Workstation? Or Playstation?

Having finally gotten wi-fi networking again on my laptop, I've now been able to install it and the bedroom TV in the living room, so I can watch the big screen while I 'work' on the computer.

Well, it'll make a change from staring at two computer screens in the study for hours on end.

I added a Couch Potato's Wireless Keyboard & Touch-Pad combo to the ensemble to ensure I don't need to move from the sofa for a while.

How did I solve the networking problem? By installing Ubuntu 13.04 Linux on the laptop, in addition to Windows XP. That was an exciting trip along the learning curve in itself. For some reason, while WinXP can't network or see the internet over the wi-fi physical layer, Linux has absolutely no problem with the same hardware!