Still learnin'

[sps4306]

Right now I am building a desktop and eventually would like to get a laptop to use in a different part of the house. I get a little confused talking about the wireless internet options that are available. I can only get dial up where I live, so can I still use the wireless internet with dial up or is it even worth it?

[sgtspector]

You could put a wireless pci card or usb adapter in your desktop and then a wireless adapter on the laptop and connect them that way (ad-hoc networking), Then just share the desktop's internet connection using the wizard in windows. Somebody can correct me if I am wrong here but the os must be xp or else you will need a third party software solution to share the connection. HTH. Do a froum serach Iam sure that this question has been asked before. It would probably work with a wireless router too.

[flawedreality5]

I tried this setup before when I had 56k just for the heck of it. My friend connected his laptop into my ethernet card and used my computer as an internet gateway. It did work but was a little unstable. We had Juno and wasn't the most reliable ISP in the world. It was awhile ago and I can't remember specifics. I'm not sure how the wireless settings would work either.

[sps4306]

What is the difference between wireless internet and ethernet?

[sgtspector]

Wireless is just that. The computer communicates thru a radio signal at 2.4 ghz just like a cordless phone. It can be at several different speeds depending on the protocol that the adapters use. Ethernet is a hard wired protocol where the computers are physically connected by cat 5e cables. The ends look like modular phone jacks just a little bigger. They are not interchangable. It is faster and more secure because a computer must be physically connected to the network to access it or your internet connection.
Wireless on the otherhand is convienent because there are no wires to run thru your house. Hope that helps.

[sps4306]

It does. Thank you.