Setting up wireless in the home - a newbie question.....

Someone from uk.comp.homebuilt suggested I post this query here, so.....can
anyone here help out and suggest the best way to do the following?
In an effort to cut down on clutter at home, I would like to set up a
wireless
internet connection . Currently I have a desktop, laptop (arrived today -
woohoo!!)
and Dell Axim PDA. What would be the best way forward?
Unfortunately I dont have access to broadband....

Cheers,
Adam S

Adam Savage <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Someone from uk.comp.homebuilt suggested I post this query here, so.....can
> anyone here help out and suggest the best way to do the following?
> In an effort to cut down on clutter at home, I would like to set up a
> wireless
> internet connection . Currently I have a desktop, laptop (arrived today -
> woohoo!!)
> and Dell Axim PDA. What would be the best way forward?
> Unfortunately I dont have access to broadband....
>
Either my server is missing posts or you've had an absolutely
underwhelming response to this query. I know nothing about PDAs, and I
don't do wireless, but ...
With dialup internet the easy solution is to fit a wireless card to the
PC and use it as a router for the laptop and PDA. The disadvantage of
this is that the PC needs to be on if you want to access the internet
from the other machines. A neater solution is to use a wireless access
point that includes a dialup modem. The problem here is trying to find
one - they are increasingly rare as everyone switches to broadband (and
weren't common to start with), but that should mean there are some used
ones around.
Here's a couple of reviews to get you started:
http://www.internet-magazine.com/rev...ware/dlink.asp
http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h355.htm

Either way you'll need wireless cards for the other machines - PCMCIA for
the laptop and CF for the PDA (although you might consider USB for the
laptop and the PC). 802.11b is the current standard, although 802.11g is
gaining popularity and is a fair bit faster. If you won't be regularly
moving large files around then there's not a great deal of difference -
the dialup is going to be the limiting factor in surfing and downloading.
You should also be aware that wireless performance is very dependent on
position, the construction of your house, the phase of the moon and the
colour of your socks. It does seem to be preferable to use products from
the same manufacturer to improve your chances of geting reasonable
results, and some manufacturers seem to squeeze better performance out of
what is supposedly a common standard, so read lots of reviews.

Cheers! At last a reply!!!!
Lots of good info there, thanks...Unfortunately, I just moved out of a flat
with Telewest cable and into a house with a BT phone. And no chance of ADSL
either. Darn it!
Hopefully Hydro Electric will start shoving out their
broadband-through-power-lines service, and put me out of 56k misery!!!!

Thanks again.....

Adam S


"Rob Morley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) .com...
> Adam Savage <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > Someone from uk.comp.homebuilt suggested I post this query here,
so.....can
> > anyone here help out and suggest the best way to do the following?
> > In an effort to cut down on clutter at home, I would like to set up a
> > wireless
> > internet connection . Currently I have a desktop, laptop (arrived
today -
> > woohoo!!)
> > and Dell Axim PDA. What would be the best way forward?
> > Unfortunately I dont have access to broadband....
> >
> Either my server is missing posts or you've had an absolutely
> underwhelming response to this query. I know nothing about PDAs, and I
> don't do wireless, but ...
> With dialup internet the easy solution is to fit a wireless card to the
> PC and use it as a router for the laptop and PDA. The disadvantage of
> this is that the PC needs to be on if you want to access the internet
> from the other machines. A neater solution is to use a wireless access
> point that includes a dialup modem. The problem here is trying to find
> one - they are increasingly rare as everyone switches to broadband (and
> weren't common to start with), but that should mean there are some used
> ones around.
> Here's a couple of reviews to get you started:
> http://www.internet-magazine.com/rev...ware/dlink.asp
> http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h355.htm
>
> Either way you'll need wireless cards for the other machines - PCMCIA for
> the laptop and CF for the PDA (although you might consider USB for the
> laptop and the PC). 802.11b is the current standard, although 802.11g is
> gaining popularity and is a fair bit faster. If you won't be regularly
> moving large files around then there's not a great deal of difference -
> the dialup is going to be the limiting factor in surfing and downloading.
> You should also be aware that wireless performance is very dependent on
> position, the construction of your house, the phase of the moon and the
> colour of your socks. It does seem to be preferable to use products from
> the same manufacturer to improve your chances of geting reasonable
> results, and some manufacturers seem to squeeze better performance out of
> what is supposedly a common standard, so read lots of reviews.

Adam Savage <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Cheers! At last a reply!!!!
> Lots of good info there, thanks...Unfortunately, I just moved out of a flat
> with Telewest cable and into a house with a BT phone. And no chance of ADSL
> either. Darn it!
> Hopefully Hydro Electric will start shoving out their
> broadband-through-power-lines service, and put me out of 56k misery!!!!
>
There's always satellite, but it's a bit pricey still and only any good
if you're downloading a lot more than you're uploading and don't need low
latency.