Re: last question re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Jason Brown]

I have a question on this. Does anyone know of a good pci card that  
supports wireless N that is recognized as an airport extreme card to  
os x? If you know it, I would like the make, and model of the card.  
Thank you in advance. =)

On Jun 20, 2009, at 6:02 AM, Kris Tilford wrote:

>
> On Jun 20, 2009, at 5:52 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
>
>> Someone mentioned "Broadcom chipset" and it using Airport as the
>> driver.  Is
>> this true for any wireless adapter?  As long as it has a Broadcom
>> chipset I
>> can just use Apple's Airport to connect to the base station?
>
> There's a script available that will add most of the 3rd party
> wireless adapter support into the Apple extension so that "Broadcom
> chipset" adapters are recognized as "Airport" (meaning they are fully
> OEM identical to Apple Airport products in usage).
>
> See this page for the script and info:
> 
>
> The current script is called bcm43xx_enabler_0.5.3.sh.zip and is
> listed at the bottom of the page for download (you may need to
> register to download the file).
>
>
> >


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Re: last question re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Kris Tilford]

On Jun 20, 2009, at 5:52 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:

> Someone mentioned "Broadcom chipset" and it using Airport as the  
> driver.  Is
> this true for any wireless adapter?  As long as it has a Broadcom  
> chipset I
> can just use Apple's Airport to connect to the base station?

There's a script available that will add most of the 3rd party  
wireless adapter support into the Apple extension so that "Broadcom  
chipset" adapters are recognized as "Airport" (meaning they are fully  
OEM identical to Apple Airport products in usage).

See this page for the script and info:


The current script is called bcm43xx_enabler_0.5.3.sh.zip and is  
listed at the bottom of the page for download (you may need to  
register to download the file).


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last question re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

Someone mentioned "Broadcom chipset" and it using Airport as the driver.  Is
this true for any wireless adapter?  As long as it has a Broadcom chipset I
can just use Apple's Airport to connect to the base station?

Thanks again for all the help!



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

On 20/06/09 12:21 AM, "iJohn"  wrote:

> 
> On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 10:11 PM, ah...clem wrote:
>> 
>> new to this topic.  perhaps i missed it in the deluge of replies, but
>> it seems no one addressed the point of cost vs protocol (b or n).
>> 
>> if all you are doing
>> is connecting the base station to a DSL modem or a shared printer, and
>> to other computers which are basically independent clients of the DSL
>> and/or printer, then the older, cheaper, 802.11b card is already
>> faster than the DSL, and probably faster than the printer, so you
>> won't "see" any discernible difference in performance.
> 
> I think I understand the point you're trying to make, but I also think
> I disagree with it.
> 
> While on paper an 802.11b connection may be more than enough to handle
> the throughput of a DSL connection, it also doesn't leave a lot of
> buffer space.
> 
> If the computer is always going to be 10 feet from the router with no
> signal barriers and the max throughput will always be limited to that
> of a DSL connection, then wireless b may be fine.
> 
> But what if he decides to move the router or computer so they are now
> separated by a room or two or three. Suddenly what was borderline
> adequate becomes noticeably inadequate.
> 
> Another reason IMO to avoid these ancient 802.11b devices is because
> the only security they may support is WEP. WEP has become such a joke
> that I believe no one bothers to talk about how to hack it. Instead
> they focus on finding the *fastest* way to hack it. There are "how to"
> articles out there you can easily find with Google.
> 
>> NEVER buy more horsepower than you are actually using right now.
>> if you ever need more in the future, it will be cheaper (and probably
>> better) then.
> 
> Trying to go for the tightest fit to your current needs can also be a
> false economy. I think a better metric is the cost at the margin. If
> it costs you 5-10% more beyond your base cost to increase your
> performance by more than 100% then it may well be worth it to do that.
>  Penny wise versus pound foolish and all that.
> 
> I really don't know if I'd recommend that the OP go with wireless n at
> this point. He's never really said much about what he expects his
> network to look like. But at this point in time I also couldn't
> justify going with b unless the adapter is a total freebie and he has
> absolutely no concerns about who hacks into his wireless. A good
> enough g adapter is just not that expensive these days.
> 
> -irrational john

OP here, you make some very valid points IJ.  As for the g adapters, they
were about the same price as the n so was thinking why go with g when you
can get n for the same price.  My last post outlined my network.  The G4
will be in the same room as the router so there won't be any concerns with
distance.  Again it's for my daughter's G4 and it's so she can play the
online edutainment games and talk to her godmother in San Diego via Skype or
iChat.  I guess in terms of security you make a good point about WEP.  I may
go with the PCI card then.

