Barbara asks this week’s first question: “Is it possible that cordless telephone is causing interference with my wireless router?” Barbara, my company installed a wireless network last year that had many issues with their wireless and phone package. The answer to your question is yes and I’ll explain why.
Modern routers commonly transmit internet signals at either 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) or 5.0 GHz which could cause interference with cordless telephones. The FCC regulates the frequencies can be used for devices which cause minimum interference and can receive interference. (there are books written on this). In other words, because your phone and router are both covered under the FCC’s guidelines for this type of device they most definitely will interfere.
The easiest solution is to purchase a new telephone which operates at either 5.8GHz or 6.0GHz – with the latter being the better choice. 6.0GHz phones are currently the only cordless phones on the market which are advertised as ‘interference free.’ An alternate solution is to log into your router and change the channel setting to something other than the default. In some neighborhoods or apartment complexes where many neighbors could have cordless devices, you may be forced to change your router frequency.
The company I mentioned earlier was my own – which is somewhat embarrassing. We installed a new router without changing any of the telephone settings. None of us had thought the old phone system would interfere with the router though we all have years of experience. To avoid awkward situations like this from reoccurring, we now ask about cordless phones right off the bat. Good luck Barbara.
Chad wants to know what the difference between Windows CE, XP, Vista and 7. Windows XP, Vista and 7 are all Microsoft operating systems commonly installed on laptop and desktop computers. Windows CE (also called Windows Embedded Compact) is most commonly installed on devices such as cellular telephones and in-car GPS systems.
Original equipment manufacturers who build desktop and laptop computers use XP, Vista and 7 because they are feature rich and can handle complex computing applications such as multimedia, more mathematical functions and are easier to deploy. Microsoft developed these operating systems to make interfacing with manufacturers’ diverse hardware requirements easier. Most notable is that these versions can be re-installed easily using standard industry practices.
Windows CE, on the other hand, is embedded which means it is permanently installed onto the device for which it was created. Most commonly it is installed onto devices like GPS units and cellular phones where the operating system is setup once and not modified. Some arguably unsuccessful attempts have been made to sell portable machines with CE; however, consumers became frustrated at the incompatibility between CE and third party software.
Based on our e-mails I would suggest sticking with Windows 7 Starter which is included with the netbook you are looking at. It will allow you to install most modern software with the least problems. I’ve mentioned Windows 7 many times in past articles and think you’ll be very happy with your choice.
Please Join Us: If you’re a member of Facebook you can become a fan of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. and join us for online technical discussions. I will be updating the company’s Facebook profile with technical questions which may be answered by any of the crew in my shop or people who want to chime in from the community. I look forward to seeing you there.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at Jeromy@LocalComputerWiz.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)