Best Dongle

[#1]

I need a dongle to use with my Thomson router.  Is there a recommended one or doesn't it matter which one you use?  Grateful for any suggestions and/or comments.
Thanks

[#2]

That depends on what you are trying to connect ?

[#3]

welcome to the forum divergirl
Are you talking about a dongal / wireless adapter to be able to use the wifi aspect of the router?

[#4]

Sorry should have been more specific. I have an old cranky PC which is located someway from the phone socket.  The router  needs to be placed by the socket and a dongle inserted into the hard drive.  I'm not a heavy user of the internet, just emails and the odd surfing.  The town I live in doesn't have much in the way of shops to buy computer accessories,  I popped into a branch of a well known chain and the salesman said that they only stocked one brand  (Netgear?) and he doubted if it would work with a Thomson router
hope that helps
Divergirl

[#5]

Does your "old cranky PC" have an ethernet network socket on the back ?
Is there anything else associated with that PC that also needs a network connection, such as a networked printer, a networked scanner, or a NAS hard drive, etc.

[#6]

If your PC does have an ethernet port, then here are some idea to consider -
1)  Networking over the mains using homeplugs, easy to install, secure, and less prone to problems than wireless - particularly if you live in a town where WiFi can get congested.
    http://www.devolo.co.uk/consumer/72_dlan-200-avmini_starter-kit_product-presentation_1.html?l=en
2)  I installed one of these Netgear wireless bridges recently for a relative, and it has worked a treat, although the setup wasn't as simple as it could have been.
    http://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/hometheater/networking-for-home-theater-and-gaming/WNCE2001.a...
3)  I personally have a collection of different old Linksys wireless bridges and they have always been simple to use and faultless in operation.  The current model is -
    http://homestore.cisco.eu/store/ciscoeu/en_IE/pd/productID.241270600
4)  If you must have a USB dongle, then I would look at something like http://homestore.cisco.eu/store/ciscoeu/en_IE/pd/productID.241270900.

The advantage of using the first three options, is that you don't need ANY drivers on your PC, they are easily configured, and if your requirements expand to need additional network outlets then rather than buying further 'dongles' - all you need to do is buy a cheap ethernet switch and have as many connections as you like. 

[#7]

probably as it is old it hasnt got WiFi and that why they want a dongle 

[#8]

Yes, but if it is old there will be increased likelihood of driver compatibility issues, and additional CPU or RAM usage - which is likely to be limited on an old machine.
For example I STILL have a Windows 95 PC that I wirelessly connect to the internet, which has a 66MHz 486 CPU and 64MB of RAM and that works well over WiFi using a Linksys WET54G bridge plugged into the PC's ethernet socket.
In my opinion using homeplugs, or WiFi to ethernet bridges is a better solution for fixed position computers, with the benefit as I said of NO additional drivers, and they can be used again on an expanding network.

[#9]

she will have to dive into that better explanation