Thanks folks!



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

On 19/06/09 10:11 PM, "ah...clem"  wrote:

> 
> new to this topic.  perhaps i missed it in the deluge of replies, but
> it seems no one addressed the point of cost vs protocol (b or n).  you
> said in your original post that you'll be using it with an airport
> extreme base station, but you neglected to say what other computers/
> peripherals are connected to the base station.  if all you are doing
> is connecting the base station to a DSL modem or a shared printer, and
> to other computers which are basically independent clients of the DSL
> and/or printer, then the older, cheaper, 802.11b card is already
> faster than the DSL, and probably faster than the printer, so you
> won't "see" any discernible difference in performance.  on the other
> hand, if you are multi-tasking jobs, parallel processing, or otherwise
> transferring large amounts of data or huge files between computers
> constantly, then the faster card (n designation) will seem like day
> and night.

The base station is connected to my DSL modem and my HP laserjet printer.  I
have one Macbook Pro and G3 iBook connected via Airport to the base station
as well as a dual core G5 and an IBM PC with XP.  I'm going to also connect
my B&W via ethernet to act as a central backup system/print server (inkjet
printer).  The Airport card or 3rd party PCI card will be for my daughter's
G4 that I just upgraded. I'll be using Tiger and Leopard among the Mac
systems.

The price itself is not a factor since either one will cost the same.  I
just wanted to know if people experienced problems using a PCI wireless card
either with Airport drivers or 3rd party OS X drivers.

Thanks!



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[iJohn]

On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 10:11 PM, ah...clem wrote:
>
> new to this topic.  perhaps i missed it in the deluge of replies, but
> it seems no one addressed the point of cost vs protocol (b or n).
> 
> if all you are doing
> is connecting the base station to a DSL modem or a shared printer, and
> to other computers which are basically independent clients of the DSL
> and/or printer, then the older, cheaper, 802.11b card is already
> faster than the DSL, and probably faster than the printer, so you
> won't "see" any discernible difference in performance.

I think I understand the point you're trying to make, but I also think
I disagree with it.

While on paper an 802.11b connection may be more than enough to handle
the throughput of a DSL connection, it also doesn't leave a lot of
buffer space.

If the computer is always going to be 10 feet from the router with no
signal barriers and the max throughput will always be limited to that
of a DSL connection, then wireless b may be fine.

But what if he decides to move the router or computer so they are now
separated by a room or two or three. Suddenly what was borderline
adequate becomes noticeably inadequate.

Another reason IMO to avoid these ancient 802.11b devices is because
the only security they may support is WEP. WEP has become such a joke
that I believe no one bothers to talk about how to hack it. Instead
they focus on finding the *fastest* way to hack it. There are "how to"
articles out there you can easily find with Google.

> NEVER buy more horsepower than you are actually using right now.
> if you ever need more in the future, it will be cheaper (and probably
> better) then.

Trying to go for the tightest fit to your current needs can also be a
false economy. I think a better metric is the cost at the margin. If
it costs you 5-10% more beyond your base cost to increase your
performance by more than 100% then it may well be worth it to do that.
 Penny wise versus pound foolish and all that.

I really don't know if I'd recommend that the OP go with wireless n at
this point. He's never really said much about what he expects his
network to look like. But at this point in time I also couldn't
justify going with b unless the adapter is a total freebie and he has
absolutely no concerns about who hacks into his wireless. A good
enough g adapter is just not that expensive these days.

