I know some of you may still be looking for a USB wireless solution for your older (or maybe newer) Mac. Unlike many others (just read the reviews on Amazon.com) I have had success with the D-Link DWL-122 USB adapter. This is the older one that supports 802.11 B. They have a newer model, the DWL-122G, which supports the faster 802.11 G standard. I do not have that one and can not speak to its Mac compatibility. You can find the DWL-122 on Amazon and on eBay for around $30 or so.
It is connected to a Bondi iMac running 10.2.8. This computer has full, messy partitions and is fussy about starting up properly. With the aftermarket CD drive, I can no longer start up with the system discs, so it has been about forever since I ran Disk Utility. I can run Norton Systemworks, which of course screws up things even more in the long run. Cleaning up, deleting and an upgrade to 10.3.9 is in its immediate future.
So what I am saying is if I can get the DWL-122 to work on this computer, you can get it to work on yours which is probably in better shape. I had problems with Kernel panics and freezes using the drivers which came with the adapter, which were version 1.01. I then upgraded to the latest on D-Link's website, which were version 1.32, and still had problems. Careful reading of the reviews on Amazon.com led me to follow one reviewers advice and download the latest version, 1.4.7, from versiontracker.com. I have had complete success with this driver software! No crashes, no Kernel panics, and it comes back up and ready to network after each restart or startup. I simply created a network with the software (which shows up in your system preferences as "Prisim 802.11B USB Adaptor"), typed in my network name, enabled WEP and "Apple Password" and typed in the password. Hit "Apply" and I was connected. It is connecting to a Graphite Base Station, BTW.
A few caveats: Unplugging it from the USB port (or extension cable) can cause problems when it is active and powered up. But why would you do that? Also, the adapter can get warm with really heavy file transfers. I was transferring my personal folder from the Bondi to the FP iMac, which included some large video files, and was getting disconnects and freezups. Did the video file transfers seperately and had no problems. Currently, it has been playing "XTC Radio" on iTunes with no problems for a half hour or so. I can not speak to the range of the unit. It is currently sitting next to the base station it is picking up. But it does pick up the neighbors wireless network from the house next door, and the adapter is in the far end of our basement.
I hope this information helps others. I will let you know if it still works under 10.3.9. I don't see why it wouldn't.
Val
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