Mac laptop and Desktop PC.....could this work?

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FayeC - 28 Dec 2005 17:29 GMT

I am looking into the possibility of buying a laptop and am very much
inclined to get either an ibook or a powerbook.
I will be using it for displaying projects in progress to clients and
for working when staying in the office is not an option (work at home
and have 2 small children so staying in one room for long periods of
time is not always an option).
I currently have 3 PC computers networked through a linksys switch and
all wired.
I was thinking that since the laptop comes with a built-in wi-fi I
should just switch to wi-fi for all computers.
My question is.....would a network using a wireless router (D-Link or
Linksys and wireless cards for the PCs) work with the Mac wi-fi and
the PCs seamlessly?
I have used Mac desktops before but never had one at home neither a
wireless connection.
Can anybody give me some pointers before I purchase the laptop?
Should I stick to PC throughout?

FayeC

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Garner Miller - 28 Dec 2005 17:47 GMT

> I currently have 3 PC computers networked through a linksys switch and
> all wired.
> I was thinking that since the laptop comes with a built-in wi-fi I
> should just switch to wi-fi for all computers.

You can, but that's not necessary nor recommended. The wired
connection between the computers is faster than the wireless anyway --
I see no reason to go wireless on a desktop machine unless the cabling
is a problem. (And since they're already wired, I assume that's not
the case!)

You can replace your wired router with a combination wired+wireless
one. That's how my home network is set up, and it works great.

Something like this:
<http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=334319&pf
p=cat3>
(This is a refurbished Netgear model, with 4 wired port and wireless,
selling for under $30!)

> My question is.....would a network using a wireless router (D-Link or
> Linksys and wireless cards for the PCs) work with the Mac wi-fi and
> the PCs seamlessly?

Yes. None of these protocols (wired or wireless) is specific to any
one platform. The common wireless standard is 802.11g, and most
equipmenet you buy today will support it. (802.11b is older and
backwards-compatible, but it's slower and really won't save you much
money these days, if you can even find one.)

Do note that 802.11a uses a different frequency, and is not compatible
with the cards in currently-shipping Macs. I recommend 802.11g. I
also recommend avoiding Linksys; they've been shipping some real crap
as of late. I was also not at all pleased with the D-Link unit I
bought a while back. It was so unreliable I ended up chucking it and
replacing it.

> Can anybody give me some pointers before I purchase the laptop?

If you're going to install a wireless network, you absolutely *must*
enable the router's "WPA" encryption mode. Some folks want to share
their internet connection, but it's a huge risk: without WPA, all your
sessions are being broadcast completely in the clear, and anyone can
sign on and read your traffic as it goes by. The older mode, WEP, has
been hacked and is of little use. Use WPA (sometimes called WPA-PSK
[Pre-Shared Key] on a home router), and set it up as soon as you get
the router up and running.

> Should I stick to PC throughout?

I don't think so, but that's a discussion for another thread. :-) It
depends entirely on your needs. But in terms of networking
compatibility, yes, the Mac and the PCs should all talk to each other
with no problems.

Signature

Garner R. Miller
Clifton Park, NY =USA=
http://www.garnermiller.com/

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Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / December 2005

Mac laptop and Desktop PC.....could this work?