Computers & Tablets

[Lilpuddinss]

How does the Cisco devices work?  Do you need both a router and the device that you plug into your USB port?  And do you need to have like Verizon wireless in order to access the internet or does the Cisco connect you to the internet by  itself?

[Entropy]

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@Lilpuddinss wrote:

How does the Cisco devices work?  Do you need both a router and the device that you plug into your USB port?  And do you need to have like Verizon wireless in order to access the internet or does the Cisco connect you to the internet by  itself?

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More detail, what Cisco device are you talking about?  They make a MASSIVE range of networking equipment - Voice over IP phones, consumer routers, enterprise-grade routers and switches, intrusion detection systems, etc...

[Lilpuddinss]

Well I was thinking about getting a laptop for my boyfriend for his birthday and he only has dialup internet and it goes very slow. So I was thinking about getting him something that will connect his laptop to the internet without using the slow dial up internet his parents have. I heard about Cisco and the wireless devices that they have but I don't know if I should get one because I don't know how they work.

[RealGeorgeW Valued Expert]

Wireless routers do not provide internet, they simply are a way to take your existing internet and give you wireless capabilities.

His parents would have to upgrade to DSL or cable to take advantage of having a wireless router.