newer technology (reasonably newbie-ish questions)

I'm thinking about updating my home wireless router to something
newer. I have a D-Link DL-713P. This is a 802.11b router, and we have
4 computers connected to it (2 desktops and 2 laptops).

At least one laptop 'has' to be able to upgrade to an _internal_ mini
card that has linux drivers. The other 3 systems all run on Windows
2k.

One of the things we particularly like about the 713 is that it has a
built-in print server. So, another router with the same option would
be appreciated.

My main question has to do with wireless and our cards. Our laptops
are having trouble connecting to the router (they can connect, just
the connections tend to be unstable). The most likely culprit is the
new cordless phones and microwave that we bought. However, the
desktops seem un-affected. If we upgrade to a newer routers (a/b/g
instead of just 'b'), will the signal still work with the "b" cards in
the desktops, if we set the router to use the "a" or "g" bands? Is it
effectively "broadcasts through _all_ these bands at once", or "only
one band at a time"?

Assuming that we can keep the two desktop cards compatible with a new
router (we simply can't afford to update all 4 cards), what are the
low-end a/b/g routers that interface with cable modems and include a
print server?

Gwen

Gwen Morse <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> ll the signal still work with the "b" cards in
> the desktops, if we set the router to use the "a" or "g" bands?

802.11b/g run on the 2.4ghz band. 802.11g is backwards compatible with b.

802.11a is totally different and runs on the 5.8ghz band. If you're
experiencing a lot of interference you may want to move to 802.11a. Or, you
can pick up a tri-mode router (a/b/g) and use the a band for new equipment
while maintaining compatiblity with b/g cards as well.

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Lucas Tam ((E-Mail Removed))
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Gwen Morse <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> what are the
> low-end a/b/g routers that interface with cable modems and include a
> print server?

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=299

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Lucas Tam ((E-Mail Removed))
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