Wireless laptop

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My mates just asked me what the cheapest posible laptop he could buy that is wireless enabled and ready to go.

What would you guys suggest.

The VOSTRO range seem quite cheap would these be the way to go?
 
Thats good then.

As far as WI-FI is concerned, could he just simply open explorer and start surfing or does he need some sort of broadband subscription.

Sorry if I am missing the point of WI-FI and that.
 
adelburn said:
Thats good then.

As far as WI-FI is concerned, could he just simply open explorer and start surfing or does he need some sort of broadband subscription.

Sorry if I am missing the point of WI-FI and that.

if he is wanting to use Wireless in his home, he would have to have a internet connection and a wireless router in his home.
 
Yeh you are missing the point a little :p

You still need a broadband subscription. You'll also need a wireless router which is connected to your modem. The laptop will then pickup the wireless signal from this to enable you to surf the net.

Alternatively, you could just go and sit on a mcdonalds car park.
 
Ripper said:
Alternatively, you could just go and sit on a mcdonalds car park.

He'll need a Vauxhall Nova to do that though.

Dell offer pretty cheap notebooks - £400 should get you something decent.
 
Then how do people connect to t'internet outside of there home i.e mcdonalds carpark :p

Is it sumat to do wit the software you receive when setting up broadband and configuring IP arresses e.t.c

:D
 
If you have a broadband connection at home, and a wireless router, your wireless-equipped notebook will connect to that router, which in turn connects to the internet.

Same thing at McDonalds or anywhere else that offers wi-fi access - your notebook connects to their router or access point. Sometimes there's some kind of log-on page that appears when you first try to access a website, but it works in much the same way. No software or anything required, usually.
 
adelburn said:
So he does not need a wireless router and broadband he could just connect to someone elses router. ;)

If the signal quality is good enough and there's no security on the connection, then yes. It is illegal though.
 
adelburn said:
Then how do people connect to t'internet outside of there home i.e mcdonalds carpark :p

Is it sumat to do wit the software you receive when setting up broadband and configuring IP arresses e.t.c

:D
As TheVoice explained.

Public access points will either be unsecured (i.e. you just choose the network and browse away, assuming you are near enough to their access point to receive/send data), or "unsecured" so you can connect to them and start browsing, but the only webpage you can see is one where you type in a username/password or purchase a period of browsing time.

Also, the majority of the public in the UK still believe Wi-fi is the PC equivalent of mobile cellular networks and that you can just use it wherever you like. That ignorance is bliss compared to knowing just how crappy wifi can really be :D
 
Surely accessing a wireless access point that is insecure is not illegal. It is the owners responsibility to encrypt. If you attempt to cause damage to anything on any other computer that is connected then that is illegal.

If you attempt and crack the encryption on any wireless connection then this is illegal.
 
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croni486 said:
Surely accessing a wireless access point that is insecure is not illegal. It is the owners responsibility to encrypt. If you attempt to cause damage to anything on any other computer that is connected then that is illegal.

If you attempt and crack the encryption on any wireless connection then this is illegal.


Oh wow, someone left their car open with the keys in. I guess it's legal to have a little drive in it and use their petrol.. :p
 
croni486 said:
Surely accessing a wireless access point that is insecure is not illegal. It is the owners responsibility to encrypt. If you attempt to cause damage to anything on any other computer that is connected then that is illegal.

If you attempt and crack the encryption on any wireless connection then this is illegal.

Still illegal - I do agree that it's the owner's responsibility and that ignorance is a poor excuse, but that person is paying for their connection for them to use it, not someone else.

Same idea as leaving your car door unlocked; it's stupid on the part of the owner, but the person who takes the car still deserves prosecution.
 
Ok then but under what would you be prosecuted? Has a law been passed through parliment that makes it illegal? or is everybody presuming that it's illegal. You dont hear of many of the wardriving community getting prosecuted.
 
As long as your only using the wireless to access the net why would it come
under the Data protection act.

In the states the computer fraud and abuse act protects the user against intrusion from a third party if the wireless is encrypted. If no encryption exist it's of the idea that the user is happy with people connecting to their network.
 
It's the same as someone sticking a pipe into your water supply and using it. The owner has paid for the service and someone else is using it without permission. Just because you didn't encase your water system in 20' thick steel armour doesn't mean you are inviting people to come and use it. I don't know why this is hard to understand.
As I inferred in my previous post, there is a lot of general ignorance and lack of education with regards to wifi. Wireless networking for the public is a new technology, hence the public are protected against being taken advantage of. This is not a difficult concept.
 
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