WiFi and laptops

[quiffgirl_99]

I have just bought a second hand laptop and want to get on the net. I know very little about wireless. I have no access to a phone line. I want to be able to take my laptop anywhere and be able to use the net. Is this possible and how much will it cost/how do I go aout doing it?

Thanks,
Lucy

[Ethel]

You have several options.

You can use wifi hotspots - there is normally (but not always) a charge. These are usually at hotels, pubs, cafes, service stations and so on.

http://www.thecloud.net/content.asp?section=1
http://www.btopenzone.com/

You could buy a wifi lan card - which connects to the internet in the same way as a mobile phone. It is not necessarily country wide and it can be expensive;

http://www.mobiles.co.uk/orange-3g-fusion-wifi -data-card-2.html

You could risk getting arrested by sitting outside a house and connecting to someone elses unsecured wifi. Free, but illegal.

[fo3nix]

I suggest Ethel's first option.

As for the laptop question: does it have wifi? It should either say somewhere on the computer itself, or perhaps there's a little switch on the side to turn the wifi on?

if it doesn't have wifi built-in, you'll need to buy a device to enable it, such as this one:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/79091/rb/2731 4067426

(this assumes it has a cardbus slot on the side; it probably does.)