Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

WiFi

Copy of a post I made on the forum we have at work...
Figured there would be some people here who can help me out too..

quote:

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this thread made me wake up my interest in WiFi again...

Now my local electronics store has a special on a Wifi Router and WiFi PCMCIA card...
The combination costs me about AUD500 which is a AUD140 discount of the normal price.. very tempting...

But my wife came up with a good point (damn her ) is the convenience of wireless worth the $500?

I'm trying to make a list of pro and cons, who can help me out further?

Pro:
-No more messing with cables
-Internet everywhere in the house.
-Router make multiple machine go online at the same time (currently my ISP uses a logon program which only allows 1 connection at the time)
-The 'Cool factor'
-Playing with new technology
-With WiFi card I can go online on public WiFi networks too..

Con:
-$$$
-potential security problems (but to be honest I'm not too worried about that...)

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Location: Houston, TX
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Running the numbers at my parents house it was cheaper to get wifi than run a wire through the house. And I don't think it cost $250, more like $150 after rebates.

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by KRamsauer
Running the numbers at my parents house it was cheaper to get wifi than run a wire through the house. And I don't think it cost $250, more like $150 after rebates.

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No rebates here normally it is about 300-350 USD... now $250...

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

If she has had to deal with the wiring that may be your strongest "pro". My wife loves that I was able to set up a network so we can use the DSL out in the studio. She doesn't like the cables though.

If you wife likes to surf the net (business or pleasure) she would really enjoy being able to access the net anywhere the signal reaches. I have a friend who is still currently stuck with dial up. His son set them up on a wireless network and his wife loves it. She does a lot of shopping on the net, so she just sits down wherever it's most comfortable at the moment and gets to it.

If your wife doesn't use the net she may not go for any of the pros.

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
If she has had to deal with the wiring that may be your strongest "pro". My wife loves that I was able to set up a network so we can use the DSL out in the studio. She doesn't like the cables though.

If you wife likes to surf the net (business or pleasure) she would really enjoy being able to access the net anywhere the signal reaches. I have a friend who is still currently stuck with dial up. His son set them up on a wireless network and his wife loves it. She does a lot of shopping on the net, so she just sits down wherever it's most comfortable at the moment and gets to it.

If your wife doesn't use the net she may not go for any of the pros.

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She does use the internet, but mainly for email... she surfs very occasionally....

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Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Vermont
Posts: 148

toolkit - If you want to take a cut in performance with a cut in price, you can always make a PC the base station. What I did is got a client card for my laptop and a client USB adapter for my desktop (with the broadband) and set up an Ad Hoc (peer-to-peer) link between the computers. I then used Internet Connection Sharing to make the desktop a router.

This was cheaper for me, but also means that the desktop must be on when I want to surf on my laptop, and the USB adapter on the desktop must be unplugged when burning a CD (got tons of coasters).

Wireless is not as great on just desktops but truly shines on my laptop, it extends well around the house and my yard, which means in the summer I can surf the net on the pool deck out back or in front of the fire downstairs in the winter.

I have found the forums at duxcw.com very handy and informative in networking if you need help setting things up.

-CML

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by cml
toolkit - If you want to take a cut in performance with a cut in price, you can always make a PC the base station. What I did is got a client card for my laptop and a client USB adapter for my desktop (with the broadband) and set up an Ad Hoc (peer-to-peer) link between the computers. I then used Internet Connection Sharing to make the desktop a router.

This was cheaper for me, but also means that the desktop must be on when I want to surf on my laptop, and the USB adapter on the desktop must be unplugged when burning a CD (got tons of coasters).

Wireless is not as great on just desktops but truly shines on my laptop, it extends well around the house and my yard, which means in the summer I can surf the net on the pool deck out back or in front of the fire downstairs in the winter.

I have found the forums at duxcw.com very handy and informative in networking if you need help setting things up.

-CML

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Registered: Aug 2000
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As someone who was also on the fence not too long ago..

Just do it,

you'll be glad you did and it will be worth any extra heat you may encounter.. trust me..


for what its worth, I already had a broadband connection sharing firewall/hub (linksys BEFSR41), so all I needed was a wireless access point (WAP11), however I would recommend a combo device if you currently have neither.. while I was at it and already "in trouble" I figured I would get a wireless pcmcia card for my laptop (WPC11) and wireless PCI netcard (WMP11) for my other desktop ("her" pc)..


It's great.. I love it and in the end everything worked out well..

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

quote:

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Originally posted by ToolkiT

She does use the internet, but mainly for email... she surfs very occasionally....

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Does she like to keep up with the news? You might be able to get her involved by demonstrating how easy it is to set up the laptop at the breakfast table while she relaxes and drinks her morning coffee/tea.

On another note. Do you have anything you can sell on eBay that may make up for the cost. Something you don't use anymore that's just lying around, bugging her? That's how I justified buying my Prism, my Powerleap CPU upgrade, My dvd/cdrw combi-drive, some software purchases and how I'm going to pay for a new hard drive. Wives love it when you clear out old stuff!

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

I did it!!
actually I am posting this wireless

I bargained it even down further that the discounted price

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
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Cool... just remember, no matter how tempting it may be - stay OUT of the tub and/or jacuzzi with that thing.

Also bringing it to bed when the wife wants to snuggle might not be too good of an idea either

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by BobbyMike
Cool... just remember, no matter how tempting it may be - stay OUT of the tub and/or jacuzzi with that thing.

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Hehehehe wont be tempted... the hottub in my complex is out of WiFi reach

quote:

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Originally posted by BobbyMike

Also bringing it to bed when the wife wants to snuggle might not be too good of an idea either

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Found that one out this morning.. she had to leave for work so I figured she wouldnt mind...
But I discovered she does not allow a third party in our bed

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Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."