hi all-

thanks for all the info.  i dl the app and installed it but i am a little confused (i am a silly rabbitt)  what does this app do for me exactly?  i see the user manual but i am still lost a bit.  do i need to add my network into a profile list?  and the ms two tv thingy in my sys tray do i need that anymore?  also now that i have this app how do i set it so i will only stay on my network? and then do i have to add a starbucks/tmobile profile?

THANKS!!!
Wabbitt

Wabbitt,

Yes, you’ll need to create a profile for each place that you frequent. One advantage of the profiles is that when enabled, it will essentially keep you connected and ignore other networks that might be in your area.

In most cases, it only takes a few seconds to setup a profile so it’s not a big deal. It’s worth it when you consider how annoying Windows Zero Config is.

Also it works in conjunction with the “ms two tv thingie” so you can leave it alone. It basically shows you connectivity and transfer status so it’s good to have around.

So, add your network as one of the profiles and you can surf happily without being disconnected and without your network connection hopping onto someone else’s network. 

thanks gr00vy and twynne for all theinput and help.  i just have one more question that i am unsure how to set:

in security mode with using wep where do i place the key? i only have 1 key that i use which is 10#‘s long.  do i put it in shared key one (that is where i have it now)? is this correct?

THANKS!!

oh one last question, why wouldnt sony just include this app out of the gate?  crazy!!  the atheros client is similar to the netgear one i had when i used one of their cards in my other computer.

I had difficulty with that as well (despite being reasonably technical!)  I ended up setting my wireless router as ‘Open’ and then keyed in a passphrase.  The router then creates a key using the passphrase.  I copied/pasted both the passphrase and key into a text editor on the laptop, then ‘applied’ them on the router (which causes the laptop to lose connection).

If you then go into the utility on the laptop, select the profile and choose ‘Modify’.  Go to the security tab and select ‘pre-shared key’ then click ‘Configure’.  Next to shared key 1 I selected 128-bit encryption, and pasted the key (the one generated by the router) in the field and click ‘OK’.  This seems to have done the trick.

Good luck,

Tom

hi tom-

thanks for the info.  but i am utterly confused.  i have no ideas how to do what you said and i nervous of messing up my connection.  i have set the wep and it works by using the pre-shared key (but thats what threw me off was the word SHARED key.  i guess if it works i will just leave well enough alone.  i was just wanting to understand what i was doing but again i am affraid to mess with it.

wabbitt

BOTTOMLINE…..............................THANK YOU!!  This app is AWESOME!

Now i have the networks that i want WHEN i want them.

Wooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Why didnt sony include this from the start???  they are smoking something for not.

wabbitt

Channels 1-11 sounds right. That’s the normal amount of channels present in most 802.11b setups. I didn’t even know there were more channels. Most setups recommend selecting channels 1, 6 or 11 only.

I have an interesting question.

I’ve got a Sony TR3 coming, should hopefully have it sometime next week. I’m getting it from iCube and on their site it says that the a wireless won’t work in the US and you need a Japanese access point.

Well I had a look on Atheros’ page (This the chipset used in TR2B and TR3SP’s from Japan?) and they do 2 versions of the chipset. A US model which has channels 1-11 and then a Rest Of The World which is 1-14. So does this mean that my wireless a won’t work in the US as stated but will actually work perfectly in the rest of the world, not just Japan?

I could ask iCube I guess but it’s more just being curious, I doubt I will ever use a, it’s virtually unheard of in the UK.

different frequencies (from atheros client utility help file):

mick.

Interesting. As far as I know the wireless b and wireless g are OK and the same but it’s the wireless a which is different. As far as I could tell though the hardware is actually the same so is it the drivers that limit the bands or maybe some firmware on the board?

UPDATE: Just had a look at the info for the card that groovy brought and on the specs it lists that it supports all the channels for all the various parts of the world using the same chipset I suspect Sony use in Japan. So is it as simple as having an option to pick which country your in? Does it tie into the region you setup your laptop in Windows? Are there different drivers for different countries?

Just seems to me that the hardware is the same so how does it get switched?

with the atheros abg card it’s a software switch.

you just need to find a client utility that lets you change it.

mick.

Ah that’s what I thought it would be. Just need to get my TR3 to see what chipset it has in it now. Should arrive Tuesday hopefully. I’ll let you all know.

Mickangel: OK well I got my TR3SP today and indeed it does have an Atheros wireless LAN chipset. I can put on the latest wireless drivers for Atheros OK. The Client Utility works just fine but…

Where can I get the Country Selector Util? I’ve been googling for a while and am struggling to find it. In the Client Utility it does indeed report that my region is Japan. It can clearly be updated as it’s an EEPROM as I’ve found out, just they make this util hard to find it seems.

If you do have it then I would be really grateful for your help.

FastLaneJB

Check you PM.

Hope it works.

mick.

Opps, that was me.

Or is there a utility I can run which will query the card to see what ranges and channels it is prepared to offer?