Re: Addendum to the Geeks

[<http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

--- Gail <http://profiles.yahoo.com/gail_sx> wrote:
> Greetings Geekdom,
> 
> I have some problems I'm trying to solve...
> 
> Biggest is the Linksys Router I have puts out such a low signal, my
> wireless connection is constantly getting dropped. Our ISP is Comcast,
> and the distance between the router and receiver is only one room/two
> walls. Granted the router sits on a metal desk with metal filing
> cabinets around it, but I didn't think that should make such a big
> difference. I'm about to go get a booster to see if that will solve the
> problem. Any other ideas?

I have a Linksys wireless (I no longer use the wireless part).  I bought a
Orinoco wireless card and it seemed to improve things a bit.

> I'm also going to have to put some security on the network. We're
> currently running an unsecured wireless network. I downloaded the
> manual for my router, so we'll see how far that gets.

Depending upon your router, the best you may be able to do with WEP.  I set up
a 128-bit.  It's a big pain in the neck because it translates the key into hex
and then you don't remember what it was originally!  But, perhaps this is
itself a safety feature because you're supposed to (depending upon the amount
of stuff you download) change the key occassionally.

> Lastly, I have a question about old software. I have some packages that
> are compatible up to Win98 that I'm going to get rid of... Are these
> worth trying to donate somewhere, or is it too obsolete? One's a pretty
> good photo-manipulation program (like Photoshop, but something else
> cheaper).

I still run Win98.  What are the programs?

> That's it for now.
> TTYL,
> Gail