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chouchou · May 9, 2005, 04:50 AM

Hi,

I know that this subject has been extensively explored, but maybe there are some updates on that one.

AFAIK, there are 3 possible solutions :

1. Buy an old Airport 811.01b card on ebay for at least 90 euros.
2. Find a Sony Vaio Wifi card and put it inside the iBook as described here : http://homepage.mac.com/macinside/PhotoAlbum36.html
3. Buy a USB adapter for 50 euros.

I'm a bit reluctant on solution 1 (expensive and not entirely reliable), I'm pretty sure that solution 2 is as expensive and I guess a Sony Vaio wifi card is impossible to find. I might want to try the USB adapter to save a couple of bucks, but I have a few concerns:

1. Will a USB 2.0 wireless adapter work on the USB 1.0 slots of my iBook (I've heard about the D-Link DWL-122 adapter) ?
2. Will it work fine with Mac OS X ?

Thanks A LOT for your answers...

David

pat++ · May 19, 2005, 04:23 PM

Honestly, I would buy an airport card... You can still find some brand new for about 90 euros. It's inside the laptop and much nicer for a laptop.

Ambassadeur · May 19, 2005, 04:45 PM

chouchou, pat++ is right. The airport card is the most elegant, most simple and most convenient solution for getting your ibook connected to a WLAN. Since the airport card is inside, you won#t have to carry the usb-stick around, the chance of losing it is non-existant, it can't snap off and the USB port remains useable. Plus, better reception and range I guess.

And the 40 euros difference should be worth the convenience. Plus, you can always sell the airport card at a later point in time/when selling your iBook and you'll probably get the same price you paid for it. So, not that many downsides to it I'd say.

And the 40 euros shouldn't deter you at all.

mpancha · May 19, 2005, 06:01 PM

agreed with Ambassadeur.

u want the card internal, and the airport works like a champ. "it just works".

u'll spend 40 euros more on the airport card, but just like ambassadeur said, u can sell it for the same price.

ghporter · May 19, 2005, 06:20 PM

The "elegance" of the AirPort card solution is more than just looks and styling. It is built to work with your computer, there is no possibility of driver or hardware conflict problems, and it is more physically secure-you won't knock any parts off when you move your iBook.

I've seen AirPort cards for around $70US in various places like this, and there are more here. Shipping may be a problem, but that's about it.

Once you get your card, stop by the Networking Forum for any help and advice you may need with getting things up and running.

Oh, and WELCOME to the MacNN forums!

chouchou · May 20, 2005, 03:22 AM

Thanks a lot for your answers... Unfortunately, I already bought an USB adapter (DWL122 from DLink) for 40 euros. In my previous message, I forgot to mention that I live in Paris, France, so shipping from ebay us would be ridiculously expensive.

I'll explain my choice:

First of all, my iBook is 4 years old, I'm seriously thinking about replacing it (and not selling it).
Its battery is completely dead, the connection between the Power Adapter and the iBook is simply insane, I keep pulling on the power cable, rotating the jack to have it deliver power correctly. As my iBook has less than 1min of battery life, you might understand that it's a pretty tricky game. Going wireless has no particular sense for me, as I always plug the iBook somewhere. Talk about an elegant solution !

Well, when I first installed the driver for the USB adapter, wow, I was already regretting my choice. Spotlight was not working anymore, although I was able to connect to the internet with the USB adapter. After a whole day of panic (I was thinking about reinstalling Tiger), I found this on this precise forum :

sudo chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/StartupItems

which made everything go back to normal.

I know it's probably not the best choice I made in my life, but it works, I'm reasonably happy with it, and I saved 50 euros...

Thanks anyway!

Ambassadeur · May 20, 2005, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by chouchou

...I forgot to mention that I live in Paris, France, so shipping from ebay us would be ridiculously expensive.

I'll explain my choice:

(snip)

I know it's probably not the best choice I made in my life, but it works, I'm reasonably happy with it, and I saved 50 euros...

Thanks anyway!

Good luck with your solution

But why did you want to go wireless in the first place when you have to be hooked up to power anyway?? As for eBay, I'd assume that you'd find apple products on the french ebay as well. And good luck getting the 40 euros back when you sell ibook and/or wlan usb (just don't mention the driver troubles

)!

chouchou · May 20, 2005, 08:36 AM

Right, I did look for an Airport card on french eBay and it was 90 euros.

I know it might seem silly wanting to go wireless when I have to be hooked up to power anyway, BUT you must agree that there are far more power plugs than Ethernet connection in this small world... So no, I'm not wireless, but still, I have more mobility

Ambassadeur · May 20, 2005, 09:40 AM

I do agree - Right now I am typing this on my iBook, which is hooked up to power, BUT connected to my cablemodem via WLAN

Any cable less is an improvement, you're correct!

polendo · May 20, 2005, 09:41 AM

chouchou,

I think you made the right decision. It wouldn't be worth spending good euros on an old iBook. Save as muy as you can for the new replacement (or addition).

Also, you might want to look at apple.com under the battery exchange program for iBooks and Powerbooks. It just happens that some iBook and powerbooks batteries are a hazard to security and they are going to exchange them free of charge.. you might get lucky and you battery serial number might be within the range of selected ones. If your iBook is 4 years old and you have the original battery, I do not think it is eligible for it.. but it never hurts to check it.

regards