-irrational john

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[ah...clem]

new to this topic.  perhaps i missed it in the deluge of replies, but
it seems no one addressed the point of cost vs protocol (b or n).  you
said in your original post that you'll be using it with an airport
extreme base station, but you neglected to say what other computers/
peripherals are connected to the base station.  if all you are doing
is connecting the base station to a DSL modem or a shared printer, and
to other computers which are basically independent clients of the DSL
and/or printer, then the older, cheaper, 802.11b card is already
faster than the DSL, and probably faster than the printer, so you
won't "see" any discernible difference in performance.  on the other
hand, if you are multi-tasking jobs, parallel processing, or otherwise
transferring large amounts of data or huge files between computers
constantly, then the faster card (n designation) will seem like day
and night.

always remember, a chain is only as strong (as fast) as the weakest
(slowest) link.  improving the other links first is a waste of
resources.

and NEVER buy more horsepower than you are actually using right now.
if you ever need more in the future, it will be cheaper (and probably
better) then.

these last two are basic laws of any technology implementation, but
frequently forgotten.


ah...clem

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[PeterH]

On Jun 19, 2009, at 3:21 PM, iJohn wrote:

> I'm just curious what wireless
> equipment is going for. I'm anticipating a 802.11g firesale ... but
> then again it may have already happened and I just missed seeing it.

I've been using $9.99 802.11b/g USB 2.0 wireless for nearly a decade.

At least three manufacturers now supply 10.3 and 10.4/10.5 drivers  
for their USB dongles, and all three support ... in some cases ...  
stronger protection than do the Apple cards.

I DO have a couple of Belkin PCI cards, which are Broadcom-based, and  
are seen as Apple "Airport Extreme" cards, but I have found the USB  
2.0 dongles to be more cost-effective, more user-friendly, and more  
reliable.

I am now using Hacks in place of "Macks" for most of my production work.

Most Hacks have 10 or 12 USB 2.0 ports, but most have only 2 PCI  
slots (although one, the Gigabyte S3G, has 5 PCI slots).



http://groups.google.com/group/hq-a <+> A home for the Hackintosh  
community.

To subscribe to the HQ-A group, send email to hq-a 
+subscr...@googlegroups.com




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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[iJohn]

On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 5:03 PM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
> On 19/06/09 10:01 AM, "Jason"  wrote:
>>
>> Hello there. I just put an aftermarket pci wireless card into my sons dual G4
>> 450 powermac. It is very stable, no drivers were needed and he gets fast
>> internet upstairs in his room. Hope this helps
>>
>
> Make? Model?

To which I'd also ask, what does it protocols support?

And ball-park what did it cost you? I'm just curious what wireless
equipment is going for. I'm anticipating a 802.11g firesale ... but
then again it may have already happened and I just missed seeing it.

-irrational john

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

On 19/06/09 10:01 AM, "Jason"  wrote:

> 
> 
> Hello there. I just put an aftermarket pci wireless card into my sons dual G4
> 450 powermac. It is very stable, no drivers were needed and he gets fast
> internet upstairs in his room. Hope this helps
> 

Make? Model?



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Jason]

Hello there. I just put an aftermarket pci wireless card into my sons dual G4 
450 powermac. It is very stable, no drivers were needed and he gets fast 
internet upstairs in his room. Hope this helps

--- On Thu, 6/18/09, Bruce Johnson  wrote:

> From: Bruce Johnson 
> Subject: Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card
> To: g3-5-list@googlegroups.com
> Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 10:58 AM
> 
> 
> On Jun 18, 2009, at 3:04 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
> 
> > Thanks for the detailed answer, but my question wasn't
> really  
> > dealing with
> > the protocol.  I apologize if it seemed
> confusing, but what I was  
> > really
> > asking was the stability of the TYPE of card being
> used i.e. Airport  
> > vs.
> > PCI. The Airport card is Apple and Apple I trust, the
> PCI card is  
> > 3rd party
> > "Edimax nMax 802.11n PCI wireless card".
> >
> > Does anyone have any experience using a PCI wireless
> card on a G4  
> > and if so
> > how stable was it?
> 
> They way you're describing it, there's no difference, but
> dropped  
> connections, etc don't come about because of theninterface
> of the  
> card, but the particulars of your given wireless networks.
> The only  
> other thing would be the drivers for the card, and that's
> specific to  
> the chipset, not the connection bus.
> 
> -- 
> Bruce Johnson
> 
> "Wherever you go, there you are" B. Banzai,  PhD
> 
> 
> > 
> 


