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Educate me about wireless

R

riker1384

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 29, 2007
198
20
West Coast
I have an Emac and I'm thinking of getting something for wireless. An Airport card costs $50, but I don't want to put more money into this old computer. Is there something I could get that would plug into a USB port or something, that would work as well? That way I could use it with another computer. (Or do they all have wireless now? Maybe I could use it with my Tivo later?)

My house is undergoing renovation and I was thinking of putting some cable in the walls, but I think it might not be worth it now that wireless is so common.

How fast are wireless connections compared to an Ethernet cable, and are they generally reliable throughout an average house?
 
You should be able to get the card for the later eMac for about $30. Rarely do the USB sticks work with OSX.

Just get the card, it is easier than any of the other suggestions or solutions, and much cheaper.

TEG
 
I'm not sure about USB dongles, but I recommend staying with a wired connection.

1. You aren't going to move the computer around, which is the primary benefit of WiFi
2. You're renovating, so it's easy to put a cable in now.
3. Your eMac will support either 10/100 BaseT ethernet (100 mb/s) or 802.11g (54mb/s), and the ethernet will be able to support a much higher sustained rate than WiFi. If you plan on shifting files around, ethernet is the way to go.
4. Ethernet is more secure; people can't crack into your hardware network
5. Ethernet cables are cheaper than a WiFi card anyway.

I love my wireless connection (I'm using it right now, actually), but if I got myself a desktop computer, I'd join it to the network with ethernet.
 
If you want wireless only in your house you can just buy a wireless router. there easy to set up and don't cost too much more than regular routers. They work great.
 
Say What?? said:
If you want wireless only in your house you can just buy a wireless router. there easy to set up and don't cost too much more than regular routers. They work great.
Click to expand...

True. But this entirely misses the point of the OP's question.

He or she doesn't have a wireless card in the computer to connect to a wireless network, and is unsure if it's worth investing in one for an older system.

To the OP: I say stick with a wired connection. Since you aren't moving that eMac around, investing in a wireless card isn't going to get you anything you don't have already.

When you upgrade your computer, only then it will be time to start worrying about wireless options.
 
TEG said:
You should be able to get the card for the later eMac for about $30. Rarely do the USB sticks work with OSX.
Click to expand...
Where? I see them new for $50, and I don't see any on Ebay.

Someone on Amazon says the Airport only works with an Apple wireless router. That isn't true is it?
 
Stay wired

I'd say stay with the wired connection.
If you get a new computer you'll be able to use it anyway, the rates are faster. If you then decide to go wireless you'll just need the WiFi router.
 
Stick to Wired Networking

Think of wireless as a last resort or an additional service - for things that come and go or move around a lot (notebook, Touch or iPhone).

I was in the same position as you. Perfectly good eMac, no home network yet. I tried a USB, which wasn't very successful and bought the wireless card which worked better, but it wasn't reliable enough - it seemed every time I needed to do something urgently, the wireless signal was no good.

There were plenty of times the wireless worked well, but it let me down too often, so I drilled a couple of holes and ran some cable. My cousin was building an enormous house and he wanted EVERYTHING wireless, even the speakers in the home theatre room... but he was advised to wire the whole place, and when I saw all the wiring, I commented GOOD MOVE. Frankly, in my experience, wireless just doesn't work !

Everybody's full of advice as to what might be interfering - the cordless phone was a major contributor, but not the only thing, in my case. I've heard all sorts of stories about microwaves and fridge motors, but what all this tells me & my experience confirms it... wireless just doesn't work!

Interestingly (if you listen to the shows very carefully), the MacBreak Tech episode about Wireless had a sequel... the beautiful multi-standard network described (b, g, n) - was replaced by wires. And the customer was adamant, they did not want wires!

If it's just a random thing and you don't care if it works or not... wireless. If you're going to rely on the network in any way (skype, iTunes downloading etc.), stick to wires.

I believe the wireless card works well in the eMac, certainly better than the USB stick I had... but frankly, run wires - EVERYWHERE.
 
You could use a Powerline Ethernet connection. Then you could purchase an extra connection to hook up your Tivo as well. I have Tivo with wireless and transferring files to my Mac via wireless is really slow. I'm thinking about purchasing a Powerline Ethernet system so that I can also hook up my kids old iMac's to the internet (they didn't come with wireless).
http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/HDX101.aspx

Cheers.
 
My aluminum iMac is on g wireless. It works great and I'm not seeing a problem with wireless.

However, I don't think it really makes sense for you to be buying a router and wireless card unless you are planning on expanding your network.
 
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