I'd really appreciate some help. I purchased a used sony vaio PCG-XG38 from my IT guy at work today. It included a 3COM 10Mbps LAN Card w/XJACK connector (Model3CXE589EC). My IT guy said I can hook up my laptop/notebook to my home PC via the LAN card and a router (which I do not currently own). I have a broadband cable internet service provider. My OS for the Vaio is Windows ME & my OS for my home PC is Windows XP.

What is my next step? I apologize for being ignorant, but I've never had a laptop before & am not sure what I need to buy, install, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For two machines to be on the internet at the same time from home. You need a router. Some common brands that you can go buy are Belkin, Linksys, D-Link, and 3-com. It set you back anywhere from 20 to 100 dollars depending if you want a wired only router or a wireless/wired combo router. Hit your local computer store and ask for a router for your home. I would stay away from the Belkin if I were you. I have had fits trying to configure it to work with my Win 2000 box.

-Tino