AOL & Talktalk join up

Mrs_pbradley936

espresso wrote:

I totally disagree with this and have never had any problems with all sorts of different manufacturers cards working well together. Wifi devices are made to comply with the 802.11b/g standard and most devices contain chips from only a couple of different manufacturers.

The only time that it can make a difference is with speed when a non-standard manufacturers "speed boost" technology is used i.e. to get the extra speed, then all devices need to be from the same manufacturer.

Let me rephrase that then. If you are confident with computers and know what to do next if you get an error message or no message at all just nothing happens, you will be fine with any card. If you are using the aimed at total beginners AOL WIFI set up if you have the same router and card they talk to each other and you have to do sod all apart from click "next".

espresso

pbradley936 wrote:

Let me rephrase that then. If you are confident with computers and know what to do next if you get an error message or no message at all just nothing happens, you will be fine with any card. If you are using the aimed at total beginners AOL WIFI set up if you have the same router and card they talk to each other and you have to do sod all apart from click "next".

So if you buy a Dell or HP laptop and try to use it with the AOL supplied Netgear wireless router, you are saying that you will have problems because a Netgear card is not being used, as the wireless is built-in to the laptop!

When it comes to using plug-in wireless cards, you usually have the option to use the software supplied withe the card i.e. Belkin, Netgear etc. or to use the Windows Zero Configuration utility. Users should not be afraid of setting a wireless network, as it is quite easy if the correct steps are followed.

:beer:

Mrs_pbradley936

espresso wrote:

When it comes to using plug-in wireless cards, you usually have the option to use the software supplied withe the card i.e. Belkin, Netgear etc. or to use the Windows Zero Configuration utility. Users should not be afraid of setting a wireless network, as it is quite easy if the correct steps are followed.

:beer:

I agree with everything you say. However, some people are not as au fait with computers as you and I (see posts 16 and 17 of this thread in addition to tracya89). For them AOL is easy to set up because it takes you through steps which you and I may well think are “bloody obvious” but which other people find reassuring. Even the cables are of different colours so they don’t say the “Ethernet cable” they say “the yellow cable”. At the moment the router is free from AOL (if you have a certain contract) but you have to buy the cards, if they supply you with a Thompson Speedtouch router they recommend you buy the same make of card which they will supply at the same time for a charge.

Mrs_pbradley936

espresso wrote:

So if you buy a Dell or HP laptop and try to use it with the AOL supplied Netgear wireless router, you are saying that you will have problems because a Netgear card is not being used, as the wireless is built-in to the laptop!


:beer:

Please see last sentence in post number 30.

espresso

pbradley936 wrote:

Please see last sentence in post number 30.

Which proves that you do not need the same manufacturers equipment to connect easily, as you obviously have no choice what has been fitted i.e. Broadcom, Intel etc. Most wireless connectivity problems are because people don't bother to read or follow the instructions provided and this urban myth is propagated that it is difficult to set-up wireless networks.

Mrs_pbradley936

esspresso this person needs your help:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=283564

joolsbfd

thank you all. i keep coming back and reading you ... currently reading lots and still getting confused, but less so. making decision tmrw, and will see if virgin respond to my desire to cancel with an offer that might make me stay. i know friends who do this all the time with ntl, and it works, but not so sure about virgin. Anyway, it has really helped reading this stuff, so thx. Mike, i'm nowhere by the sea (yorkshire), but may well check out local retailer who can do what you suggest, so thx.

joolsbfd

hey guys. it may be an urban myth that wireless is hard, but it's also true that many of us using computers are like car drivers who can drive well, but don't know what the engine is doing or how to fix it if it goes wrong. as for some of the stuff like cards, i'm only just realising that you need them, and i certainly wouldn't consider buying a card from different manuf, just because life's too short! moneysaver or not, ease of use comes into it, surely???? unless you are a comp wizz, in which case i wish you were a mate of mine thx again!