<p>I just bought a laptop today (my first) and I have a couple of questions I need cleared up. I've been going through Stanford's ITS Services and they keep mentioning a wireless card. Now is this card the type you get from an individual internet provider (Like Sprint or AT&T) or is it a special Stanford card? Also, once I get this card do I have to wait to connect to the internet and get it set up once I'm at Stanford or can I do it before then at home?</p>
<p>Any help would be great!</p>
<p><em>laughing at the fuzzy</em> HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA <em>done laughing at the fuzzy</em></p>
<p>jusst kidding. if the laptop you bought was made anytime within the last 8 years or so, it has a Wi-Fi card already installed. This is what they’re referring to as a wireless card. </p>
<p>I’m sure you’ve heard of wifi before. Like wireless internet in homes, coffee shops, hotels, college campuses, and the like? yeah. A wifi card connects to something called a WLAN, short for wireless local area network. this WLAN (together with regular wired LAN) connects all the computers in a home/school/building/campus together, and this network as a whole is then connected to the internet. thats a very basic description, but it works.</p>
<p>You might want to bring an ethernet cable just in case the signal isn’t strong enough in your dorm room, though.</p>
<p>So we have to get our laptop registered before getting free wireless internet at Stanford, correct?</p>
<p>^ good question…</p>
<p>You should definitely have an ethernet cable. Some dorms have better wireless than others, and it’s just good policy to have one.</p>
<p>So when you arrive on campus, you get onto the wireless network. Because you are unregistered you will be taken to a webpage that guides you through the automated registration process. You have to download a program called the “health check” that makes sure you have antivirus installed (Stanford provides free antivirus), your computer is updated, etc. Once you pass the health check, you fill in some information, and you get registered. Because your entire freshmen class is registering at the same time, it will probably take a few hours for the registration to go through (usually takes only minutes).</p>
<p>@walkyu</p>
<p>i’m flying in the saturday before move-in day… i wonder if i could just like bring my laptop to campus and register early to avoid the wait 
haha</p>
<p>Can we do this registration now or do we have to wait until we are on campus?</p>
<p>nice try ngolsh :P. Unfortunately you need very specific information related to your dorm room (which can only be found on little labels in your room), so you can’t register until you arrive.</p>
<p>By extension, you can only register on campus, in your dorm. So no preregistering.</p>
<p>Darn! All right, thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Can PDAs, the iPod Touch, etc. access the wifi network? Does that require registration?</p>
<p>PDAs, ipod touches, etc. are easily registered on the network. These devices are automatically recognized to be an iphone, ipod, etc. so no health check is required. Some devices require your RCC to manually register them (nintendo ds, some other odd wifi devices).</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Larkin has a good wireless connection?</p>
<p>Also, once we are in the Stanford Wireless Network are we only in the network when we are on the Stanford campus? Yes people, I am a hardcore fuzzy!</p>
<p>^ Mmmm fuzz fuzz fuzz. I’m a fuzzy too. What do you mean? Stanford’s network doesn’t extend past the campus I think.</p>
<p>PS. Can we have a Fuzzy Appreciation Week at Stanford? I sometimes feel that we’re just so discriminated against at Stanford Tech.</p>
<p>All right, that’s what I thought!</p>
<p>I completely agree with you! We should lobby for our own event. ;)</p>
<p>Another question: when we get on the Stanford Wireless Network can we still maintain our old internet connection? For example, I’ll probably be getting an AT&T Wireless LAN Card for my internet access; can I still keep it at Stanford, at least for a couple of months? I also think this might be a good idea since I’ve heard that PC’s sometimes get disconnected by the Wireless Network.</p>
<p>@ Olive_Tree</p>
<p>why are you getting an AT&T card? just wondering.</p>