[ringo]

Hello,

I have an older model iBook that came out before Apple was making Airport Extreme cards. I'd like to replace my 802.11b access point with an 802.11g access point, but the description for the Airport Extreme cards at Apple's site says that they can't be used with older models.

I've seen a variety of small 802.11g USB adapters in the PC world, is there an equivalent OSX-compatible product? My iBook is adaquate for what it's used for, I can't justify buying a new one just to get faster wireless access. There was no such product at the Apple Store.

Edit: Just figured out that old USB is capped at a speed barely better than 802.11b....any other suggestions about how to make this happen? Such a thing as a firewire to 802.11g adapter?

Thank you.

- ringo

[Langdon]

Wireless ethernet bridge. But it's pretty big, about the size of a book and needs to be plugged in.
I'd stick with the built in Airport card.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by ringo:
Edit: Just figured out that old USB is capped at a speed barely better than 802.11b....any other suggestions about how to make this happen? Such a thing as a firewire to 802.11g adapter?

Thank you.

- ringo

The problem with the USB "cap" is that your older iBook has a USB 1.1 port, which is too slow to give you a faster connection, even with a "G" adapter.

If you HAVE to be wireless, and you HAVE to have "G" speeds, you're pretty much stuck with using a wireless ethernet bridge. You'll get full speed, but you'll have to pay for it with bulky hardware. Note that there isn't a lot of reason to go to 802.11g for simple surfing, and that your broadband connection is almost certainly much slower than even a good "B" connection.

I can't remember if any iBooks had PCMCIA card slots...if you have such a slot, you can get a Mac compatible wireless PCMCIA card, and that will give you a full-speed "G" connection.