posted on
April 02, 2010 at 05:43AM
I"m way late in this thread, and I'm not a networking guru, but I know enough to be dangerous. :)
You obviously have a modem, so the modem will plug into the router, which makes the a "radio tower like" effect for your laptop to pick up.
I've used a couple different brands, and currently have a Netgear. The customer support is not bad, but I think they base it overseas. Most router companies do. Overall, I've been pleased with it, as I've connected an Xbox, Blu-Ray player, several laptops and a desktop and two printers - all wirelessly, except for one desktop, which is wired into 4 avilable slots. I chose a well known router, since wireless connectors of the same brand are also available. This is helpful if you run into trouble. I can call Netgear, and they can troubleshoot my router and wireless dongles. If you have a Netgear router, and a Linksys hub, I've found that they ping-pong you back to the other manufacturer's helpline, which can be frustrating. Sticking with the same company means that they have to help you, and can't pass you off. So here's a Pro-Tip: Choose a manufacturer, and buy their wireless gear. All products are supposed to work together, and usually do, but when they don't, it's a hassle.
Wireless runs in four speeds in this order: There's 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. 802.11a is the slowest and oldest, and 802.11n is the latest and greatest. It's important to know that if your network is 802.11n, and you add a slower speed device into your network, like 802.11b, the entire network will slow down and everything will run at 802.11b speeds. So if you buy an 802.11n router, which would be my recommendation, buy 802.11n wireless hubs and dongles - and remember to use the same manufacturers when possible.
802.11g is also an acceptable speed, since most internet connections won't outpace 802.11g. You may have ten times the bandwith than what your actual internet is capable of. In most cases, today's routers won't crimp your internet speed, and can almost always handle more than the plan you have.
One thing you might consider doing is once you have your network set up, go through the manual, or call the router's customer service to set up encryption. This will allow your router to "lock" so that your neighbors can't steal your bandwidth, or download illegal movies and have the piracy lawyers knocking at your door blaming you. WEP and WPA2 are good encryption methods that most devices can work with. When you attempt to connect to your wireless network, with WEP, you'll be asked to enter a 10-digit password and then your computer will usually remember that password. (Keep it handy, though, in case you want to allow a visitor's computer, or add new equipment). Your neighbors may be able to see your network when they search for available networks, but without the password, they can't access your internet or your network. Personally, I use WEP. It's not the strongest encryption, but it provides enough protection, and most devices support WEP or WPA2.
So hopefully that was an easy read, and an informative (and pleasant) jump into the world of networking. Wireless is the future for a lot of exiting products this year, and in coming years. Let me know if you have further questions. If I can answer it, I'll be happy to.
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