Question about laptop and going online
What do you have to do to get your laptop to go online?
Currently, I use my laptop at home. We have wireless internet, so right now all I have to do is turn on my laptop and turn on the LAN button and I'm online.
But what do I do when I'm away from home and there is no cable, dsl line for me to connect to.
I know I can use the phone line and plug in my pc, but what else would I need to do....
Any computer geeks, please help :P
Re:Question about laptop and going online
In order to use your wireless capabilities of your laptop away from home, someone has to be broadcasting a wireless access signal, and your laptop will pick this up under WinXP automatically; at that point you just have to tell the system to connect to that network connection. This is common in most decent hotels, some restaurants, coffee shops, et al.
If there's no wireless internet connection and no broadband cabled connection, then you're plain SOL.
Re:Question about laptop and going online
Do you have a modem card,plug on your laptop for phone line?...uhh,that would be called a "Analog" modem ...Then all you would need is a dialup provider like AOL and,of course,local AOL phone numbers for the area you're in.
EDIT:If your laptop has a built in DSL modem or card,"Digital",then all you would need is the phone number in the area you're satying of your DSL provider....if thats what you have...You can probably get a cheap "analog" modem for your laptop and use a dialup provider.You'll need to pay the monthly fee though...
Re:Question about laptop and going online
The Wi-Fi alliance has a good website which describes (in searchable form) hot spots to do what you do at home, either free or pay.
It is http://www.jiwire.com/
Be aware that there are a lot of competing plans and one plan is not good on another. Look for where you are going to go and stay before you leap.
There are places with lots of free access and place s which are crappy. If you drink Starbucks coffee, or have a hotel preference, consider access through their preferred vendor.
Re:Question about laptop and going online
What you need to do, if you're using a phone line, is have a dialup account that you can use to go online. For instance, I have my wireless/cable via Earthlink, who also provide you with dialup access in such instances. If you go to your ISP's page, it will tell you what numbers to use. Then you set up your computer to use a dialup connection. If you're going to be travelling a lot, it's a good idea to save a 1-800 number that you can use to find local dialup numbers on your computer somewhere.
Hope this helps.