Tip #33: Turn your Windows 7 PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot

One of the not-so-well-known features of Windows 7 is the ability to turn your laptop (or desktop with a wireless card) into a wireless access point, aka Wi-Fi hotspot. If you are using a USB 3G broadband such as those from Maxis, Celcom and DiGi, or the Wiggy from P1, this would let you finally be able to share your Internet connection with others wirelessly, like the Wi-Fi modems which Streamyx and P1 give.

Again, a gentle reminder, you need to be using Windows 7 in order to do this. First, to check to see if you already have the necessary driver/software for this. To check, click on Start, type "view network connections", and press Enter. You should see all the network cards which your PC has. Look for one which says "Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter". If you have this, it means you're just a few commands away from using your PC as a hotspot!

Tip #12: How fast is your Internet, really?

Have you ever heard broadband reseller agents (the people who stand at booths promoting Streamyx / P1 / Celcom Broadband etc) say that you can subscribe for "one megabyte per second" download speed? And when you bring the modem home and managed to get on the Internet to download something, you notice the fastest you can download is at around 100-120 KB (kilobytes) per second. Why, why, why?

If you look at the piece of brochure or promo material (the one on the right is taken from P1's website), you should see that the speed is quoted as 1 Mbps or 1 Mbit/s (note that the 'b' is not capitalised). The reseller agent was wrong for sure, to have said "one megabyte per second" - it is actually one megabit per second.

Tip #1: Surfing the web IS downloading

Here at "How To Be Computer Un-illiterate", my mission is to point out to people who claim themselves to be computer illiterate, ways that they can un-illiterate themselves, by providing them with tips and hints on what to avoid, which makes them appear to be illiterate.

To kick start this blog today, I present to you Tip #1.

Most people regard downloading as "downloading a file" off the Internet, be it a song, video, photo or an application. The truth is, anytime you're using the Internet, something is being downloaded.