Wireless questions

Hi,
I ordered a Dell Inspiron 6000D and it will be here this week. It has the Intel 2200 b/g internal wireless card. I have a few questions about changing over to wireless. First, am I better with the B or the G system? Am I correct that all I need now to go wireless is a wireless router? Anyone have a specific model or brand they recommend? Does one have a longer range or more security than the other? Am I going to lose any speed on a cable connection? Will my cordless phone (900mHz) cause interference or knock me offline? Any security tips to avoid people using my connection or hacking me? Anything else anyone has to add will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

First, am I better with the B or the G system?
I would go with G, a lot better speeds at 54Mbps rather than 11Mbps. My vote for G
Am I correct that all I need now to go wireless is a wireless router?
Yes, and the wireless card of course which is inside the 6000.
Anyone have a specific model or brand they recommend?
The Linksys WRT54G is my favorite router and is very budget friendly.
Does one have a longer range or more security than the

Basically no, all wireless routers have the same coverage, its just that Wireless A and G are almost the same, and B has a little less. But really not at all. Security is WEP, and WPA. WPA is reccomended.
Am I going to lose any speed on a cable connection?
If your near your router, no. If your very far like 100ft, then maybe. But around 30FT it should be really close to your wired connection. As you get farther, it really will get slower by a very slow rate. As in 75Ft will be about 150-200Kbps. difference. (I dont know the exact differences).
Will my cordless phone (900mHz) cause interference or knock me offline?
Yes it will interfere since wireless operates on a 2.4GHz frequency and so does cordless phones, tv's, etc.
Any security tips to avoid people using my connection or hacking me?
Just make sure you have a differnet SSID and a difficult password.
Those are brief explanations and it would be a great idea to read my Guide to know a lot more of info.

Nick

 

Nick,
Thanks a lot for the info. I will definitly read your guide. As far as my phone causing problems, will reverting back to a 900mHz phone, or getting a 5.8 gHz phone fix that?

 

Yes, a 5.8GHz will fix most of your problems i believe. But its as simple has moving the phone a bit aways from your router. Believe it or not, you can stick your router in your attact or far room from places, and the connection will still be decent and you wont notice a big difference.

 

If you change the channel on the router, you will be fine. I had interference with my phone, and i changed the channel (to one extreme or another), and it worked.

 

Thanks a lot guys. I will let you know how it worked out.

 

Yes, Chaz is correct but there might still be some conflicts.