Okay, someone please come to the rescue. My mother-in-law <gasp> just bought a laptop computer and a wireless router. She would like to get rid of her old desktop computer and strictly use her laptop in her home. Can she use the wireless router without a desktop computer??? Thanks guys!
Yes. The wireless router and (hopefully she has a cable or DSL modem in there too) are pretty much autonomous and just the laptop is fine. In the end, there's not much difference between a laptop and desktop other than the form factor.