Does imac need a router to have two computers share internet?

Question

1) My old imac g5 was connected to the internet via dialup. My wife's Dell laptop connected to mine through her wireless card after I did "share internet." We did not need a separate router for either of us to use internet.
Will my new Imac allow a similar internet sharing without a router for broadband?
2) If I were to purchase Time Capsule, would there be any point to her buying a internal router for her laptop?

Answer 1

Jonathan Kandell wrote:
I wasn't clear, sorry; we're switching to cable or broadband.
Usually you have to purchase a cable/dsl router with these services.
You usually get a modem of some kind. All modern cable/dsl modems ship with a router built in; usually they contain just one incoming data port (a co-ax port for the cable modems, a RJ-11 DSL port for the DSL modems) and just one outgoing data port (almost always a standard RJ-45 Ethernet port) so that you can connect your machine. Some have a switch built into the system, and have more than one Ethernet port, usually four or five. Some have a wireless hub built into the system. Some have both the switch and the hub.
I would recommend getting a stand-alone modem and a stand-alone router, so that if one device goes down you don't have to replace everything.
Would the Imac connect to these wirelessly without buying additional hardware?
Most iMacs since the G4 models ship with built-in wireless systems. If you get a router which has a wireless hub they will connect without a problem.
And if so, could Imy wife "share" my broadband with me, without additional hardware, by using just her wireless card and my "share internet"?
You don't need to share anything. You just need to get a router which has wireless. If you turn Internet Sharing on, you would be able to live without the router which has wireless, but you would have to keep your Mac on _and not let it sleep_ all the time so that it could share its connection. It would be simpler to just get a router which has a wireless hub built in.
ps. I misspoke when I said "internal router". The Dell upgrade has a router option but looking closer I see it's a Netgear wireless router. No need for this if I got Time Capsule, right?
Time Capsule has a router and wireless built in. It should work.