<p>I heard that Middle Earth does not provide wireless. I have never had a laptop before but I was planning on getting one for my dorm. Should I not get a laptop for UCI?</p>
<p>There should be an ethernet port for each person living in a room. A laptop would be more convenient to take with you when you need to go somewhere and it also takes up less space.</p>
<p>although your hall doesnt provide wireless, ME study center, arkenstone does. There wifi on campus as well: lecture halls, aldrich park, gateways, libraries. Dont feel too limited on what to bring if something is unavailable. Just buy an ethernet cord. The longer the more mobility you can move around to use your laptop in your room. You can just get your own wireless router for wireless in your room, or make friends that has a router.</p>
<p>so the dorms have an ethernet port, but not an ethernet cord?</p>
<p>You need a wireless access point, not a router…</p>
<p>i may sound stupid for asking this, but what is the difference between a wireless access point and a router?</p>
<p>you dont sound stupid…this is what I found after a bit of research. </p>
<p>“You need to think of a router as more of a server because it performs many functions like a server. An access point only provides a portal for wireless client to connect to your existing LAN.”</p>
<p>ohhh i see how it is. thank you :-)</p>
<p>I learned something today!! Everyone keeps calling it a router… but thats too long to say i guess thats why router is the preferred word</p>
<p>Isn’t a wireless access point basically a router that has wireless capabilities, or in other words, a wireless router?</p>
<p>To be honest with you, I’m not even sure. There has to be a difference because if they weren’t different then why call it a wireless access point and not a router? I just said to get a wireless access point because that’s what it said on this: <a href=“http://www.housing.uci.edu/documents/ME_MoveinGuide20100903.pdf[/url]”>http://www.housing.uci.edu/documents/ME_MoveinGuide20100903.pdf</a></p>
<p>I know that’s for Middle Earth but it might be the same for Mesa.</p>
<p>For all intents and purposes you’ll probably require it for, they’re both the same. They both allow wireless internet access and security and all that stuff. Routers have more advanced options such as network address translation, dhcp, and that kind of stuff. If you plan to create a small network of your own, a router’s probably better. Then again the IT staff at Irvine may not like that =P</p>
<p>So um I really suck with technology so my question will sound really stupid: How do I create a wireless router network exactly ?</p>
<p>Umm, basically, you need a router. Like, right now, what’s provided in the room is port where you can plug in a wire that goes from the computer to the wall. What you can do to create a wireless network is to buy a wireless router (around 30 bucks?) and attack the wire from the wall to the router. The router will then create a wireless network to which a laptop can connect, but yeah, it doesn’t go that far. You just have to make sure you put a password or something on it so that only you can connect to it.</p>
<p>so why do they tell us to get a wireless access point?</p>
<p>You don’t need a router, unless you plan to be mobile with your laptop in your room.</p>
<p>Ethernet cable is fine, just hook it up to the wall. Make sure its long enough 10-20 ft.</p>
<p>I guess wi-fi might help for something like, game consoles or cell phones that want to run on a faster internet or anything else. I guess if you have a laptop and reallyyyyyy need a wi-fi network you can turn your laptop into a wireless router via an ad-hoc connection, but yeah, that’s something if you really need wi-fi. The only thing you really actually would prefer wi-fi for is outside and in the dorms, which is provided.</p>
<p>having a wifi network gives you more mobility, that’s basically the only plus to it. just make sure you set a password to it xD</p>