Will someone explain, slowly and carefully, the pros and cons of wireless computers?
Please?
And, convince me to make my next computer wireless, please.
Pro: no wires.
Con: you haven’t adequately described your criteria. An iMac is wireless in that there’s no wires between the keyboard, mouse, and computer. A laptop can be wireless, but you need something ‘on the other end’…a base station connected to a cable modem, or a Starbucks…then there’s metro-area wireless, which means you need a 3G wireless plan with a carrier like sprint or AT&T plus a compatible piece of equipment, a laptop, or an iPad 3G, etc.
Pros: I can take my PowerBook anyplace in the house to use it. This comes in handy when I’m trying a new recipe in the kitchen. There are no wires to trip over. This is nice, since I use my PowerBook on the opposite side of the room from my modem, and I have my old iMac G3 in the back bedroom. (I put an AirPort card in the G3.)
Cons: I cannot connect wirelessly to my HP printer. This might be an AirPort thing, this particular HP not being supported.
I want a relatively simple computer; my probable only use for it will be to surf the web, hang out at the straight dope, watch some online videos occasionally and to watch the news. But, I want this imaginary computer to be fast, although I will not be playing any games with it so it doesn’t have to be the fastest thing on the market. I would like it to have a decent amount of memory and a CD/DVD player. What else would I need----it won’t be an Apple product as I don’t like 'em and PLEASE don’t try to convert me.
Laptop? Desktop? You wanna just use it at home? In your local metro area? Alaska?
You are a salesman’s wet dream. You might only need a $300 last-years-model laptop and a $50 basestation. He’ll set you up with a $1600 computer, a $200 basestation, and $200 on-site installation. It’ll be anybody’s guess if it’s set up to be secure. :dubious
It will be a laptop. I don’t wanna be any ones wet dream which why I’m asking for advice on the Straight Dope. I ain’t gonna walk in to any damn store w/o and idea of what I want which is the best deal for the least money. Failing that, what else?
ETA: Strictly for home use.
If you’ve already decided on getting a laptop, then that’s already as “wireless” as it gets. If you don’t have a wireless basestation/router, there’s no reason not to get one at the same time.
For a desktop PC, wired is slightly simpler, reliable and cheaper. If I was going to play an online game on my laptop, I’d plug it in to be sure I had a solid connection. But provided you use standard wireless security, I don’t see any problems.
Your download speeds will also suffer a bit, but if you’re just surfing the web it’s no big deal
I love my netbook mini, since I got it I rarely use my laptop. But that is pretty much all a mini is good for surfing the internet.
You may want to consider a desktop and a netbook.
Too many people buy a computer then adapt it. You need to first make a list of your software and your needs, THEN buy a computer that fits those.
Unless you’re a gamer speed isn’t going to be much of an issue, as most computers now-a-days are fast enough. RAM isn’t an issue unless of course you’re a gamer or do a lot of heavy video editing.
Unless you are into high resolution 3-D video gaming a mid level $500-$800 (on sale/rebate) bread and butter PC notebook will do everything you need done. The main criteria for you will be a carrying weight, screen size and a keyboard you are comfortable with. Per what others have indicated the wireless aspect is part and parcel of any notebook you can buy. You will have to spend $50-$100 dollars on a wireless router, but that’s about it.
Pros are obviously portability the main real world cons are simply the smaller screen, keyboard and mousing space of a notebook vs a desktop. You can easily add external full size screens, keyboards and mice to notebooks (this is the way I work with my notebook when I am in one physical location for some time). Key to my comfort is a big 22 or 24 inch LCD (around $ 250- $300) external screen I put on my notebooks. If I had to stare and focus on a 14 or 15 inch screen all day my eyes would pop put of my head. You might aslo want to look seriously at 17" screen notebooks, they are typically only $100 to $200 than comparable 14"& 15" units.
IIRC you are in your 60’s or 70’s so the physical comfort and visibility aspects are likely not trivial for you. Try before you buy. To be frank the reason I moved away from desktops is simply an aesthetic one. A modern notebook is dead silent most of the time, whereas a typical modern PC desktop is always churning, spinning and murmuring as result of disk and fan(s) noise.
Thanks for all the inputs. Astro is correct; I am 70 and visibility should have been one of my main requirements. Also, I’m a little concerned about the keyboard of a laptop but I will try before I buy.
Thanks again. I’ve got enough to get started with.
Just to add my $0.02: laptops these days pretty much always have wireless network connectivity. Meaning you can sit down with the thing and if someone has a wireless network router (usually WIFI) nearby, you can surf the web etc without plugging in some cable and just work from there. It’s usually a bit slower than a full cable network, but not by that much unless you’re expecting quality video (that means, approximately more than good quality youtube) or high-responsive games.
I’d say, given the option (if you even get one), ten or twenty dollars more for a wifi-enabled laptop is worth it. Wireless keyboards and mice, I’m less enthousiastic about.
I know you said you don’t like Apple products, and you probably are still not reading this post since I used the word “Apple,” but really Macs are something you should consider. I wanted a computer to do basically what you are describing, and I didn’t want to futz around with any bullshit. So, I bought a Macbook Pro and an airport. I plugged them both in and they do their thing without asking me all kinds of bullshit or having any of the other issues I’ve had with PCs–the whole “they just work” thing has really been true in my experience.
I recommend trying out the laptop keyboard, perhaps at a store like Best Buy that has a variety of models. Also, the laptop display might be a problem as well. If you use the laptop keyboard exclusively the screen can be a little uncomfortably low to look at. So when you’re using the laptop at home, you can connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse and use it just like a desktop system, with better ergonomics.
If you have one device and it always sits in the exact same place, there is no reason to have a wifi setup.
If you have a laptop and like to use it in more than one location in your house, a wifi setup can be useful, but the only purpose it really serves is to allow you to move that one computer around freely.
If you have multiple devices, including smart phones that you use for data, a wifi router can be extremely useful. Especially with the cell phone companies moving away from unlimited data plans.