Hi Bob, that's exactly what I'm doing. In our case, it was less of an organising hassle to use wireless rather than ask permission to drill holes and run cables through someone else's kitchen (so instead the wireless basestation sits hidden in his living room).
If you're going to use wireless to save money I would spend the $$ and get wired instead. Wireless is ok and quite fast but it can be thrown off by atmospheric interference and by other devices. Also, if you are using AirPort cards in your laptops you may find performance to be less than optimal if you're more than one wall from your base station (Apple's antennas are less than optimal -- my PowerBook G3 Pismo has worse reception than my partner's Lombard G3 with Orinoco Silver card (arguably one of the best on the market though ;)). In nooks and crannies where her signal is strong I run into problems. I've experimented both with an AirPort basestation and with a Netgear 814MR and found the Netgear to be a touch more useful (it has an external antenna that can be moved... I now have it oriented such that our basement has *excellent* signal strength). Also, you can pick up the Netgear 814MR for a song now brand new (<$100) and it offers something the Apple does not (note: it does *not* carry old-fashioned AppleTalk connections... however, you can use FileSharing over TCP/IP quite nicely): 4 port 10/100 BaseT switch. However, now that I've said that I have to say I dread having to go back to a wired connection when I go to the UK (well, maybe I'll be able to use wireless there too :). For laptop users (& I see you run an iBook/800) wireless internet is the ultimate in freedom (or ball-and-chain if you like). I can go *anywhere* around our apartment or back yard and get on the web (of course, this being downtown Toronto the back yard is relatively small (though, much nicer than most suburban backyards (especially the hideous grass-only ones... I'm a biologist... can't stand the sterility and unnaturalness of a mowed, manicured, dandelion and clover-free lawn (it never ceases to amaze me that there are people misguided enough to think that a clover-free lawn is a *healthy* lawn (FYI clover (& alfalfa... another common garden leguminous "weed") fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, acting as a natural fertiliser))... you'd think you were out in the boreal forest in our back-yard if it weren't for the background roar of traffic in the distance along Bloor and Bathurst streets). So, essentially I would strongly recommend *against* going wireless to save a few $$ on installing wiring (not a major expense unless you have a *huge* house). I would suggest you go wireless only if you *want* (or need) wireless, irrespective of wired costs. Also, if you go wireless, in your case you *have* to have Apple's AirPort card for your iBook (or one of a very select few card makers who make cards compatible with Apple's AirPort expansion slot). You do *not* have to have the AirPort base station -- you can use whatever you'd like. But, it seems to me that you have dial-up access so you probably would want to get an AirPort BaseStation with shared modem. PS I still think you should get rid of your dedicated line (I think you said you were eligible for some form of high speed at some point) and get highspeed internet for the savings difference ;) (b/c when you combine the cost of your phone + decent internet service you're over $35/mo+tax and high speed usually costs $40/mo). PSS (I'm sure I've made the plug before) <http://www.tfnet.ca> For Torontonians (& anyone in the GTA): I've been having good experiences with the Toronto FreeNet. (www.torfree.net or www.tfnet.ca). They're a not-for-profit community org whose charter mandate is to provide internet access to the community at cost. My ADSL modem connects at 1728 (216 KByte/sec incoming) & 384 (48 KByte/sec outgoing) kbps and I really do get service that fast. Yesterday I was downloading multi-megabyte files in parallel and saw 50-60 K/sec for all three (so, combined over 150 K/sec) and was able to browse the web at the same time (other than the maximum speed limitation of the modem connection I find the web on tfnet.ca as responsive as a T-whatever at the U of T in the evening). If you can get Bell Canada's HSE you can get TFNet.ca. They also only charge $40 after tax (you need to buy the ADSL modem though)! Eric. on 25/7/03 3:31 PM, Mac Canada at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > From: "Bryce Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Airport (not the movie<g>) > Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 08:48:50 -0400 > Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Have any of the list members had experience using Airport to connect to > the internet? > Any pros or cons? > > Is this financial expenditure of Airport greater or lesser than what it > would have > cost to install a fixed, wired communications line to where ever you are > using same > assuming you're using it always in the same location, different from > where the line enters your residence. > > In my case all my lines terminate in the basement. > > I own a 55 year old brick residence. I could run telephone lines for > computer use > (I have a dedicated backline exclusively for computer use); or I could > install an > Airport system... -- Mac Canada is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Shop Canadian, visit Mantek Services <http://www.mantek.mb.ca> Low Prices That Will Keep YOU and Your MAC Smiling Educational discounts are now available Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Mac Canada info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/mac-can.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/mac-canada%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
