Joining a Mac and a PC, how?
May 15, 2007 6:01 PM Subscribe
One modem, two computers-a Mac and a PC. How do I do this? Can it be done if the two computers are on separate floors of the house? Not so good with computers...
I looked through the archives but I'm not sufficiently computer savvy to know if this question has been answered previously. So I'm moving to Denver and will be moving in with my boyfriend who has Macs. I have a PC that I need to keep for school. We both want access to the internet and are thinking that we might have to split up the computers, one upstairs one down. Can I just go buy a regular old router and be done? He is in a contract with earthlink DSL and I know he pays extra for the Mac version of the modem. So, any advice in little words?
I looked through the archives but I'm not sufficiently computer savvy to know if this question has been answered previously. So I'm moving to Denver and will be moving in with my boyfriend who has Macs. I have a PC that I need to keep for school. We both want access to the internet and are thinking that we might have to split up the computers, one upstairs one down. Can I just go buy a regular old router and be done? He is in a contract with earthlink DSL and I know he pays extra for the Mac version of the modem. So, any advice in little words?
Response by poster: I doubt it (about the wifi thing), I know I don't and his computer is pretty old. So maybe what should we do if they are in the same room?
posted by yodelingisfun at 6:12 PM on May 15, 2007
posted by yodelingisfun at 6:12 PM on May 15, 2007
Ethernet isn't a standard specific to PCs or Macs. If you are willing to run some wires, I think the cheapest router will work for you. If you want wireless, I am pretty sure a standard cheap wireless router will work with both PCs and Macs. This has always been my experience.
posted by sindark at 6:20 PM on May 15, 2007
posted by sindark at 6:20 PM on May 15, 2007
I'm surprised they charge extra for a "Mac version" of the modem. Sounds like a rip-off to me. Modems "modulate and demodulate" the same signals for any type of computer. (Sorry, threw in some big words ;)
Wireless is great to have because it gives you so much flexibilty. So one possibilty is you could get an external wi-fi card that plugs into a USB port for one of the computers, and a wireless router to sit next to the other computer.
But if you just want to put them in the same room, (or run a long cable through the floor,) you still need some sort of router to split the signal from the modem. You can also use a second network card on one of the computers and route through that to the other, but the configuration is harder.
How old is the old computer? Ten year old computers may not even have a network card. You need that or USB. There are other options, but hopefully you won't have to go there.
On preview, what odinsdream said.
posted by bitslayer at 6:39 PM on May 15, 2007
Wireless is great to have because it gives you so much flexibilty. So one possibilty is you could get an external wi-fi card that plugs into a USB port for one of the computers, and a wireless router to sit next to the other computer.
But if you just want to put them in the same room, (or run a long cable through the floor,) you still need some sort of router to split the signal from the modem. You can also use a second network card on one of the computers and route through that to the other, but the configuration is harder.
How old is the old computer? Ten year old computers may not even have a network card. You need that or USB. There are other options, but hopefully you won't have to go there.
On preview, what odinsdream said.
posted by bitslayer at 6:39 PM on May 15, 2007
Response by poster: "These are just ridiculous ways of robbing you." Really?? Dang, yeah I know nothing about Macs and he is more a creative user than a tech sort. So basically once we get a router we can just plug in and go? That's so awesome! One less thing to stress about. Thanks
posted by yodelingisfun at 6:39 PM on May 15, 2007
posted by yodelingisfun at 6:39 PM on May 15, 2007
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posted by rancidchickn at 6:07 PM on May 15, 2007