Well I bought a digital camera for my wife for Christmas and found out that my old 350 meg PC with Windows 98 (I know, I know) cannot support it. Now FWIW, i like that old machine because it does what I need it to do, (it runs my engineering and groundwater modeling programs, report writing as well as internet)

But I realize I am behind the times and need to upgrage the family system. So I went looking for a PC and like the new Macbook. It runs MS Excel and Word and the operating system is easy to use. It will not run any of my applications however unless I load in the Windows package, which I can't afford to do right now, The downfall is the cost, my budget will be about 2K the cost of the machine.

So my plan, if I can swing it, would be to get a Macbook (15"), but keep the old computer running. (I still will use it for my applications) I will upgrade my ISP (from dial up) to include a wireless router, to use both the old pc and the new Macbook online. I have a 15 year old who will need a computer for college in a couple of years, so he would use the Mac when the time comes.

I am not familiar with the wireless routers, what will I need to do or ask when I purchase the Mac or order the new ISP? What modifications do I need to do to the old PC. Is there anything I am missing here or would you go some other route. Thanks for your advice. I am not too computer savy, so you input is important to me.

 

For a few extra bucks get the Macbook that is configured with a dual boot XP/OSX setup. Should only cost $200 more.

Get any wireless router your little heart desires. It doesn't matter. Any D-Link, Linksys or NetGear will do the trick.

 

Yep I concur...good advice...

 

You may need to install a NIC into the older computer. Not many (if any) Win98 computers came with them.

 

NIC? not familiar with this

 

Sorry,
Network Interface Card
It's the card where the cable from the router will plug into the back of the computer.
Unless of course you wanted the old computer wireless, then you would need a Wireless NIC. A card to pick up the wireless signal.

 

FWIW, most wireless routers still come with a couple of wired ethernet ports on the back. If your current PC is connected via a cabel modem or DSL, there's no reason you couldn't continue using it as such, just plugged into the new wireless router instead of wireless.

As for the upgrade, you can get away a LOT cheaper if you want to... Dell sells a barebones kit that'll do 98% of everything you need it to for under $400. Since you don't need any of the peripherals, it's not a bad deal for the average user.

-Joe

 

Another thing to watch for when going wireless, is what the system will support. I use a Belkin system, and it does not work with WIN98. It states right on it that it is compatible with WIN98SE but I could never get it to work. We have one old computer on our network and I had to install WIN2000pro on it for the wireless card to work.

Another hint here. Trust the advice of the guys here. They are the ones that helpped me set up a wireless network to share a dial-up connection on 5 computers. So far it has worked flawlessly since March.



THANKS AGAIN GUYS