Wireless networking WIFI?

[ngreplies]

I have a Toshiba laptop (Satellite Pro 6100) XpPro which is WIFI enabled.
specifications IEEE802.11

I have a 2Ghz PC running Windows98 which I want to network to the laptop
wireless.

I am told the toshiba laptop is not compatible with some wireless cards.

Can anyone advice on:
1. best connection speed wireless (compared with 100Mbps RJ45 networked)
2. best hardware available in the UK.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Terry

 

[Peter Wilkins]

I have a Toshiba laptop (Satellite Pro 6100) XpPro which is WIFI enabled.
specifications IEEE802.11

80211 what? (a, b, g?)

I have a 2Ghz PC running Windows98 which I want to network to the laptop
wireless.

I am told the toshiba laptop is not compatible with some wireless cards.

You need to find out what the spec is on the MiniPCI card in your
laptop. My Satellite P20 has an Atheros card which does 11 a and b.
The a is not much use here in Oz (5G) and the b only gives 11 MBPS. An
802.11g is better and you can get some systems (proprietary) that do
better than 11g.

Can anyone advice on:
1. best connection speed wireless (compared with 100Mbps RJ45 networked)

What do you need? If your ADSL or cable connection to your ISP is
only 512KBPS or 1GBPS then an 802.11b system is more than adequate,
even if you are networked locally to 3 or 4 computers. However, most
systems sold these days are 802.11g, so I'd go with that with the card
for your PC. It's compatible with 11b - just will only work at the
slower speed if it's an 11b in your laptop. You would probably need a
wireless router for a good setup too.

2. best hardware available in the UK.

No Idea. Most brand name products seem to work pretty well on
average, but you can get a lemon in any brand. I use Netgear.