Should I use WiFi at home instead of any WiFi locations?

Question

While I was using my laptop to get on the Internet with a wireless notebook card.

Answer 1

If you have the ability to set up and run a wireless network, then I'd say you should run it from home. More privacy, bandwidth, etc.

Answer 2

You have to decide this for yourself. Depending on how important it is for you to use Wifi at public Wifi locations you decide.

Basically WiFi is a convenience so that you can use it anywhere. Using it at home and using it on the road is almost the same. It only differs in the sense that how good a connection you can get when you are on the road as compared to the connection at home. Normally there are various kinds of WiFi Adapters with different capacities. None of these are totally perfect. When a wireless Card says that it is 54 Mbps it actually is talking about its capacity not the speed that you connect at. Similarly there is no network ( other than really fast ones like T-2, T-3 etc.) wired or otherwise that will ever give you a thoroughput of even 10 mbps forget about 54. Unless and until it is dedicated T-2 or T-3 line you will see at the most a connection speed of maybe about 5 mbps. It is a total mytth that you will ever get the speed that is mentioned on the Wireless Cards ( 54 or 108 or even 128 mbps) and even on the NICs that you buy ( it will say 100mbps or even 1000 mbps).

Even the much touted Wireless N ( as opposed to Wireless G or B or A) is not big thing at all. What could eventually be really cool is ' WiMax' but that is still rather far away to reach general public.

Also remember that when you use WiFi on the road , you may actually get into trouble if you decide to leach from unsecured connections that are readily available. This idea is quite illegal, not that anyone has been prosecuted for this yet. This is quite different from latching to the signals at a Hotel or public Wi-fi providers.

Answer 3

If you are traveling about WiFi is fine. But the most secure connection you will get and the largest band with will be a wired connection. Most wireless transmits in the neighborhood of 54 Mbps. A typical wired connection runs at about 100 Mbps. However, most broadband Internet connections are less the 6 Mbps. So the trade off here is not really speed but in reliability and portability. A wireless connection runs in the 2.4 GHz range. Just about every thing operate at that range including microwaves, CBs, and cordless phone. This means a wireless connection can be disrupted. There are ways around this like the 802.11a standard which operates in the 5 GHz range. I guess what you need to decide is where are you going to be surfing the Internet at your home? Near the connection or in a completely separate part of the house? Good luck.