[macman247]

I have a G4 Cube, Lombard PowerBook G3, and an upgraded Newton 2100 and am looking to get them all networked in my dorm room. The internet connection here at Purdue is amazing but they only allow one ethernet id/mac address per account. I could use a router, they do frown at that, but really no one would notice. I'd really like to get my PowerBook and Newton wireless without a router since my Cube is on 24/7 anyways, plus, it'd reduce clutter and would just be awesome, so here's my plan...

• Get an AirPort card for my Cube, and set it up as a software base station/share it's ethernet connection
• Get a good PCMCIA/CardBus wireless card for my PowerBook (sadly not AirPort or FireWire equipped)
• Get a compatible PCMCIA card for my Newton and install the extra 3rd party drivers (http://www.ff.iij4u.or.jp/~ngc/eng/newtwave.htm) to get that to work.

I'd like your input on some good brand names/cards that have good Macintosh support/drivers and good range. I am also under the assumption that you can use the AirPort card in the Cube to get network/internet wirelessly on devices using non-AirPort cards. I was impressed when I was able to use my sister's Airport connection on her iBook to temporarily give internet access to our family's iMac flawlessly via cross-over cable (we have since ran a wire to it). What I'm trying to set up is quite the opposite...

ethernet > Cube > AirPort > devices with non-AirPort wireless cards

Anyone have a remotely similar setup or insight on AirPort sharing? How do you control the status of other wireless cards in Mac OS X? Would you still be able to use the drop-down Airport menu? The Newton setup would be an awesome bonus, I still get use out of it via Griffin's CubePort. Again, any advice on good 802.11b cards for my PowerBook and Newton would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if I need to clarify anything... Thanks!

[aaanorton]

I can't make any direct card recommendations, as I don't use any, but any old .11b card should work. Just make sure you can get a OS X driver for it.
However, I like your first idea MUCH better. GET A ROUTER! They're better, safer, more reliable, more versatile and easier to use. Plus you could get a really nice Netgear MR814 for 40 bucks. Obviously, even cheaper than the Airport card you'd have to buy the other way.

[fergnetserv]

I would say that the first idea is the better of the 2. Get a good wireless router, Linksys makes a good one and is my choice. If Purdue requires a MAC address, then you can set most routers to spoof the MAC address of the current machine. I've set up a couple of systems like this. Works great. As for card suggestions, I'm sorry but I don't have any.

[-Q-]

You should be able to easily share the Cube's connection wirelessly, either by using a router or the 'net sharing built into OS X. But I'd third the recommendation for a router over the Cube.

I've got an Orinoco Gold WiFi card in my Newton 2100 that works flawlessly (really boggles people's minds to see it surfing the web with NetHopper). You can usually pick them up on eBay and they work great with the driver you referenced. No real suggestion for you PowerBook tho'....

Good luck.

[ghporter]

Yes, you CAN share the Cube's connection wirelessly, but it gets sticky in terms of configuration, and it's more expensive than buying a router. Plus, even if you plan to leave the Cube running 24/7, there is a performance cost from running the connection sharing software (subtle sometimes, but it's there). Further, with all the traffic going through the Cube, the Cube's use of the Internet connection will take a speed hit.

With a wireless router (like the Netgear model aaanorton likes), you have the "separation of function" needed to sort out when your connection problems are caused by your ISP, your computer, or something else; this is very difficult when using a computer to share a connection, particularly one that isn't dedicated to that function alone. There is also the cost of your time to consider; setting up a wireless router can take half an hour or less. Loading Software Base Station, enabling connection sharing, configuring both, and verifying everything can take a long time. Worse, while the router's setup is intended to allow just about anyone who knows a few basic facts to set it up, you really need a serious familiarity with the documentation to properly manage Software Base Station.

Yes, I'm a router advocate, but only because it's simpler, easier, quicker and less expensive than the alternative.

[macman247]

My service manager hooked me up with an AirPort Card in my Cube, a Sonnett Aria Extreme in my PowerBook G3 Lombard, and a "freebie" Airport base station with a blown LAN port for a good price. The plan was to have the Airport station be a wireless router (since supposedly the WAN and wireless transmitter were okay). Unfourtunately I had problems reseting the router in order to get to the Admin setup, which is probably partly due to it being previously struck by lightning.

Anywho, I was able to use my Cube to share it's ethernet connection via AirPort with my PowerBook seemlessly (both using a beta of Panther). Very slick and straight-forward. I was happy to see that the Aira Extreme acted like a genuine AirPort card (shows up as "Broadcom, 802.11g Cardbus" in the PCMCIA pull down menu) so there was no additional driver installations, just plug and play, and it's 802.11g compatible (even though the Cube or this "special" base station are b)! I'm able to connect to the wireless network here at Purdue in my classrooms and such. As far as I can tell, there isn't a huge performance hit on my cube, but I rarely use both at the same time. I've got a maximum download speed of about a megabyte a second off some sites/P2P applications here! Still need my Newton wireless though... :-) Thanks for the insight!