This may sound stupid but.......

This may sound stupid but.......If I get Media Center on my laptop instead of XP Pro......am I going to have trouble using my laptop in wireless cafes and other hotsopts?

Please don't laugh if my question is a dumb one. I just don't know much about this stuff. I had read that MCE can't "connect to a domain" like XP Pro and that it was mostly for people who only use the laptop "at home".

I want to be able to take my laptop with me to places in my town and to Europe and just go into the wireless cafes and use it without having to go through some complicated process.

Is this possible with Windows MCE? Thanks in advance for any explanation.

 

You're good to go.... you should have no problems at all!!!!

Mark

 

Great thanks. I really didn't want to pay $150 extra just to have XP Pro unless I really had to.

 

Yeah, connecting to a domain has to do with corporate networks more than general use. You'll be happy with MCE.

 

Connecting to a domain is about networking computers for file and printer sharing (mainly for big companies... and me ) It's a way for computer A to access information off of hard drive F: which is in a server rack on the 34th floor of your office building.

I have MCE and I have no problem joining a domain. I can easilly access my mom's computer, and I can access my laptop from my desktop. Then only Issue I have is with my desktop not wanting to share itself, but being able to access other things.

 

Right "Domain" is a word for a work network and doens't necessarily mean an Internet Domain. MCE is great, and some days I wish I had gotten it instead of pro --since there are ways around the Domain issue.

But, I'm one of the strange ones that has a "Domain" at my house ... So I went with PRO. For almost everyone else, I'd recommend MCE, not Pro.

 

The only thing that you might have to worry about is your whether you network card is compatible with the wifi spot. Generally this is not a problem.

All of the network cards offered by dell are compatible with b/g networks which is what you'll find at school/Starbucks/most wifi spots.

Dell also offers cards that are compatible not only with b/g, but also "a" type networks (aka a/b/g cards). I have yet to see an "a" type network/hot spot, so I doubt you'll ever have to worry about this, but it is good to know what type of networks your networking card is compatible with.

SG

 

Yeah, my WiFi in my dell is ABG -- and I've yet to see an "a" anywhere ..

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. They were really informative and appreciated.

I placed my order today using the $750 off coupon. Here's the setup I ended up going with. Did I get a good price? Do you think it will be good for what I'm using it for?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=61649

 

And, yes, it looks like a good deal to me.

 

Great. THANKS