Elementary Questions

I am new and have not yet bought a notebook, but I plan to. If there is an
FAQ that covers these questions, please let me know. I am considering the
Fujitsu 5010D, although I have not yet ruled out the Panasonic W2 and the
Sony TR1A.

1. Other than a sign on a wall, I assume the only other way to know if I'm
in a wifi area is to turn on the computer and see if it works.

2. I guess the wifi protocol/software is smart enough so that when I type in
a password to my bank account that info doesn't go anywhere else. Or is it?
Is wifi inappropriate for some types of computing? Are there security
steps/security software I should take.

3. Are all wifi access points the same speed?

4. Are all wifi equipped computers the same speed or is the "quality" or
"speed" of the wifi something I should take into consideration when making a
notebook purchase?

5. I think of wifi as an ISP just like a DSL connection except it's
wireless. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that the right way to look at it?

6. I see some ads talking about accessing data on your computer at work. I
assume this doesn't have anything to do with wifi per se. All we are talking
about is remote access which could just as well be via modem as well as
wifi.

7. I have a Sprint cell phone with unlimited night and weekend minutes. The
way I understand it, this won't help me access the Internet via modem
because I can only use these minutes for voice.

8. What is the best way to get online wirelessly with a notebook if I am not
in a wifi area?

"Alan Bell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7XG7b.406044$YN5.274091@sccrnsc01...
> I am new and have not yet bought a notebook, but I plan to. If there is an
> FAQ that covers these questions, please let me know. I am considering the
> Fujitsu 5010D, although I have not yet ruled out the Panasonic W2 and the
> Sony TR1A.

Well, I'm not gonna lookup the specs of those laptops

> 1. Other than a sign on a wall, I assume the only other way to know if I'm
> in a wifi area is to turn on the computer and see if it works.

Other options:
- looking at the locations of the WISPs on the internet (like
www.sinfilo.com/locations)
- asking people (the reception might be a good place for that)
- wearing a T-shirt with "tell me if I'm in a hotspot" printed on it

> 2. I guess the wifi protocol/software is smart enough so that when I type
in
> a password to my bank account that info doesn't go anywhere else. Or is
it?

It ISN'T. Wifi is actually just a replacement for the cabling!

> Is wifi inappropriate for some types of computing? Are there security
> steps/security software I should take.

The first Wifi standard used WEP for encrypting the wireless interface, but
WEP isn't secure at all.
New standard are developed that are supposed to be secure, but for now I'd
say that the only way to be sure is to use secure protocols that are already
used in the normal internet, like Secure HTTP and VPN.

> 3. Are all wifi access points the same speed?

There are several standards:
- 802.11b: 11mbps
- 802.11a: 22mbps
- 802.11g: 54mbps
(These speeds are theoretical, the actual data transmission speed will be
around 50-80% of that)

> 4. Are all wifi equipped computers the same speed or is the "quality" or
> "speed" of the wifi something I should take into consideration when making
a
> notebook purchase?

Depending on the hardware. Also antenna's can boost the signal.
In practice, I found that my built-in Intersil WLAN is MUCH worse than my
PCMCIA Enterasys WLAN Card. You'll have to test and compare to be sure.
There's a good utility for testing: Net Stumbler (free).

> 5. I think of wifi as an ISP just like a DSL connection except it's
> wireless. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that the right way to look at it?

No, WiFi is a technology, which you can just use at home or which ISPs can
use to provide you a service.
An ISP that is only or mainly focused on WLAN is called a WISP (Wireless
ISP), like www.sinfilo.com

> 6. I see some ads talking about accessing data on your computer at work. I
> assume this doesn't have anything to do with wifi per se. All we are
talking
> about is remote access which could just as well be via modem as well as
> wifi.

Indeed, Wifi is just the cable replacement.

> 7. I have a Sprint cell phone with unlimited night and weekend minutes.
The
> way I understand it, this won't help me access the Internet via modem
> because I can only use these minutes for voice.

I don't know. Dial-in access has nothing to do with Wifi.

> 8. What is the best way to get online wirelessly with a notebook if I am
not
> in a wifi area?

Plugin your wired LAN interface.

Regards,

Thor.

"Alan Bell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:7XG7b.406044$YN5.274091@sccrnsc01:

> I am new and have not yet bought a notebook, but I plan to. If there
> is an FAQ that covers these questions, please let me know. I am
> considering the Fujitsu 5010D, although I have not yet ruled out the
> Panasonic W2 and the Sony TR1A.
>
>
> 7. I have a Sprint cell phone with unlimited night and weekend
> minutes. The way I understand it, this won't help me access the
> Internet via modem because I can only use these minutes for voice.
>
In addition to the answers already supplied by Thor...
Check your Sprint Plan. My Sprint Plan provides unlimited Internet access.
You need the right plan and an Internet capable phone from Sprint.

