The National Enquirer reports at 7:39 PM -0500 6/17/04, Steve Fuller wrote:
>On Jun 17, 2004, at 6:39 PM, Bob wrote: > > > <snip> > >> You can use any wireless router that are 802.11b compliant. > > > > That's a pretty broad statement, Laurent. Can I clarify it a little > > bit? > > > > You *can* use any 802.11b compliant WiFi router...if, and only > > if...there is a driver for it, either from the manufacturer, from the > > OS itself, or if a 3rd-party diver supports it. That applies to all > > OS versions, but especially OS X. If you can find one that meets that > > requirement, go for whatever makes you happy. > >Well, I would mostly tend to agree with Laurent's statement. The card >that you place in the Powerbook will need a driver. Ack, when I cross wires, I really cross wires. You're absolutely right. It's the card that needs the driver. I should have said setup software. The WAP will need to be configured and the end user will need to have some way of doing that. Laurent, I owe you an apology. I came down with a sudden case of foot-in-mouth disease. >If the router (or >access point or whatever it is) supports setup via web browser (which >most recent ones do), you won't need a driver to set it up. I have not kept up with the changes in 3rd-party WAPs. I just remember seeing numerous complaints about some units being extremely difficult to setup because of the lack of Mac software or Mac support. Perhaps, as you say, all that has changed in the last year or so. I know that some manufacturers have an IP addresses that can be accessed via a browser to assist the buyer in setting the unit up. >I have seen >older access points (or routers) that can only be set up over USB >initially. For those, you would probably need an appropriate driver to >set the access point up. Fortunately, those are few and far between now >if you purchase new. With used models, you may take your chances. Once >the initial setup is done, you should be able to use any 802.11b >compatible access point (or router) with an Apple Airport card for >internet access. I was thinking of some possible changes that might need to be made from time to time. Like turning on or off WEP or WAP; changing encryption codes; adding or removing MACs in the access control section. That sort of thing. But as noted above, if you can set up the unit initially, the changes shouldn't be much more difficult. Personally, I make more changes than the average bear because I'm still using dialup and have more than one ISP. So every time I need to use another ISP, I have to tell the base station to use different information. It's easy to forget that most people don't have that situation. Thanks for catching my faux pas. I hit a mental bad block every now and again and it gums everything up. :-/ Bob -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
