Bluetooth Internet on a laptop with NTL

A

ace_t

Guest
I have just got myself a laptop and also a 512k Broadband connection with NTL. At the moment I have it plugged into the PC, but would like to make it blue tooth so that I can wander around my house without the need to plug the damned thing in at the wall! Can anyone recommend a decent blue tooth dongle and any onther apparatus I will need to conntect up to NTL/PC to make this a reality?
My Laptop is a Compaq Pesario.
 
First you need to decide how much to spend.

Probably the cheapest route would be to get a BTooth dongle from somewhere like Dabs (www.dabs.com). Pay attention to the range of the thing though. Stick this in your PC and get some routing software for your PC (try www.kerio.com with built in firewall) .

A slightly more expensive route would be to look for a BTooth router, but I've not seen any of these around for a reasonable price.

You have the advantage with NTL of RJ45 connections so you can use standard networking equipment, just bear in mind that the cable box will only communicate with the MAC address of the PC / Laptop registered, so you will need a router that can spoof the MAC address.

You may find it cheaper to go wireless 802.11b instead. I know I did.
 
I'd stay well away from Bluetooth, it's usefull for some applications but with wireless 802.11b available your speed and range would be so much better.
In practice you'd have to stay in the same room with Bluetooth and it's so slow.
Apple's Airport is the way to go for pure ease of use but since you have a PC, Cisco have really improved and simplified their software so you could go that route.
 
thanks.
I'll check it out. Just out of interest, what set-up do you have, and do you find any major faults or drops in service?
 
I've got a netgear 314 router (ADSL/Cable & 802.11b in one box) connected to my cable box (Pace 4000) I use a selection of cards (2x Aironet 350's 1x Compaq 1x Linksys). I can use any wireless device with a good connection anywhere in my house or garden. (just wish I could see my laptop screen in bright sunlight)

I've also got a 12 port switch connected to the router via a 25mtr cable which feeds my office. IT is my job and I work from home a lot so have a large lab in the house. I've got a second wireless hub hanging off this lot so my entire property is covered by the wireless lan (Car/bike service manuals all on .pdfs so accessed in garage.)

No dropouts to talk of and there's no arguments about who gets to use the PC's in our house when both my wife and I work from home.

Cost of router & PC Wireless card should be around £250 delivered. Netgear router will allow you to restrict access to specific wireless cards via their MAC address so enhancing the security, this isn't available on any other router at this price point.
 
It all sounds v. expensive to me, why must it be wireless? A router/hub would be under £100, and just plug into a cable in the rooms you wire up. I know it's not as 'tecchie' but it's less than 1/2 the price, and you get the benefit of 100mbits, which you certainly won't get from any wireless link. Whilst it's not limiting for surfing at 600kbits, the new NTL speed, it is for other network apps. Interestingly, my measured bandwidth is now around 760kbit, don't tell NTL!
 
Cables have a -ve WAF rating

AV kit doesn't move so cables easily hidden, laptop could be anywhere.....

Wirefree pleases all, and I guess ace_t was only really worried about internet connectivity so 11Mb shared would sufice.
 
Yeah, my network is used for all sorts, I have 2 laptops and 2 desktops inc the HCPC, all connected. We have 4 cables for the 2 laptops, so can move them as required, ie bedrooms, office x 2 etc. Works for us, just can't surf in the toilet!
 
Seems like 802.11b is the way to go. Wireless access over bluetooth seems more costly and not as quick and the only way I can seem to connect is I'm going to need a USB dongle/PCMCIA card on my
laptop, and a bluetooth access point with a network patch cable to link this to the RJ45.
Looking at a few websites this is gonna cost over £250 easy.
Thanks for all the help guys.
 

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