ISDN vs ADSL

[willythecat]

A BIG favour anyone, please.
Received a note as follows, sorry it's a bit long, but l'm not really sure of the answer -

I'm thinking of buying a new laptop or maybe netbook/ notebook which will be more portable. I live in Greece, so it's difficult to walk into a shop & get decent advice.
I have ISDN at home, not ADSL, so from what I've read on the internet I understand that I'll need Windows XP and not Windows 7 or Vista, as they won't have the drivers for my ISDN box.
I don't mind sticking to ISDN at home and use cables instead of wireless - I don't want the extra expense of ADSL connection as I might be moving soon.
As I'll be visiting the UK soon, is it easy to bring my new machine and simply "use" a friend's wireless ADSL connection at their home, or do I need to install anything on my machine first? I don't understand quite how it all works, but if they are using ADSL, will my machine just be able to pick it up somehow?

Would really appreciate your expert advice.
Thanks
WTC

[willythecat]

I really am sorry everyone, and l hate "bumping" a post.
I know that quite a few people have viewed the original so any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks so much
Regards

[soybean]

As I'll be visiting the UK soon, is it easy to bring my new machine and simply "use" a friend's wireless ADSL connection at their home, or do I need to install anything on my machine first? I don't understand quite how it all works, but if they are using ADSL, will my machine just be able to pick it up somehow?

It depends on whether your friend has WPA or WEP encryption enabled for wireless security.  I suggest you ask him about this.  If he is using one of these security features, I believe he'll have to provide you the WPA or WEP password so that you can set this up in your computer. You will also need to know exactly which encryption he has enabled, WPA or WEP, and you'll need to select the same type of encryption in your computer.

[willythecat]

Hi SB,
That gives me something to go on.
Thanks very much.

[soybean]

Actually, perhaps you should ask him/her if he'd like to setup the wireless connection in your computer.  They might feel more comfortable with that than telling you the password.