Wireless recommendation for Laptop

[Clocker]

Hey guys-
I'm going to be getting a P3 700 laptop from a friend for $300. I want to give it a wireless connection so I can have it wherever I want it in the house.

Any recommendations for a wireless access point (to connect to my existing router) or maybe a new router all together with wireless (and wired) capability? Also, what about recommendations for a wireless card for the laptop?

Thanks,
C

 

[Mercutio]

802.11A stuff is less subject to interference, largely because there are fewer 5GHz source. It isn't compatible with B or G though, and ranges are shorter (this is basically a good thing for home use, but it sucks royally for businesses).

B equipment that manages to join a G network knocks the whole thing down to "B" speeds.

B stuff is cheaper, but A and G are jaw-droppingly cheap compared to prices two years ago. Even mixed mode stuff isn't that bad.

So here's my recommendations:

B if you won't need A/G speeds (most people don't). B if you like saving money and want to be reasonably compatible with most wireless systems.
B if you want to use Linux (decent driver support).

G if you need higher speeds and decent ranges, and your environment isn't full of 2.4GHz sources (microwaves and cordless phones). G if occasional downward compatibility is an issue (someone might come over who has B equipment).

A if you've got several 2.4GHz sources and have some need for speed, and don't mind the generally decreased ranges or slightly higher per-node cost. IMO, this makes A generally the best candidate for home use (grumble grumble cordless phones grumble grumble).

DLink APs cost less than Linksys. DLink also misses some features I think are important, like setting client reservations by MAC. Granted, I can do that on a server basis, but since most people don't have Linux or Win2000 Server machines sitting around the house, I think that's a biggie.
Linksys also has a hardware firewall, sorta. I've never bothered to use it, but again, it's a really handy feature.

I don't know about any other consumer-level products.

 

[honold]

http://www.linksys.com/press/press.asp?prid=127&cyear=2003

and that's the combo i'd recommend. not much of a price premium over b for the extra speed, and most importantly it supports wpa now. wep is a nuisance for crackers, not security from them. once you get your laptop, walk around anywhere running netstumbler and that will convince you to really secure yourself.

 

[Clocker]

Great. Thanks for your inputs so far. Here is what I'd like to be able to do:

I have a microwave at home and a wireless phone. My home is only 1500 square-feet but we will probably end up moving next year into a 2000-2500 square foot house and I doubt the laptop will be more than 100 feet from the AP ever..

I'd like the best speed I can get (of course). But, if I every take the laptop to one of the bookstores or coffee shops or other local places that have wireless access, I'd like to be able to use it there too. What protocol do they usually use at public places?

Thanks again guys...I really appreciate the education you are giving me...

C

 

[honold]

wireless phones can be 900mhz, 2.4ghz, etc - the type matters in this case. iirc, 802.11b uses channels 4 and 6 of the 2.4ghz spectrum and a microwave oven uses channel 5. nice thing to sit on your crotch all day, eh?

most public hotspots use b.

 

[Mercutio]

Most home networks don't carry enough traffic to make WEP key-guessing easy. It's a better barrier for home networks than it is for corporate ones (making the not-unreasonable assumption that your local wardriver isn't parking outside the first AP he finds. I needed over 45 minutes to crack my own 128bit key).

G for work, A for home, B for cheap. Some equipment supports dual or tri-mode operation.

A has range issues, yes, but unless your house is cinderblock walls, indoor operation isn't a big deal, and most people, once they realize the ~200 foot real-world range on their B/G equipment, don't want their signal going that far anyway.

 

[Clocker]

Looks like a G will be a good option as backward compatibility testing is completing?

http://www.80211-planet.com/news/article.php/2232771

C

 

[Mercutio]

G works with B, yes.

 

[honold]

Most home networks don't carry enough traffic to make WEP key-guessing easy.

most home networks never change their wep key. a single iso image download should do the trick.

if he uses wpa this is never a concern...

 

[honold]

before anybody comes down on me, you know what i mean by 'never' - i mean it in security time

 

[Pradeep]

Fortunately the wireless cards aren't pumping out hundred of watts into your crotch like a microwave oven could!

If you want to use b/g and are worried about cordless phone interference, you could always use 5.8GHz cordless phones (tho apprently some systems use 5.8GHz to receive and 2.4GHz to transmit - yuck). And of course cost is greater for the 5.8GHz.

