We are now unpacking vast quantities of boxes in the new house here in Washington.
Rather than keep DSL, I decided to go for Comcast cable internet service. My motivation was based on two factors:
- DSL requires a dedicated clean line to get good speeds and your then tethered to that dedicated line for your DSL modem
- Microsoft had a deal with Comcast (yes, item #2 probably holds more weight)
In any event I gave them a shout and the Comcast guy was over (pretty much on time!). It took him little time to drop in the modem and activate the account, although he suggested I install the "Comcast software package" as well - no thanks. Just the IP, ma'am.
My strategy at the new gig here was to drop the modem and my Buffalo router inconspicuously behind a TV in a reasonably central location and use a cable splitter to feed the cable modem. That was easily accomplished.
I powered up the Mac G4 in the new kitchen and the built-in WiFi found the Buffalo no problem. A single cable from the Mac to the wall for power - that's it - very beneficial when you have a one year old at around that level pulling on every cord in sight.
Downstairs I powered up the Dell with my Buffalo card - again AP found no problem. The notebook roams freely as well.
I ran a bandwidth test on the Dell down here and I'm at about 1117 Mbps. Not bad - that tops my Walnut Creek DSL connection by just a bit.
I haven't tested the signal distance yet, but the Buffalo router has an input for an external antenna. I have a "barn" at the back of the property that I plan to outfit with a 200" High Def overhead projector connected into an xBox 360 - but more on that later!
Glad that your wifi router worked well. My experience is that WiFi can be liberating but can be much slower than cat5 wire and added hassle/security-worries. And now my WiFi router (Netgear, bah!) died. Back to Cat5 for low-hassle networking and ISP sharing.
Posted by: Ed Zee | July 08, 2005 at 09:52 PM