Laptop Connectivity Issue

[Hondo]

I am laptop ignorant. I personally prefer a desktop, but my wife desperately desired a laptop.

This expensive pain has a RJ-45 connection on the side. Under the network connections, within the LAN or Highspeed Connections, are an Ethernet Controller, Bluetooth Network and a Wireless Network Controller.

She used to have a dekstop too, so there was obviously an internal modem and a wall splitter.

We normally connect using Broadband DSL with a user name and password into the ISP. Stupid me thought this would work with the Ethernet card as an internal modem - not!

Where in the world should I go from here? Should I get an external modem? A wireless router? What?

I'm sincerely looking for advise.

 

[altheman]

A wireless router would be your best option, if she wants to be able to use her laptop wirelessly, but she can also use it wired as the laptop has a LAN port.
You could hook the desktop up as a permanant wired connection, so if wireless fails, you have access to the router config.

 

[Hondo]

Okay. Thanks for the response. Her old desktop is gone. So, all I need to get is a wireless router?

In essence: laptop --> wireless router --> DSL splitter.

No modem?

 

[altheman]

Most routers can function as a modem as well. Im not sure what you mean about DSL splitter. If you mean those things to split the line between broadband and telephone, then that is correct.