  

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Al Poulin]

On Jun 18, 7:47 pm, John Martz  wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 4:15 PM, Kris Tilford wrote:

> > How do I set this up with Apple Airport 802.11n router? Wouldn't this 
> > require the
> > router to appears as two separate networks on different channels?
>
> Unfortunately, since I don't own one of the new dual band AirPort
> Extremes, I haven't a clue. I tried going to the Apple support section
> to see what I could find there, but I came up empty. (Perhaps I just
> don't know where to look?) What I kept running into were instructions
> in the manuals along the lines of "Open AirPort Utility, select your
> base station, and follow the onscreen instructions to create your new
> network".

Section 2 of the "Time Capsule Setup Guide" for last year's box points
to an Apple design manual.  Perhaps a look here for "Designing AirPort
Networks: Mac OS X v10.5 + Windows February 28, 2008 - 2 MB" gives you
what you need.  I found it to be very help to me, a rank novice in
WiFi.  The 77 pages were a bit more than I need.  But yes, it seems
that with the 2009 editions of Airport Extreme and Time Capsule, you
can set up the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks separately to run
simultaneously.

By the way, the 2008 version Time Capsules (500GB) are still available
at Small Dog Electronics for $199.99.  At MacMall too.

Al Poulin
http://support.apple.com/manuals/#airport

Al Poulin
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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[John Martz]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 4:15 PM, Kris Tilford wrote:
> You're saying I can have 802.11n clients using only the 5GHz band, and
> simultaneously use 802.11b/g clients on the 2.4GHz band?

That's my understanding of what it means when the specs for the
AirPort Extreme (Early 2009) say it supports "2.4GHz and 5GHz
simultaneously". You should be able to set it up to use different
protocols on the different bands. (That *is* the version of the
AirPort Extreme you have, correct?)

> How do I set this up with Apple Airport 802.11n router? Wouldn't this require 
> the
> router to appears as two separate networks on different channels?

Unfortunately, since I don't own one of the new dual band AirPort
Extremes, I haven't a clue. I tried going to the Apple support section
to see what I could find there, but I came up empty. (Perhaps I just
don't know where to look?) What I kept running into were instructions
in the manuals along the lines of "Open AirPort Utility, select your
base station, and follow the onscreen instructions to create your new
network".

I know almost everyone else apparently *loves* it when Apple shields
its customers from details. But for me I often find them a bit *too*
much like an appliance for my tastes. Sometimes I *want* to work with
the details. Oh, well.

I expect you would set this up it by specifying a different SSID and
protocol for each band. The SSID is often referred to as the wireless
"network name" but in this context that's misleading. You'd only have
one wireless (and wired) local network that all the connected devices
would be part of. The SSID in this case is more of a name for the
method used to connect to that network.

Since I could not find anything on the Apple site, the best I could do
was a link to a screen shot from a review of a LinkSys WRT600N dual
band router over at smallnetbuilder.com. All the screen shot shows you
is that you can configure both the 2.4 and the 5GHz band separately. I
expect the AirPort Extreme also provides this capability ... somehow.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/myincludes/image_page.php?/images/stories/wireless/linksys_wrt600n/linksys_wrt600n_wireless_basic.png

Of course, all the above assumes that your wireless (client) PCI
adapter also supports using the 5GHz band. Not all of them do. Adding
support for the extra band adds to the cost of the adapter so it's
often left out to reduce the manufacturing cost of an adapter. If the
802.11n adapter you're thinking of getting says it supports 802.11b,
802.11g, and 802.11n but leaves out 802.11a then it would not be able
to talk to your airport on the 5GHz band. It would only support
802.11n in the 2.4GHz band.

-irrational john

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Kris Tilford]

On Jun 18, 2009, at 2:57 PM, John Martz wrote:

> By having your n clients use the 5GHz band they'd avoid whatever  
> throughput reductions you'd get by mixing protocols. Using 5GHz also  
> side steps possible interference problems.

