Sharing a Dial-Up
connection with multiple comptuers
Many ECTS Staff have asked
the Question "How can I use my laptop at home, wirelessly,
and share my dial-up internet connection with multiple
computers in my home?" Broadband is not yet available in my
area.".
Option A:
This is the only thing I have been able to find
that is an all-in-one product
for providing shared dial-up.
Option B:
This is basically the same only difference is that it does
not actually have the modem in it. You use an external
(already owned) modem connected directly to it. Using a
separate modem can definitely be a good thing, in that the
dial-up modem is probably the most vulnerable part, and
therefore in this configuration, modularly replaceable.
With this unit, you will also need to buy a separate
wireless access point.
Upgrading your old Home
Computer
I've had several requests
for "What can I do to upgrade my home computer? It's a
PII/PIII XXX.".
Unfortunately most older
system upgrades are cost prohibitive. The first upgrade is
memory. In most cases they actually require that you
completely replace the existing memory because
of motherboard limitations. The cost of replacing memory in
the older PIII and PII PC's is approximately $4.00/MB, or
$70.00 for 256MB. Added to this, the cost of a new Hard
Drive $50.00, DVD Player or CD Burner $50.00, and a license
for Windows XP (educator discount) $80.00. All of this so
that it can support today's technologies (VPN, remote
e-mail) or just be your childrens basic gaming computer. As
you can see, it's very easy to rack up over $300 in
upgrades, for a computer that basically has no support
contract, and is still slow in many ways.
What's the better
solution? Off-Lease Refurbished computers. While they have
a very limited Warranty, they are built with much more
powerful components, and will perform much better than had
you upgraded your older PC. And basically their limited
Warranty is more than you would have gotten had you upgraded
your older PC.
Easily Share your Home
Printer for multiple computers
Optional:
To serve up a printer you can get a wired, or wireless Print
Server, and only have to connect your home printer to this
network device, instead of a computer that is always on.
This is very handy for laptop users, who want to work
wirelessly in their home, and still be able to print to
their printer, without having to physically connect it all
the time.
Note: On the USB "Multi-Function"
Printer/Copier/Scanners (your multifunction “scanning”
features may not work). The communication that occurs over
USB may not work once connected across the network with a
Print Server.