 

[Pradeep]

If you are going for .a, get a dual or tri mode (.a and .b) so that you can use it when you leave your home and venture outside to hotspots, T-mobile hotspot etc are all .b

Of course this leaves you with the dilemna of paying $100+ for a PC Card, when you payed just $300 for the whole laptop. I recommend the Orinoco .a/.b combo card.

 

[honold]

(continuing from private messages - he does have a 2.4ghz phone)

when you're near your access point and talking on the phone you may here a 'tick tick tick', and when the phone is actually being used you'll notice worse range/speed on the wireless lan. it still occurs even when the phone isn't being used, but to a lesser degree.

as long as your phone and the access point aren't terribly close to each other, i think things should be okay. if they're not okay, you have the option to use a 900mhz or 5.4ghz phone.

i would propose possibly 'shopgrifting' a setup from best buy (or wherever, as long as they have a forgiving return policy) to see what you think.

 

[honold]

oh, also, play around with the channels on the phone and/or router if it's troubling you too.

 

[Mercutio]

Perhaps the interference issue is more an issue for me because I live in an apartment, but I found 802.11b to be largely unusable due in large part to other people's cordless phones.

I realize that most people are going to think I'm nuts for saying this but WTF is wrong with a phone on a cord?

 

[honold]

I realize that most people are going to think I'm nuts for saying this but WTF is wrong with a phone on a cord?

wtf is wrong with a computer on a cord?

 

[timwhit]

I don't even have a landline at all anymore. I just use a cell phone. What frequency is that on?

 

[honold]

we can leave that one at a big fat 'it depends'

i love nextel

 

[Mercutio]

Desktop computers? Absolutely nothing. Laptops? Isn't that the point of this thread?

Phones, though, get lost. And don't need to be carried some of the places they're carried (I see my neighbors using their cordless phones - not cell phones - by the complex swimming pool, which annoys me for several reasons), and cause problems for other devices that with greater need to be wireless (homes mostly have phone jacks in several rooms. Very few homes have, say, RCA cables wired in jacks, or ethernet wiring).

Yes, this is a personal pet peeve of mine.

 

[Handruin]

I don't even have a landline at all anymore. I just use a cell phone. What frequency is that on?

Some cell phones say inside where the battery comes apart. Mine doesn't, but I remember seeing the information somewhere, maybe it was on nokia's website. Try your cell phone manufacturer's website.

 

[Pradeep]

It depends on what carrier/technology they are using.

 

[Fushigi]

when you're near your access point and talking on the phone you may here a 'tick tick tick', and when the phone is actually being used you'll notice worse range/speed on the wireless lan. it still occurs even when the phone isn't being used, but to a lesser degree.

Yuck. My cordless phone rotates through 100 channels per second within the spectrum for security. I would presume that is at least partly why it doesn't interfere with my .b WAP/router.

- Fushigi

 

[Pradeep]

when you're near your access point and talking on the phone you may here a 'tick tick tick', and when the phone is actually being used you'll notice worse range/speed on the wireless lan. it still occurs even when the phone isn't being used, but to a lesser degree.

Yuck. My cordless phone rotates through 100 channels per second within the spectrum for security. I would presume that is at least partly why it doesn't interfere with my .b WAP/router.

- Fushigi

I think most/all of the 2.4GHz digital phones use DSS to spread their frequencies around. However the jump in frequencies is not much. I guess it all depends on the quality and shielding of the wireless phones and nics/WAPs.

 

[Howell]

when you're near your access point and talking on the phone you may here a 'tick tick tick', and when the phone is actually being used you'll notice worse range/speed on the wireless lan. it still occurs even when the phone isn't being used, but to a lesser degree.

I used to hear what I interpreted as crosstalk on my cordless. I sound a very faint non-tonal series of ticks followed by a puse and then another series. Like a non-tonal dial-tone that no one ever answers. It this the sound you talk about?

I do not have wireless network equipment and I would be fairly suprised to find others with the equipment in my immediate neighborhood. How far away could an AP be and still affect me?

 

[honold]

i would have to think you'd need to be in a situation where a neighbor has a facing wall with an ap against it and your base station is near to stand a chance, but i've never tested anything along those lines.

i'll break into some townhouses soon and let you know.

 

[Howell]

i would have to think you'd need to be in a situation where a neighbor has a facing wall with an ap against it and your base station is near to stand a chance, but i've never tested anything along those lines.

i'll break into some townhouses soon and let you know.

Thanks. I'll be here holding my breath.

 

[e_dawg]

I don't even have a landline at all anymore. I just use a cell phone. What frequency is that on?

Usually 800 MHz or 1.9 GHz

http://www.canyonriver.com/directory_carriers.html