[AlasdairM]

Hi!

I'm finally going to "take the plunge" and "make the switch" with a new iBook.

My existing laptop is getting on a bit now, (and is dying a slow and painful death). It's connected to my SOHO network via a NetGear WG602 access point which supports 802.11b and 802.11g.

My question is: will the internal AirPort Extreme card in an iBook work ok with it? The Apple web site does say it's compatible with the 802.11b/g standards, but I was told the WEP encryption is not standardised, and it may have a problem with keys.

I would be extremely pi***d off to get a new iBook for �899, to find it isn't compatible with my current Wireless network hardware, especially when they don't have any PCMCIA expansion slots!

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Cheers

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by AlasdairM:
My question is: will the internal AirPort Extreme card in an iBook work ok with it?

Yep. You may need to add a $ to the front of the WEP key on the iBook, but you should be fine.

[AlasdairM]

Cool -- cheers for the heads up on that one.

[winwintoo]

Your Netgear access point also supports WPA/PSK

Here's a couple of articles from Apple about the difference:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108058

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107795

Your new iBook won't have any trouble with WPA, but other devices might not be happy with it. For example I have a WiFi card for my Palm and it can't handle WPA at all. Some folks that visit me with Windows laptops can join my network using WPA, others can't. My own Windows laptop can join WPA but not WEP.

My PowerBook - and your iBook - can do both and can switch between the two with nary a hiccup.

HTH Margaret

[AlasdairM]

I didn't know there was another security protocol that's better than WEP.

Unfortunately, I have the first version of the NetGear WG602 access point, which was actually released before the 802.11g standard was officially published. (A firmware update was since released to bring the unit to true 11g compliance.)

WPA is only supported on v2 and v3 of the WG602 unit, and I have v1

Does WPA require any additional hardware requirements? I hate it when companies don't introduce security features into older versions of their units, even if it's possible -- I can understand it if they can't because of a hardware issue though.

[ghporter]

There may be a firmware upgrade to allow your V1 box to run WPA. While 99.999% of the time I try to discourage people from #$^@&#ing around with firmware "upgrades," this is one of the appropriate exceptions: a feature you REALLY DO NEED.

Unfortunately, I can't tell from a cursory look at the WG602's support pages whether the one upgrade available for the V1 does this. Call or email Netgear and ask.

[AlasdairM]

I checked earlier today when I saw the previous response above, and I'm running the latest firmware. (I updated it a few months ago, as it's a simple enough procedure.)

Thx anyway I'll stick to WEP until I can be bothered/afford a new access point!

[ghporter]

I hate to say this, but you're probably fairly secure with good WEP. This is because so many people don't bother with ANY security at all, so the baddies can play all they want with other people's stuff, and your setup will be too much bother to mess with.

Keep your eyes open for a newer access point that supports WPA and switch as soon as you can, but don't lose sleep over using WEP.