News & Views

(This is Part 3 in a continuing series to help disabled geeks and everyday surfers set up their computers, give advice on where to set up their computers and what products could be most beneficial to them.)
Your first assignment was to keep a diary of your habits and routines, and make notes as to where you spend most of your time, where your paths intersect most and such. This determines the best place to place your computer.

Your second assignment was to take measurements of your room. make a list of what furniture and equipment you need to accomplish this. This doesn't necessarily mean purchasing new materials, but possibly tweaking current things that you own.

Now, in Part Three I'm going to throw a wrench into everything that you've worked so hard on thus far. How are you going to connect to the internet? By phone line? By cable modem? And will you want to use a router, or possibly, go wireless? Are you networking? Let's first look at the various types of connections, in case you're not familiar with the various choices.

DIAL-UP: Using a standard phone line, you can connect to the internet, albeit the slowest way possible. Pro: Inexpensive. Con: You get what you pay for.

DSL: Uses your existing phone line (if this service is available in your area; check with your carrier). Pro: Faster speeds and you can make calls on the same line simultaneously. Con: You pay for what you get.

CABLE MODEM: Regardless of all the hype, this is still the fastest way for the home consumer to connect to the internet. Main drawback is that it is basically a trunk line. In other words, the more people that are simultaneously using the same neighborhood node that you are, the slower your performance will be. Pro: Fast, fast, fast. Con: Pricey, pricey, pricey.

(BTW, if you're wondering about T1 and T3 lines, just wonder. You can't afford it.)

Now, this may force you to tweak your layout's location. If you have more than one computer, you're going to most likely be networking. If you're going 'hardwire,' then you will obviously need to be near a wall jack for your connection of choice, be it a phone jack or a modem jack. And if you like DIY projects, you could run cable around your baseboards. But it's hard to make that look classy. But I have seen it done by those who are pretty handy.

Your other option is to buy a wireless router to hook up to your modem. Only the router has to remain near the jack. If your computer doesn't have a card or antennae to receive the router's signal, then you'll have to purchase those. With this set up, you can pretty much put your workstation exactly where you please. (Unless you live in a mansion, in which case you have no need to read this series at all).

The only drawback to wireless is that it does slow your signal down a tad because wireless is not efficient as hardwire, but it's not a deal breaker. With wireless you can place your computer anywhere within your transmitter's broadcast range. This does require extra hardware, however. You're going to need a base station (which is usually built within most routers) and a receiver for each computer that you want to use wirelessly. (BTW, I forgot to mention that if you want to hardwire several computers together, you'll also need a router but one without a base station.)

Now that you have all this information, look closely at what you have designed. Do you have the necessary jacks nearby or are they located somewhere on the other side of the room? Or maybe in the next room? This will help you decide whether to go wireless or not. Or maybe your medical bills have already dictated that decision for you. Either way, you can now start searching for what equipment you need and where you can get it cheapest.

Once you have a list of the brand hardware that you think that you want, go onto Apple's discussion boards. Go to hardware and pick your computer. Search under your machine's listing with the brand name of your desired hardware or something vague like 'router.' You'll probably get a few hits and read whether others have had negative or positive experiences with your chosen equipment. Do the same with the OS that you're running to see if there are any software issues or conflicts. If the responses are overly negative, start looking at other choices.

Now we part with our money. First, with all this information at hand, ask a friend to drop by and show them what you have planned. If you've overlooked anything, they'll point it out to you. (Sort of a 'measure twice, cut once.')

Now, let's shop. Check the ads in your computer magazines (and I don't mean just the full color ones dispersed throughout the magazine, also look at the smaller ads in the back.) Check out their sites. Do they seem reputable? Do you trust them? On the web, always check CompUSA's, Buy.com's and Circuit City's sites. They have deals that are sometimes internet only. Plus the occasional rebate!

Look at places like The Mug Center's Vendor Offers page <www.mugcenter.com/vendoroffers/index.html>, if you belong to a user group. Lots of companies provide discounts for user groups. You never know what you might find. Check the classifieds in user group newsletters and bulletin boards.

If you have a free Saturday and are mobile, also check yard sales, flea markets and computer fairs. Check the merchandise carefully, but you can sometimes find gems in all that rubbish for a fraction of their original cost.

If you're only shopping online, now go to Price Grabber.com <www.pricegrabber.com> with your final choices. In my experience, they select from the widest range of dealers for their prices for your item of choice. You'll find people that you have never heard of and some of the more recognizable names. Found a price that you like? Now read the reviews of that vendor. It's not unusual, that the least expensive price may not be the best buy. You may want to deal with your second vendor of choice, even if he is a bit more pricey.

In the next installment, I'd like it if you would send me any questions that you may have so far, Remember, the only stupid question is the one not asked. And email your ideas, comments, questions, photos or just share with us how things are going along. You can reach me at phranky@mac.com, Subject: HandiApped.

And if you're really good, I just may may have a surprise for you next time.

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2005 Frank Petrie - Freelance writer, Macsimum News contributing editor, Curmudgeon
Email: phranky@mac.com
iChat: phranky
Archive: home.comcast.net/~phranky