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I got a notebook computer for Christmas and it's got 2 PCMCIA slots. I'm
going to buy a Wi-Fi card, but I'm curious about the major difference, other
than speed (and the fact that 802.11g hasn't been standardized yet, or has
it?) between 802.11b and 802.11g. I'm only going to be using this at school
to check email, browse the web, and do some legal research. I'm not going
to stream or download MP3s or anything... so won't 802.11b's speed suffice
my needs? I really don't foresee me ever needing the speed that 802.11g
supports... but is there a reason I should get it anyway?

Thanks!

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 19:21:51 -0600, "Help, Please." <>
wrote:

>I got a notebook computer for Christmas and it's got 2 PCMCIA slots. I'm
>going to buy a Wi-Fi card, but I'm curious about the major difference, other
>than speed (and the fact that 802.11g hasn't been standardized yet, or has
>it?) between 802.11b and 802.11g. I'm only going to be using this at school
>to check email, browse the web, and do some legal research. I'm not going
>to stream or download MP3s or anything... so won't 802.11b's speed suffice
>my needs? I really don't foresee me ever needing the speed that 802.11g
>supports... but is there a reason I should get it anyway?

If all of your use is Internet based, then the 802.11b will be more
than enough. Your Internet connection is probably about a tenth of the
speed of the card, so it would make little sense to increase the
card's speed.

>
>Thanks!
>

Help, Please. wrote:
> I got a notebook computer for Christmas and it's got 2 PCMCIA slots. I'm
> going to buy a Wi-Fi card, but I'm curious about the major difference, other
> than speed (and the fact that 802.11g hasn't been standardized yet, or has
> it?) between 802.11b and 802.11g. I'm only going to be using this at school
> to check email, browse the web, and do some legal research. I'm not going
> to stream or download MP3s or anything... so won't 802.11b's speed suffice
> my needs? I really don't foresee me ever needing the speed that 802.11g
> supports... but is there a reason I should get it anyway?
>
> Thanks!

As Harrison said, the speed of 802.11b is way faster than most internet
connections. But the main differences to look for in the various kinds
of Wifi cards are their sensitivity, transmit power and whether or not
they support 128 bit encryption and whether or not they have a way of
attaching an external antenna. This last issue probably will not matter
in your case unless you expect to do some long distance wireless
connections.

Take a look here: http://tinyurl.com/2cjjc

The standard of 802.11g just released but most of the hardware suppliers are
still not configure their products fully compatible with other brands. So,
a lot of compatibility problem will occur by using different brand name
routers and Wi-Fi cards. The most serious will cause drop connections
frequency within an hour (drop connection every 30 sec to few mins). Unless
you are buying them in one set Wi-Fi card + Router for your internal use.
The brand name "ORiNOCO" seams better in this new standard.

The most economical, stable and secure way is to buy a 802.11b Wi-Fi card.
If you want to buy a 802.11g Wi-Fi card, make sure it can downward to use
802.11b standard without any problem.

For 802.11b Wi-Fi card, the best choice is Intel brand. It's compatibility
is the best.

Actual connection speed is not really like the listed spec. In most
condition 802.11b will range to 2-7 Mbps and 802.11g will range to 11-38
Mbps. Sometime it may reach 90% of the said spec but your distance may only
within few feet and withou any blocking.

For normal file transfer(500k) or internet browsing, 802.11b is good and
fast enough.

"Help, Please." <> ¦b¶l¥ó
news:%lLHb.5455$ ¤¤¼¶¼g...
> I got a notebook computer for Christmas and it's got 2 PCMCIA slots. I'm
> going to buy a Wi-Fi card, but I'm curious about the major difference,
other
> than speed (and the fact that 802.11g hasn't been standardized yet, or has
> it?) between 802.11b and 802.11g. I'm only going to be using this at
school
> to check email, browse the web, and do some legal research. I'm not going
> to stream or download MP3s or anything... so won't 802.11b's speed suffice
> my needs? I really don't foresee me ever needing the speed that 802.11g
> supports... but is there a reason I should get it anyway?
>
> Thanks!
>
>