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Built in wireless capabilities are becoming almost standard equipment on most laptop and home computers these days for a couple of reasons. One of the primary reasons is cost. Adding wireless capacity is so inexpensive that it would be silly for the manufacturers not to add it. The perceived value of any machine with wireless capacity far exceeds the cost to add it. Wireless is the wave of the future, so if the manufacturers want to stay ahead of the technology curve they need to add it to all but there most basic models.

If you’re like most people you probably can’t even check how much memory your computer has, let-alone if your computer is wireless enabled. Throw in the fact that you may not even know what wireless networking is and it’s easy to ignore even trying to determine if your computer has that capacity.

However, since you bought your computer you’ve probably heard more and more about “going wireless” because it’s becoming the hip thing to do. If that’s the case with you or I’ve simply peaked your imagination then read a bit more because I’ve outlined a few things you can to do to check if your computer has wireless capabilities.

Laptops - Intel Centrino Mobile Technology

Computer manufacturers do less than a perfect job at explaining what this means but if you if your laptop came with this built in then that’s good news for you! In a nutshell, it means that your laptop has wireless networking built right in and you don’t have to do a thing. Intel Centrino Mobile Technology is a marketing name for a combination of the Intel Pentium M processor and Intel’s’ Pro Wireless card.

If you have Intel Centrino Mobile Technology then your computer should have a “Centrino” sticker on it somewhere. If you can’t find a sticker but you suspect you had one at one time then simply do the following. Right click on your “My Computer” icon. It’s probably on your desktop but if not then go to your Start Menu, find My Computer, right-click and select Properties. When the menu opens look at what it says after or under the word Computer.

On a side note, Intel Centrino Mobile Technology also increases battery life and allows manufacturers to build computers smaller. If you can’t find anything referring to Intel Centrino Mobile Technology under the word Computer — don’t worry because as long as your laptop has a free card slot, installing wireless is a piece of cake.

Desktop Computers

If you’re not sure whether or not your desktop computer has a wireless connection, the easiest thing to do is to simply turn it around and look for a small aerial sticking out of the back towards the bottom. If it’s there then you are wireless enabled. On the other hand, if there’s nothing then it’s still possible that you have a wireless device in the computer, especially if you purchased anytime in 2005 or beyond. However, because it’s not the best idea (unless you’ve done it before) to try and open up your computer to check something I’ll show you a way to check, if your wireless enabled, using Windows.

Using Windows to Check Wireless Capacity

Rather than messing with your computers hardware to verify what you’ve got installed, you can just as easily check using your Windows’ Device Manager. To use it, right click My Computer / Choose Manage / and then click Device Manager.

After you click Device Manager a list of everything you can install will appear on the right half of the screen. Take a look under Network adapters and ignore anything that says 10/100 or Ethernet because they are simply normal network connections — not wireless ones. If there’s anything else there, it could be a wireless device.

If you think you have a wireless device, but it has a yellow warning sign alongside its name in the Device Manager, you should take a look at it to see what’s wrong by double clicking on it. Windows should then tell you why the device is not working at the moment and may even suggest that you go through its troubleshooter program. Do that before you do anything else.

If it turns out to be a driver problem, you should insert the driver CD that came with your computer. If you can’t find the driver CD that came with your computer - don’t worry because you should be able to find and then download the appropriate driver online. The first step would be to go to website of your computers manufacturer and do a search for the name of the wireless device that showed up in your Device Manager. Once you find the correct driver simply download it and follow the instructions.

After all this (actually about 5 minutes) you may discover that you don’t have a wireless enabled computer — oh well, those are the breaks. However, it’s clearly better to find out your computers wireless capacity now — before you go out and buy some wireless equipment and then realize that you didn’t even need it.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

Kevin Erickson is an entrepreneur and writer. To read other articles he’s written visit: Wireless Internet | VoIP Provider | Trade Show Display

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There are dozens of internet access providers out there today. Many of these internet access providers have different means of accessing the internet. All internet access providers have varying rates as well. If you are not knowledgeable about the differences in internet access providers, then let this be your guide to the truth about internet access providers.

First you need to know the different ways internet access providers use for you to connect to the
internet. This can be through dial up modems, DSL, and broadband or cable modems. Dial up is the
slowest form of internet access. It uses a modem that connects to your phone line. This means
you need a dedicated phone line just for your computer in order to use this type of internet access.
DSL is faster than dial up. DSL uses your existing phone line to create a three channel data
delivery system in order for you to access the internet. Broadband is the fastest way to connect to
the internet. Broadband uses a high speed cable modem and fiber optic cable network. You do not
need a phone line for this type of internet access.

Different internet access providers have different means for accessing the internet. America
Online, People PC, and Earthlink all utilize dial up for internet access. Qwest and Verizon are both
internet access providers that use DSL for internet access. The most sought after internet access
providers are those of which utilize the broadband technology or cable technology. The main
company that provides this is Comcast. Comcast only uses broadband for its internet access.

When choosing between internet access providers, be sure to decide how much you want to spend.
Dial up is the cheapest of the internet access providers; however it is the slowest method of
internet access. Broadband is the most expensive method for using the internet, but it is the fastest
way to access the internet and it is rarely interrupted (which can happen with dial up and DSL
internet services).

Your internet access provider should give you unlimited internet access, free email accounts, and
free technical support. If the internet access providers do not give you this, then you should
definitely choose a different internet access provider. Also, keep in mind that many internet
access providers have specials and discounts available to new subscribers to their service.

This is all of the necessary information you need to know when choosing your internet access
provider. Shop around and some research to see which company suits your needs, as well as which
company offers you the best rates. With some patience, you should be able to find the right internet
access provider for you.

Vincent Vega offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning the Internet.
Get the information you are seeking now by visiting
Internet Access Providers

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Cable modems are devices that provide high-speed Internet access using cable television networks.

They are designed to work over TV lines. They are connected to the TV outlet for cable TV transmission and the operator connects a Cable Modem Termination System at the cable company’s main office. The cable modem can be used for fast access to the World Wide Web.

Cable modems are available as an internal, external or set-top box device. An external cable modem is a small box that will have two cable connections, one to the cable wall outlet and the other to a computer through a standard 10Base-T Ethernet card. An internal cable modem is a PCI bus add-in card for a PC. They can only be used in desktop PC’s. The set-top box is a cable modem in a cover, which supplies return channel through the Plain Old Telephone System.

Regular modems use a phone line to dial up and connect with another modem. Cable modems connect your computer to the Internet service provider by translating the networks information so it can be passed back and forth over the cable channel. Cable modems can plug directly into your computer via a USB connection or a network card in your computer. A network card is the hardware that allows you to communicate on a network. In the case of a cable modem connection, it allows your computer to talk with the cable modem. It takes the place of a regular modem in your computer. Just turn the computer on. With a cable modem, your connection is always on. This means that you do not need to dial in. Whenever your computer is on, you are on the Internet, automatically.

Cable modems vary in cost. Since there isn’t a universal standard for them, you have to get a cable modem that works with your specific provider. There are many companies who are producing or have announced cable modem products. They include: 3Com, Bay Networks, Com21, General Instrument, Hayes, Hybrid Networks, Motorola, NEC, New Media Communication, neighborhood, Scientific Atlanta, Terayon, Toshiba, U.S. Robotics and Zenith.

The author presents the website on cable modems. It covers meaning of cable modem, types of cable modem, companies providing cable modem and how modem works. You can visit his site on cheap cable modems

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