How to make my DSL wireless for my whole house to use?

Get airport card for the mac. For the desktops cnet seems to recommend http://www.mnjtech.com/scripts/site/site.product/id/HAW00090

As for the base station, stay away from the airport.

http://reviews.cnet.com/D_Link_AirPlus_DI_614_/4505-3319_7-20117413.html?tag=topprods

That'll probably do you.

You're going to need a wireless router. This will connect to your DSL modem and will serve to split the signal for the multiple computers in your house.

Other than the wireless router the other poster mentioned, look for wireless routers made by Linksys or NetGear. Most people seem to have good experiences with both of them. You'll get solid reception (i've just recently set up a PC wireless network) if the house is made of anything other than brick.

You'll also need to decide whether to buy a router designed to work with the 802.11b or 802.11g standards. The 'b' routers will be cheaper than the 'g' routers. There are considerable speed differences in what kind of data-transfer rates the routers can handle. Depending on what kind of consistent download speeds you get with your DSL connection, you can save some money and buy a 'b' router. I get roughly 300k/second with my DSL connection, and a 'b' router is fine. I share the connection with two other computer, but we're not all online at the same time downloading tons of music, so that speed is fine. It depends on your connection as well as your usage. Some people will say the 'g' routers increase your range, but unless the house is huge you should be fine with a 'b' router.

Try and put the router on the lower level of the house if it's a multi-level house. The area covered by the router extends from the router kind of like a three-dimensional upside-down mushroom, if that makes sense. The basic issue is that the reception can be great to the sides and above the router unit but bad below it. So if you can put the router lower-down you'll enjoy better reception.

In terms of the wireless cards for the desktops, stick with the major brands. Netgear, Linksys, etc. Installation will take a little bit of time and will require removing the cases from the computers. However, with basic hand tools and good directions (which should come with the card) you'll be fine and up and running in no time.

You might look on amazon.com for a good deal on both a router and the wireless cards. If you're willing to wait for rebates, sometimes www.bensbargains.net has great deals on wireless routers.


Hope this helps!