You're saying I can have 802.11n clients using only the 5GHz band, and  
simultaneously use 802.11b/g clients on the 2.4GHz band? How do I set  
this up with Apple Airport 802.11n router? Wouldn't this require the  
router to appears as two separate networks on different channels? I've  
never heard of this.

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[John Martz]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 6:04 AM, Arnel Tuazon  wrote:

> I am using the latest Airport Extreme base station.


In that case if you are planning are including other (existing) 802.11b or g
clients in your wireless network you might want to take the trouble to going
with an 802.11n wireless adapter which includes support for using the 5GHz
band.

By having your n clients use the 5GHz band they'd avoid whatever throughput
reductions you'd get by mixing protocols. Using 5GHz also side steps
possible interference problems.

Range is not as good in the 5GHz band, but that's only a problem if it's a
problem ...

Of course, the above only is helpful if you're going to be mixing 802.11n
with 802.11g or b. If all the clients in wireless network will be 802.11n
then it matters less what band you use. (Assuming you have no interference
problems ...)

-irrational john

P.S. If you want to know if a wireless (client) adapter supports 5GHz as
well as the more common 2.4GHz, look to see if it supports 802.11a. At least
that's the advice I was given.

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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Bruce Johnson]

On Jun 18, 2009, at 9:40 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:

>
> Now does Airport Extreme (latest version) play nice with 3rd party  
> wireless
> adapters (PCI or USB)?
>

Oh yeah, the base station doesn't care what brand adapter connects to  
it, all that matters is the signal.


-- 
Bruce Johnson

"Wherever you go, there you are" B. Banzai,  PhD


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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

On 18/06/09 10:58 AM, "Bruce Johnson"  wrote:

> 
> 
> On Jun 18, 2009, at 3:04 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
> 
>> Thanks for the detailed answer, but my question wasn't really
>> dealing with
>> the protocol.  I apologize if it seemed confusing, but what I was
>> really
>> asking was the stability of the TYPE of card being used i.e. Airport
>> vs.
>> PCI. The Airport card is Apple and Apple I trust, the PCI card is
>> 3rd party
>> "Edimax nMax 802.11n PCI wireless card".
>> 
>> Does anyone have any experience using a PCI wireless card on a G4
>> and if so
>> how stable was it?
> 
> They way you're describing it, there's no difference, but dropped
> connections, etc don't come about because of theninterface of the
> card, but the particulars of your given wireless networks. The only
> other thing would be the drivers for the card, and that's specific to
> the chipset, not the connection bus.

Thanks Bruce!  You kind of answered my question. Actually the post by Mike
Baker also answered my question.  His problem was a scenario I'm trying to
avoid by going PCI.  However the card in question says that it has OS X
drivers whereas Mike's problem looks like he doesn't have the driver.

Now does Airport Extreme (latest version) play nice with 3rd party wireless
adapters (PCI or USB)?   



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Bruce Johnson]

On Jun 18, 2009, at 3:04 AM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:

> Thanks for the detailed answer, but my question wasn't really  
> dealing with
> the protocol.  I apologize if it seemed confusing, but what I was  
> really
> asking was the stability of the TYPE of card being used i.e. Airport  
> vs.
> PCI. The Airport card is Apple and Apple I trust, the PCI card is  
> 3rd party
> "Edimax nMax 802.11n PCI wireless card".
>
> Does anyone have any experience using a PCI wireless card on a G4  
> and if so
> how stable was it?

They way you're describing it, there's no difference, but dropped  
connections, etc don't come about because of theninterface of the  
card, but the particulars of your given wireless networks. The only  
other thing would be the drivers for the card, and that's specific to  
the chipset, not the connection bus.

-- 
Bruce Johnson

"Wherever you go, there you are" B. Banzai,  PhD


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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

On 17/06/09 10:40 PM, "John Martz"  wrote:

> 
> On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 9:46 PM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
>> Quick question: Which is better (more stable) an original Airport card
>> (802.11b) or a PCI wireless card that is 802.11n ?
> 
> IMO that's a question that can't really be answered as asked. I don't
> believe the "stability" of a connection has much to do with whether
> the protocol used is 802.11b or n. I wouldn't approach the question of
> what adapter to use this way.

