Laptops? I have no idea!

callansdad

I must apologise first cause i know you guys and gals get 1001 questions about laptops but i really dont have much of a clue about them at all and at least i'll get an honest answer here instead of some sales patter lol.

i have no idea about laptops i am thinking of buying one for my wife (she has a job which is based on the internet a kind of live help thing).

My question is i know that laptops have wireless connections but how does this work? Does this mean that we can go for a trip in the car and my wife can work away in a 'live situation' whilst we are travelling?

And if so then what kind of spec should i be looking for?

Thanks for your help

xueta

callansdad wrote:

... wireless connections ... Does this mean that we can go for a trip in the car and my wife can work away in a 'live situation' whilst we are travelling?

In a word ... 'No'.

The in-built wireless in laptops works with either a wireless router that you choose to have installed at home or with public Wi-Fi hotspots that you pay a subscription to. In both cases your wireless laptop will only work within a limited range of the base station - typically less than 100m.

An alternative would be to have a data connect card inserted into the laptop e.g. Vodafone BUT the mobile charges are fairly high - this is an important consideration if you want a 'live' situation i.e. the laptop is connected all the time on the move. Also don't forget that the battery life of a laptop will often only allow an hour or 2 of continued usage whilst on the move.

greyster

as the previous post said there are two technologies which can be used on the go. They are not associated with laptops exclusively they are available for normal PCs, Macs etc too. You can't expect all laptops to have them built in and on many occassions you will have to buy a wireless card/adapter to plug into your laptop.

The best thing to do is decide whether you want wireless technology in your house and garden etc or actually anywhere (like a mobile phone). The house solution is cheap and has no reocurring charges but the anywhere solution has a per minute charge and costly.