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kennygee · Mar 6, 2004, 11:00 AM

I bought an Ibook G4 last week and was wondering if I could use a third party internal wireless card(linksys, smc,etc.) inside it. I did a search, looked in the manual and couldn't find anything. I spent more than I wanted to on the 'book so now Im trying to nickel and dime my wireless exprience. Thanx in advance.

pat++ · Mar 6, 2004, 11:03 AM

You *need* to buy an Airport Extreme card. This is the only one that will work with your iBook. But you can buy any 802.11b/g compatible base station. No need to buy the Apple one.

ghporter · Mar 6, 2004, 03:57 PM

The AirPort Extreme card is a mini-PCI form factor card, but I think Apple went the same way with Extreme that they did with the original: it's a standard form factor, but they customized it so that only their card would work. This is not necessarily bad, because they could easily customize the card to handle the OS more smoothly and so on.

Considering that for $100 you get guaranteed performance (or let's say "operation," since performance depends on a lot of other factors), and that's not too far outside the PC world's "suggested retail price" for mini-PCI 802.11g cards, it's not a bad price.

And don't forget that you can get a good 802.11g access point/4-port router for significantly less than $100. Shop around and you can get a wireless router for much less. So the overall cost for your initial wireless network won't be that heavy.

kennygee · Mar 6, 2004, 06:21 PM

Thanks folks.

jinubob81 · Mar 7, 2004, 11:28 AM

so, could you use an usb external wireless receiver? Like the one from linksys, or other brands?

I tried to use one from linksys before and i had problems with it. As in, i couldnt connect to the internet. Actually, i seem to remember that it had a connection, but i couldnt use it to get onto the internet at all (as in no safari, IM, whatever)

I ask because some of those external ones are REALLY cheap. As in, $10 after rebate at microcenter or something similar.

Langdon · Mar 7, 2004, 01:18 PM

Originally posted by jinubob81:
so, could you use an usb external wireless receiver? Like the one from linksys, or other brands?

I tried to use one from linksys before and i had problems with it. As in, i couldnt connect to the internet. Actually, i seem to remember that it had a connection, but i couldnt use it to get onto the internet at all (as in no safari, IM, whatever)

I ask because some of those external ones are REALLY cheap. As in, $10 after rebate at microcenter or something similar.

Yes and no. Yes you can use a USB external 802.11b/g receiver but no, they will not all work. Only certain ones will work with the MacOS (it ever differs within 9/X) it depends on which you choose.
I know of no $10 cheapie that will work.

pat++ · Mar 7, 2004, 01:27 PM

Originally posted by jinubob81:

I ask because some of those external ones are REALLY cheap. As in, $10 after rebate at microcenter or something similar.

I would definitely avoid this kind of external adapter. It's a potential source of driver problem/issue after each major OS update, plus it's much more convinient to have the internal Airport card (no risk to forget it or break it when you move your laptop)

ginoledesma · Mar 7, 2004, 06:25 PM

I've seen some like the D-Link work, but its just not worth it. Paltry performance, inconvenience, and whatnot simply do not justify its cheaper price.

brother337 · Mar 8, 2004, 03:55 PM

One big advantage of the AE card is the fact that it's internal. My roommate has a Dell Inspiron with a Linksys Wireless G card, and the end of it sticks out the side of the laptop like a tongue. She's always paranoid that it'll snap off if she's not careful, and she's constantly removing and inserting it. I can't imagine that an external usb wireless adapter would be any less inconvenient.

ghporter · Mar 8, 2004, 08:41 PM

Originally posted by brother337:
One big advantage of the AE card is the fact that it's internal. My roommate has a Dell Inspiron with a Linksys Wireless G card, and the end of it sticks out the side of the laptop like a tongue. She's always paranoid that it'll snap off if she's not careful, and she's constantly removing and inserting it. I can't imagine that an external usb wireless adapter would be any less inconvenient.

I concur! That's why I went to the expense of getting a Cisco internal card for my own Inspiron. Internal is the only way to go for several reasons, including the fact that an internal card uses the built in antenna (for whatever laptop you're using).