Monday, June 18, 2007

Let's share, shall we?

Live from New Haven, home this week and last to the International Festival of Arts and Ideas (really great stuff; you should come down here):
OK, I'll share a tech thing with you and then you answer a tech question for me.
I installed an HDTV in my house with the requisite increase in cable service and pricing. A fellow HDTV viewer (we'll call him "Dave" because that's his name) showed me his external broadcast antenna that allows him to watch the over-the-air digital local signals in addition to cable. In some cases, they're better, and you get constant weather radar on one or two side channels. I didn't want to mount one on the roof so I picked up an internal rabbit ears antenna from ebay for about $20. It plugs right into the back and you just hit "source" on your TV remote to flip over to it. Only problem is it doesn't get as many channels as I'd like and it can be unsightly.
Now you answer my question:
If I want to add a wireless connection to a desktop computer away from my main computer, and I have DSL with a wireless modem already, can I just stick a USB adapter (Belkin, etc.) in the USB slot of the desktop computer and then tell it the (security) "key" code? Or do I have to match the make of the wireless modem with some specialized device?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I use my 2wire brand usb that came with DSL ATT Modem. Its in an old think pad running XP and use it when not at docking station with wired connetion. This is at my office and it finds any network available.

Also, when I am home, it recognizes my Cable system which is linksys and other stuff and anything else in the neighborhood.

The only thing you have to do is configure a wireless connection on the machine you plug it into.

Gerry Myers
Fairfield CT

Hillhouse 1960.