Thanks for the detailed answer, but my question wasn't really dealing with
the protocol.  I apologize if it seemed confusing, but what I was really
asking was the stability of the TYPE of card being used i.e. Airport vs.
PCI. The Airport card is Apple and Apple I trust, the PCI card is 3rd party
"Edimax nMax 802.11n PCI wireless card".

Does anyone have any experience using a PCI wireless card on a G4 and if so
how stable was it? 

I am using the latest Airport Extreme base station.

> 
> 802.11n can be noticeably faster than 802.11b. But if you don't think
> things through ahead of time you might not realize the potential the
> marketeering types allege in their cryptic ad bites. That said,
> 802.11b is pretty well dead at this point in time and I wouldn't
> advise anyone to go that route unless they had very compelling reasons
> to do so. Or equivalently, compelling reasons why they would NOT want
> to go with 802.11n.
> 
> The fact that you would be using an 802.11n capable router makes me
> wonder why on earth you'd stick with "b". But I really don't know your
> context and doing so may very well make sense for you.
> 

The reason I was considering the original Airport card was that the G4 Gig-E
has a built-in Airport card port.  I know that on my old G3 iBook, the
Airport card picks up the connection to the base station very well and it
has no problems what so ever.  If I go with the PCI route, even though there
are OS X drivers, would there be potential problems with connecting to the
base station?



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Re: Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[John Martz]

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 9:46 PM, Arnel Tuazon wrote:
> Quick question: Which is better (more stable) an original Airport card
> (802.11b) or a PCI wireless card that is 802.11n ?

IMO that's a question that can't really be answered as asked. I don't
believe the "stability" of a connection has much to do with whether
the protocol used is 802.11b or n. I wouldn't approach the question of
what adapter to use this way.

In no particular order some of the questions I'd ask are ...

* How many devices would be using your wireless network initially?
Would they all be capable of using 802.11n or only some of them? If
only some, what protocols could the other devices use?

* What's your best guess as to how your wireless network will change
with time? That is, what new stuff do you think you might get that
you'd want to also include in your network?

* What sort of distances and what sort of signal barriers are you
expecting your wireless network to work over. Would there be
interference from other devices such as cordless phones, other
people's wireless nets, et cetera?

* What would you use the network for? It can range from just surfing
the net via a web browser to trying to streaming 1080p HD video to
trying to move large files routinely via wireless.

> I know the "n" is WAY faster, but I'm thinking of stability in terms of
> dropped connections, problems re-connecting, etc.

802.11n can be noticeably faster than 802.11b. But if you don't think
things through ahead of time you might not realize the potential the
marketeering types allege in their cryptic ad bites. That said,
802.11b is pretty well dead at this point in time and I wouldn't
advise anyone to go that route unless they had very compelling reasons
to do so. Or equivalently, compelling reasons why they would NOT want
to go with 802.11n.

The fact that you would be using an 802.11n capable router makes me
wonder why on earth you'd stick with "b". But I really don't know your
context and doing so may very well make sense for you.

Which flavor of Airport Extreme base station would you be using? The
original version which I believe can only use either 2.4GHz or the
5GHz band, but not both bands simultaneously? Or the newer, Early 2009
flavor which apparently can use both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands
simultaneously? (Not sure just what "simultaneously" means in this
context, but it sure sounds neat, doesn't it? I wonder if it actually
is neat or just more marketeer-speak. ;-)

-irrational john

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Orig. Airport card vs. PCI wireless card

[Arnel Tuazon]

Hey folks

Quick question: Which is better (more stable) an original Airport card
(802.11b) or a PCI wireless card that is 802.11n ?

I know the "n" is WAY faster, but I'm thinking of stability in terms of
dropped connections, problems re-connecting, etc.  The PCI card does have
OSX drivers.  

I will be using either card in my G4 gigabit ethernet with an Airport
Extreme base station.

Thanks in advance!




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