Using AOL Wireless Broadband without AOL 9
 

Hi

I have a friend who works at a school and all of the staff are provided with HP tablet PCs. She has recently got AOL wireless broadband and she wanted to connect the tablet to her home network, so she asked the IT technical department if it was ok for her to install AOL and was told no as it is a school tablet. She turned around and said well what about all of the year 7 & 8 pupils who have AOL at home? This stops them from being able to do there homework on there tablets. There answer was the same.

My question on behave of my friend and all of the Year 7 & 8s who use these tablets is, is it possible to connect the tablets to a AOL wireless network and browse the internet without having AOL 9 installed?


I am not a AOL user but believe the latest version is AOL 9, somebody correct if I am wrong.

Regards
Tom

Is the AOHell router a bespoke unit?

If not, then your friend will just have to get the tablet to search for his network. If it's a secured one - (which it should be!) he'l need to enter the wep encryption.

I used AOL in the early days but the silly login front end plus nanny tools and restrictions they imposed on surfing outside of their preffered sites put me off.

No idea what the service is like today though

I suggest your friend phones their Hell desk

Tatts is right... all you need is the WEP key from the router, not knowing enough about AOL (apart from it messes up computers if it is not installed/removed properly) that key may be on the bottom of the router, or available from it in some menu

As its wireless, it will be transmitting a connectible signal, and all you need to do is hit your browser to start surfing. (at least that's how mine works... i have a d-link router upstairs and any PC that i work on with a wireless connection detects the network when i switch it on, and I just hit "connect" and enter the WEP key and off it goes. No need for any software at all apart from the standard windows stuff thats already on the PC. :D

Hi

Ok thanks people. Just one more question the tablet is also set up to run off the school network, I and friend don't think IT dept will be happy if it messes up the settings. Once connected to the home network wil lit still work perfectly fine on the school's network bearing in mind my friend is unaware of the WEP key for the school's network.

Regards
Tom

as far as I know it should be fine, but I am not 100% on that..... the schools network key is most likely saved on the tablet but to be honest its not a situation I have come across before that often, I do know that my mates laptop works here and at his place, as it detects the local wireless network and connects fine.
i would be careful though, as those school tech bods get a bit yappy if you mess around too much... anybody would think they owned the computers, and were not paid to look after them :rolleyes:

I have set up a fair few AOL wireless networks lately and it is nothing special.

You do not have to use the AOL software with a wireless router. The one they supply is a Netgear dg834g and comes completely unconvigured and is not aol specific.

If your username(screen name) and password is already set up in the router then any pc or laptop with a wireless card will connect to it. If wireless security is set up you will need the wep or wpa key to access it. If you did set up any security then it will not be enabled and you should be able to connect no problem. But I would advise setting some security up any how.

Now if the AOL broadand is set up with just a usb modem then you have to use the AOL software to connect, though there is a way around that but forget where I have seen that now.

It will not mess with the school network settings either as it will connect automatically to either network once it is in range.

Simon.