hey all,

i'm going to pick up a wireless card (PCI) for my PC, and I'm wondering what I should get that will install the easiest and work well. The reason I ask is because I've never been successful with wrapping the windows drivers on my laptop, and so I want to get something that will give me few headaches.

I appreciate any opinions on this.

Cheers.

You could get something with a ralink chipset. The drivers are available at serialmonkey.com. The GNU site has a list of cards that have the ralink chipsets.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'll read all of those links thoroughly and see how I make out.

Thanks again!

Atheros, Atheros, Atheros. Madwifi rules!

I have an atheros card as well, and no complaints about it or the drivers.

Make sure you have a look at the HCL (http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/)

I suggest any PCMCIA (aka PC Card) wireless NIC that is Atheros based. Internal mini-PCI wireless NIC do not have the same sensitivity as external devices.

IMHO, people are idiots when they are considering of buying a wireless NIC for the desktop. Use a wired NIC because they are reliable, stable, easy to setup, faster, secure, and majority of the models work with out any problems.

"IMHO, people are idiots when they are considering of buying a wireless NIC for the desktop."

I think you overstate your case. My router is in the other room, down the hallway, next to the TV. I have two linux boxes in my computer room. I am not going to drill holes in the floor or in the wall to install a CAT-5 to reach the router, nor am I going to lay a wire down the hallway. A wireless card in both my boxes makes an optimal solution for me. For high-speed file sharing I do have my two linux boxes wired together, as well. OTOH, I do highly recommend wireless bridges for the newbie, due to their simplicity of connection.

I appreciate that compliment.

I'm simply in a situation where a wired NIC is not possible.

I drilled holes through the closet to fish CAT-5e cable through rooms and the attic. It is a lot of work, but it is a lot safer than wireless networks. The only time I see the cable is from the closet. Few rooms have an Ethernet outlet box.

It's safer indeed. But also more reliable. Go wireless only if you must - i. e. for mobile devices. I agree with Electro, people are idiots, they do not know how radio works. It's an engineering nightmare to have multiple wireless devices working in proximity. Interference, congestion, etc. Wireless will never replace wires.

I'm still not sure what the purpose is of labeling people as 'idiots'? Knowledge is relative anyways.