to the wireless router/switch page. The wireless pc card is on the right of this page.

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10269907&hdwt=30704&loc=14617