Setting up Wifi

[Trent0341]

OK, I know this will sound like an idiotic question to lot of you but Im clueless.

I want to set up wifi in my house. Currently I have highspeed internet through Insight (over cable). My computer is hooked up to it via cable modem. I just ordered a MBP and will be buying an iphone so I'd like to switch to wifi.

I'm looking at Netgear WPN824 wireless router.

1. Will this decrease performance at all?
2. Is there any other gear I'll need?
3. How do I set it up so it has security on it and I'm not providing wifi for the neighborhood?
4. Is this a plug and play type thing or does it require a fairly knowledge intensive set up?

Thanks for your time.

 

[jng]

OK, I know this will sound like an idiotic question to lot of you but Im clueless.

4. Is this a plug and play type thing or does it require a fairly knowledge intensive set up?

If you're clueless, buy an Apple router. They're more expensive but since you're working on a mac, it'll be much easier to use Apple's Airport Admin utility than to deal with netgear.

I use Netgear for PCs at my mother's house. But I hate it. The apple is easier to use. And I've had a netgear go haywire on me and spent another hour on the phone with Indian tech support. I hate that.

At least Apple has native English speakers who can do more than read off teleprompts.

Bottom line, if you want something easy and help down the road in case there are problems, go Apple.

 

[72930]

At least Apple has native English speakers who can do more than read off teleprompts.

I recently spoke to a really helpful Netgear guy...its not too hard to set up...

 

[jng]

I recently spoke to a really helpful Netgear guy...its not too hard to set up...

It was on a Verizon Busines DSL line. No clue why. Had no problem setting one up with Comcast Cable Internet at my mother's though. Her b router died though and Netgear was no help at that. Had to purchase a g one later. And I gave up entirely after cursing the Netgear tech out re: the business DSL line.

But the OP said he's "clueless," in which case I'd prefer Apple

 

[Trent0341]

Price isn't a huge issue. Apple is fine I just wasn't exactly clear on what I needed from apple.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[psycoswimmer]

I bought an AirPort Express on Black Friday last November, and it worked fine. This was before I had my Mac, actually. But it worked fine with the DS Lite. Then when I got my iMac a month later, it was very easy to set up the password encryption and wireless network.

 

[Trent0341]

What exactly is the difference between airport express and airport extreme?

 

[brsboarder]

look them up at apple.com but the express is for basic needs and supports b/g, but it is very small and easy to use. However, they are both around 100 or more. A simple linksys router is extremely easy to use. In most cases its more or less plug and play. If you are any bit confident in your computer knowledge any normal should be totally fine and wont slow things down in terms of internet use. If you want to stream music to some speakers, then its a whole different ball game and you should go for the express

 

[doctor pangloss]

If you have an airport card installed already it's a plug an play affair using the default router settings.

Setting up security settings is slightly more complicated. Just follow the instructions with the wireless router. With some routers you need a PC to run the setup software.

 

[Jim Campbell]

My computer is hooked up to it via cable modem. I just ordered a MBP and will be buying an iphone so I'd like to switch to wifi.

What kind of computer is the cable modem plugged into? If it's an Airport-enabled Mac, you won't need any kind of base station at all - you just go into the Networking Preferences, Sharing and under the Internet tab turn on "Internet Sharing".

Cheers

Jim