"Alan Bell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:7XG7b.406044$YN5.274091@sccrnsc01:

> I am new and have not yet bought a notebook, but I plan to. If there
> is an FAQ that covers these questions, please let me know. I am
> considering the Fujitsu 5010D, although I have not yet ruled out the
> Panasonic W2 and the Sony TR1A.
>
>
> 7. I have a Sprint cell phone with unlimited night and weekend
> minutes. The way I understand it, this won't help me access the
> Internet via modem because I can only use these minutes for voice.
>
In addition to the answers already supplied by Thor...
Check your Sprint Plan. My Sprint Plan provides unlimited Internet access.
You need the right plan and an Internet capable phone from Sprint.

"Alan Bell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<7XG7b.406044$YN5.274091@sccrnsc01>...
> I am new and have not yet bought a notebook, but I plan to. If there is an
> FAQ that covers these questions, please let me know. I am considering the
> Fujitsu 5010D, although I have not yet ruled out the Panasonic W2 and the
> Sony TR1A.
>
> 1. Other than a sign on a wall, I assume the only other way to know if I'm
> in a wifi area is to turn on the computer and see if it works.
>
> 2. I guess the wifi protocol/software is smart enough so that when I type in
> a password to my bank account that info doesn't go anywhere else. Or is it?
> Is wifi inappropriate for some types of computing? Are there security
> steps/security software I should take.
>
> 3. Are all wifi access points the same speed?
>
> 4. Are all wifi equipped computers the same speed or is the "quality" or
> "speed" of the wifi something I should take into consideration when making a
> notebook purchase?
>
> 5. I think of wifi as an ISP just like a DSL connection except it's
> wireless. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that the right way to look at it?
>
> 6. I see some ads talking about accessing data on your computer at work. I
> assume this doesn't have anything to do with wifi per se. All we are talking
> about is remote access which could just as well be via modem as well as
> wifi.
>
> 7. I have a Sprint cell phone with unlimited night and weekend minutes. The
> way I understand it, this won't help me access the Internet via modem
> because I can only use these minutes for voice.
>
> 8. What is the best way to get online wirelessly with a notebook if I am not
> in a wifi area?


Things to keep in mind (per your numbered questions):

1. There are 2 major things here: wireless in your home, for example,
and wireless "hotspots" out in "the world". At home, wireless
connectivity is, to be simple about it, within the 4 walls. Your
cable-modem or DSL connection provided by your ISP goes into a
wireless router via ethernet. From that router, internet connectivity
is given to all computers with wireless client-side devices (USB or
PCI adapter cards, PCMCIA cards, or wireless-intergrated on a chip).
Out in "the world" there are "hotspots" set up which advertise
themselves to your wireless client-side device.

2. Lots of things you can do, to button-down security. Check out
www.practicallynetworked.com, as a good example of many sites dealing
with wired and wireless networking.

3. No

4.No. Again, read up on the different wireless protocols (802.11a,
802.11b., and 802.11g) to get a handle on "speed and quality".

5. No, that is not how wireless works. see #1. It's "wired" coming
into your home, and connectivity can go wireless from there.

6. Yes. Remote access (a whole other topic!) is do-able wired or
wireless.

7. Correct

8. By the time you are ready to "go wireless" you will have gathered
enough info. to know both how to set it up at home and to access
hotspots out in the world.


I have greatly simplified the issue in this post: do some research
online, talk to a favorite sales rep at your favorite computer
shop...and dive in!

Thanks to all who are tutoring me. But let me clarify the last question. I
am making an assumption that wifi won't be available in all the places I
want to connect to the Internet. For instance, if I'm on the road in Motel 6
rather than the Radisson. In those instances, I assume I could either plug
the modem into the phone line or have a PC card of some sort that would
connect me to Sprint or T-Mobile wirelessly (but not wifi, of course). Here
are my assumptions about the second alternative:

1. It's necessary because wifi isn't everywhere yet.
2. It will require a different cell account than my current Sprint voice
account. That is, no "upgrade" is possible. Cell phone companies sell voice
accounts and they sell data accounts.
3. T-Mobile is the cheapest and best data account.
4. Access via cell/PC Card is neither faster nor slower than access by
plugging the modem into the wall.
5. The PC cards vary in quality and price and (when the time comes) you guys
will tell me which is best.