wireless broadband as a gift

hi all, im looking to get my partners 90 year old grandfather broadband as a b'day gift. He already has a machine that runs at 256ram i was wondering if this is enough to suport broadband and what would be the best way to get it as a once off gift for him. The machine is already connected through a dial up conection... i was thinking of going for a wireless conection to save all the hassel of getting someone out to install it..
any sugestions woulod be great
THanks

The first question would be, does he really need broadband? What would he be using it for? Also consider that there is a monthly subscription to be paid? Are you going to pay that (as well as installation)?

positivenote said:

He already has a machine that runs at 256ram i was wondering if this is enough to suport broadband

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Broadband itself should not put any significant additional burden on the PC. 256MB or RAM sounds tight these days but if the PC generally performs OK for his needs then adding broadband should not affect things. If it doesn't already have one then the PC may need an ethernet card to connect to some broadband routers although USB may work for others but may require the use of more PC resources. Don't forget to make sure that security (e.g. firewall, virus/malware checking etc.) is suitable for the broadband connection.

Key Post: helpful links for a clean pc

I presume if the system is running the internet at the moment on dial up it should be able to suport broadband, the main issue is that as the machine at the moment is in a room thats difficult for him to access i want to move the machine to his room and instead of getting a phone line for the dial up i was thinking it may be easier to get one of these mobile wireless broadband connections?
It seems like a good b'day gift for him as i could show him how to work it and search etc... thus he will be able to occupy many hours of his day

Well if you feel he would benefit further from the broadband you have a few options open to you. Wireless broadband can be interpreted in one of two ways. Some providers offer Internet access over the radio waves from a mast/antenna within a certain area of your house. They might have to install an antenna on your house in order to pick the signal up.

The other interpretation of wireless broadband is that the broadband service is delivered to your house over the phone line (or TV cable). Then what you can do is plug 'the broadband' into a box (a wireless router typically) and have it beamed around your house (and your neighbour's house). Only some phone lines are suitable for broadband and broadband via TV cable is only available in some areas. Most of the phone line broadband (aka DSL) service providers allow you to check the suitability of your line for broadband.

Pay a visit to www.callcosts.ie to see what's on offer in your area.

thanks for the advice

Decani said:

The other interpretation of wireless broadband is that the broadband service is delivered to your house over the phone line (or TV cable).

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Just to be pedantic/correct about this. That is not wireless broadband. It's wired (e.g. DSL or cable) broadband with a wireless LAN.

positivenote said:

I presume if the system is running the internet at the moment on dial up it should be able to suport broadband

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That is probably the case. In fact if he currently uses a software modem/WinModem then it may actually use more resources of the PC than ethernet connected broadband. You might need to check if an ethernet card is required and present.

the main issue is that as the machine at the moment is in a room thats difficult for him to access i want to move the machine to his room and instead of getting a phone line for the dial up i was thinking it may be easier to get one of these mobile wireless broadband connections?

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You mean like ? Bear in mind that people's experience with this product seems to have been very mixed and you may actually be limited in how much you can move it within the house without the signal suffering. Many people seem to have problems with it. And the maximum throughput is pretty low at 512Kbps. On the other hand there is no minimum contract as far as I know so it'll only cost your €18.95 to try it for a single month and see how it goes. Or not.

For me, the Ripwave was a total disaster and i live in D6w. Its hardly the back of beyond. Very occasionaly i was able to get a signal and i DID get on line a couple of times but after 2 weeks of torture i just returned it.

Is he in an area covered by broadband? Have you check out his phone number?

ClubMan said:

Just to be pedantic/correct about this. That is not wireless broadband. It's wired (e.g. DSL or cable) broadband with a wireless LAN.

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Correct. But some people I have spoken to interpret that as wireless broadband. To us nerds, it isn't.

But then, that just might be the company I keep