[GLLUG] Wireless Cards

[Charles Ulrich]

On Feb 4, 2008 10:32 PM, Chick Tower <c.e.tower at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm in the market for a wireless networking PCMCIA card, now that I've
> gotten my laptop running.  I understand that 802.11g is supposed to
> handle 54mbps and 802.11b maxes out at 11mbps, but what do people really
> see for speed at public wireless hotspots?  Is it worth the extra money
> for an 802.11g card?  I'm going to buy a used one, to save even more
> money, but I could save a few bucks more on an 802.11b card.

Hi Chick,

The main difference between 'b' and 'g' cards is their speed. If
you're only going to be using the card for Internet access, then a 'b'
card is going to be faster than most home or business broadband
options. If you plan on moving a lot of data between the wireless
laptop and other machines on the local network, it would be a good
idea to go for a faster 'g' card.

There's a chance you could run into compatibility problems with 'b'
cards as they're not nearly as popular these days and are probably
tested far less by developers. On that fact alone, I would go for a
'g' card. I highly recommend getting one with an Atheros chipset.
Here's a nifty page I just found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open_source_wireless_drivers

Charles