WiFi or Bluetooth

[Pete S]

I have slowly but surely been building up my PC network. By some miracle I managed to get my desktop and laptop wirelessly connected using WiFi. I now want to include my PPC. Primarily I want to be able to send email and surf with the PPC.

I have a BT card for the PPC (Jornada 568) which I use with my mobile phone. Am I better getting a CF network card for the PPC or a BT connection for my desktop?

All advice for this complete beginner gratefully received.

[SHoTTa35]

since it's cheaper for BT i'd say go with BT. You can get this Belkin dongle that works real well i hear.. (300229 at compusa) I wanna go get one too but money tight right now. I am using a wi-fi laptop now and i was gonna get a wi-fi card so i can use at my friends house and all that but i'm just waiting a lil while longer to see if prices get cheaper or what have you...

[droppedd]

BT really isn't any cheaper right now. CompUSA and MobilePlanet have the DLink wifi card for $30-$40 after rebates.

I would say go for the wifi given the choice, since it has higher bandwidth and more access points around. However, if you want it mostly for wireless activesyncing, it's probably less of a headache to use Bluetooth, as setting up a 3-way ad-hoc wi-fi network will be something of a hassle, unless you have a wireless router or AP (you didn't say in your post). But if you do have a wifi AP or router set up in your house already, i would definitely go for the wi-fi.

[Pete S]

I have a belkin wireless router etc which I should have mentioned!

I hadnt thought about the wider access issue. I keep reading about Starbucks etc but seems to only be in the US. Anyone aware of any "hotspots" in the UK?

This probably makes WiFi more appealing. Do you need some kind of firewall or is the one on the router likely to be enough? How do you deal with this in a wider access context?

[droppedd]

I have a belkin wireless router etc which I should have mentioned!

I hadnt thought about the wider access issue. I keep reading about Starbucks etc but seems to only be in the US. Anyone aware of any "hotspots" in the UK?

This probably makes WiFi more appealing. Do you need some kind of firewall or is the one on the router likely to be enough? How do you deal with this in a wider access context?

Well, my friend Google tells me there's at least a few hotspots across the pond - http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/specials/wifi-hotspots/ shows some, although commercial hotspots are usually a ripoff. it's good if your office uses wi-fi, for example, as many do these days.

I think the firewall on the router should be plenty for the purposes of your Pocket PC, as it won't be constantly connected to the network. Your bigger risk is wi-fi in general - be sure to put on WEP, shared key, no SSID broadcast (if your router supports it), MAC filtering restrictions... the usual security precautions for any wireless network.

[Pete S]

thanks for the advice. WiFi it is!

And lots of loitering in hotel lobbies judging by the access locations :lol:

[don dre]

good choice. wifi is the way to go for networking