setting up broadband for two macs

C

case

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Hi all.
Im based in the UK and my partner and I are planning to go on to broadband from dial-up.
We both have 800mhz quicksilver macs and have been told from our current ISP (firenet.com.uk) that the macs have to be networked for both of them to be able to use broadband. The tech man also suggested that we get a adsl modem as he would not suggest the adsl modem they offer (you can see it at http://www.firenet.uk.net/services/access/adsl_info2m.asp.

We have no knowledge of setting up for broadband, or know anything on networking two macs together.

We are on a tight budget and buying 2 Airport cards and the base station i think is probably beyond our budget (unless anyone knows if we can get it cheap somewhere).

Are there good alternatives to using Airport?

Whatever the solution, it MUST be as simple as humanly possible.

We need as much help as we can get, and would be most gratefull for your help, so all (good and relevant) ideas are more than welcome

Thanks everyone
 
basically what you need is an adsl modem/router - if you get one wih 2 or more ethernet ports then that would be best - you then need to get 2 ethernet cat5 cables to connect your macs to the modem/router. This is the simplest set up, but you have to have cables draped around the house. I wouldn't reccommend airport as it is over kill for your situation, your Macs arnt exactly mobile! (but it might be the best if your computers are a long way apart and hard to cable)

I would also recommend an ethernet ADSL modem over a usb one - you will have trouhble finding a usb one that works with Macs and they are difficult to use when a network is involved.

This is what your need:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000E0YHF/ref=sr_aps_electronics_1_2/202-0089272-6933430

and a couple of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006464P/ref=pd_sr_ec_ir_ce/202-0089272-6933430

these are just the first things that turned up in my search. But will do the job just fine
 
thanx so much for that bit of info.
I also had a looked at the wireless version. do you know of any issues regarding problems for mac users (wire/wireless), as most of these things i pressume are for the PC market.
Also are there differencials in performance between wire/wireless solutions in general? - if any of that made any sence
 
The filters will be in your router, which could be either a regular wired router or a wireless router.

Going wired is the fastest and most connection-reliable method, but it's the hardest to set up because you have to figure out how to get an Ethernet cord from one room to another room inconspicuously (usually not an easy task: the cord running into my iMac goes under the floor from the office next to me). However, once you have this set up, you can basically forget about it.

Going wireless is easier to set up (stick in the cards, turn the base station on, etc.) but it's more prone to interference, dropped signals, poor reception, and hacking by neighbors. It's also a good deal slower than Ethernet; Airport (technically named 802.11b) is 11 Mbps (megabits per second) and Airport Extreme (technically named 802.11g) is 54 Mbps. This is almost guaranteed to be faster than your DSL line, so you won't notice too much slowdown when surfing, but it's a lot slower than Ethernet, and you'll notice a difference for computer-to-computer file transferring (though it doesn't sound like you have a great need for this).

To sum up, get Ethernet if you think you can handle boring a few holes in your floors or walls because it can cost you as little as $45 if you get an inexpensive router and cable. If you're willing to spend a little more or have no way to route a cable, go for one of the two wireless solutions I mentioned.
 
you will still need to buy ADSL line filters for all the phone jacks in your house where you have a phone plugged in. If you don't filter all the jack-points then the ADSL connection will be disrupted every time you use the phone.

If you go wireless you could probably get away with just one wireless card the other Mac could be connected directly to the modem/router
 
Just make sure if you're buying a 3rd party ADSL modem that it'll work with the service you're using. Not all are the same.

At the house I use the provided Cisco 675 modem into a 5 port Linksys workgroup hub to split the connection among the numerous computers. At the office we use the provided Cisco 675 modem into a DLink 704p router/hub to split between 4 computers and a laser printer. The fire department had the provided 675 modem into a 4 port Linksys router to the various computers. All those were pretty much plug & play networks, with the exception of the home one. Way too many different OSs there made for some nightmares, but you shouldn't have that problem since you're using 2 Macs.

Another Option: They also make speciality networking bits that allow you to use your power lines in the house, eliminating the need for running cable. There's also some products that'll work with existing telephone lines. Most of the time those products have lower speeds (10-14mb/s) but more than enough for internet usage. As long as you don't plan on sharing multi-gb files between the two computers on a daily basis for work, it shouldn't be a big deal.

http://www.linksys.com/products/group.asp?grid=34&scid=33
 
thanx again all.

Ive heard the term 'splitter' banded around in this broadband research gig, can someone be kind enough to explain what it is. Also can someone tell me what the VPN (PPTP) is in the Internet connect dialogue box and does it come into play in my situation.

Any one with any opinions on the Netgear DG834 ADSL Modem, Router with 4-port 10/100 Mbps switch (Im running OSX10.3.3 and my partner is currently running OSX10.2.8, although i expect her to upgrade).

Im sorry for asking so many varying questions, but im piecing them all together....promise!
 
A splitter is probably just a line filter for your phone which is required if you have ADSL on your line. ADSL uses the very high frequencies available in the POTS service (Plain Old Telephone System). Unless the line filter is installed when you use the phone for anything else these high frequencies are "interfered" with.

You don't need to worry about VPN - that is a mechanism to connect to a Private network from the public internet securely. So you could connect to the office from home and access everything you can from the office - printers, file-shares etc...

This doesn't apply to your situation!
 
whats the difference between male to male and male to female in terms of network cables (ive found a 15m cable with male to male points) - will this work for my proposed setup?
 
yep, thats what you want. The only reason i can see why a male -> female cable could be useful is as an extension cord!

There are 2 types of male to male cords though - crossover and straight through.
Cross over are used to connect 2 computers directly (ie no switch/hub/router) This so that the wires on the cable are correct - ie transmit goes to receive and vice-versa; nothings going to happen if you are transmitting to the other computers transmitting port and you're not going to hear anything if you listen to their listening port!

You want a straight through cable as you will be using a switch/router.

just a side note: it doesn't matter which cable you use if you have a mac thats less than about 2 years old. They automatically detect what sort of cable is required. But i still don't think any other manufacturer supports this! - its a hardware thing
 
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