Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon W
GG - what's the best way for three independent computers to share one phone line?
One computer is hooked up to the phone line via an external broadband modem. The other two computers are nowhere near the phone socket or modem.
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You will require an ADSL modem router preferably with four Ethernet ports, either wired or wired / wi-fi.
All computers need to be ethernet capable and or have a wi-fi card or USB wireless adaptor installed, most modern laptops have wi-fi as standard.
In the first scenario (wired) all computers are connected to the broadband modem router by CAT 5E ethernet cables and the modem router is set to do address translation. This means simply putting your ADSL logon username and password into the router. All other configuration is already set up and you should need to do no more. Your computers will need to be set to use ethernet and to get IP address automatically (via DHCP) a PC / Windows person will advise how to do this it is quite simple. On a modern Mac it is quite automatic. This is left on 24/7. Consequently when you start any computer and want to access internet or email it is available instantly.
In the wi-fi scenario, the nearest computer can still be wired to the router and the other machines talk to it by radio. One of several different types of encryption passwords should be set within the router to protect your data in transit.
My preference for ADSL modem routers is Netgear DG834G Wi-Fi modem router.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/522...FSBLMAodZhyeLQ
This is about the best price available, installation and setup is childs play (literally)