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01-08-2011, 03:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Superstar
1 more thing that I forgot to ask..
I'll obviously want to use this laptop on the internet if I'm traveling or away from home or whatever, even at home, so what do I have to get to enable me to get the internet on the laptop no matter where I'm at? (without a cord plugging it into my router)
You need a wireless access point. My favorite place to get free wireless is the Panera Bread chain of sandwich shops, when on the road. Many paces have free wireless -- hotels, fast food places, coffee shops, delis. McDonalds and Whataburger, two popular fast food burger joints, have wifi in many locations.

Quote:
I currently have both my DVD making computer and the computer that I use for the internet both hooked up to the same router, and I can get online with them both at the same time.
Both routers and switches let multi computers on the network together. One router is needed to issue the LAN IP addresses, and then you can have quite a few switches beyond that. Wifi has to come from a router, or a modem that has router-like functionality built into it, as many now do (for example: the 2Wire brand of modems popular with many cable and DSL companies).

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I saw this laptop has an ethernet plug, and it says you can get WiFi on it as well, I don't know too much about WiFi, because I don't think it was around the last time that I had a laptop, which was like 6 yrs ago or so.
It was around. I had a wireless card in my laptop at least 7 years ago. Granted, it was B-type wireless, and quite a bit slower than G-type and the more modern N-type signals. But still faster than dial-up and not bad.

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The last time I had a laptop, I would plug it into what I was using to get internet at the time, and I don't want to do that with this one, because I want to be able to move around freely wherever I want to go this time.
That's what wireless is for. Just remember that wired internet will be faster if you're trying to download large files. It will also be completely sustained, unlike wireless which can have signal drops. That's only an issue when you're trying to upload/download huge files (like when I grab a full server backup of a 1GB database!)

You must have a wireless router or modem to get wireless at home. If you don't have one now, one can be added. Or replace what you have now.

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I had a dial-up connection the last time I had a laptop. Now, my internet connection is cable, thru Comcast.
I've had broadband since 1999.

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I know a few people that have a laptop and a few of them have the internet on their computer with nothing at all plugged into it
Wireless.

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(I think one of them uses an available connection, which means they tap into their neighbor's connection and uses theirs)
This is why you need to put a password on your modem/router wireless access -- either the WEP or the WPA, or both.

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And I've seen some people have something plugged into their laptop which looks like a zip drive, and I think they get the internet thru that.
Tethered cell phone, I bet.

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I'd like to get something that will work with the connection that I have currently, because I don't want to have pay another monthly bill just so I can get net access on the laptop.
There's no extra monthly bill to have wireless. (If you call them, be wary -- they may be stupid or liars. So don't trust the cable company on the phone. They tend to say a LOT of stupid BS.)

Quote:
Thanks again!
No problem. But again, please ask this all in the forum -- not PMs. More people can help you, and quicker, and it's less work on me. I don't much enjoy spending time copying/pasting what should have been here in a post to start with.

Thanks!


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