wireless network card or usb for a laptop computer

Hello,
I would like some advise on what type of network card or usb device I should
be looking for.
Here is what I basically have I am connected to dsl with a zyxel 660 r elnk
router/modem which right now is in bridge mode. I currently have a belkin
f5d6231-4 802.11b wireless/wired router
and have a simple lan setup with two computer a win98 desktop and tosiba
satellite 2435-s255 laptop computer all hard wired to each other through the
router and can talk to one another and can connect to the internet.
What I would like is to have the laptop computer be able to connect to the
internet via a wireless connection and be able to make a network connection
just as if I was wired. For compatibility issues to make things easier I
would like either a belkin wireless pcmcia card or a usb but from what I can
see that most of the usb are not win98 compatiable they are mostly win98se
compatiable. Oh I know that the speed of the wireless router is only a b
and the cards and usb are g but right now the speed is not a issue I can
always get a faster router later but the cards and the usb must be all
backwards compatiable.
Any advise would be appreciated.

jon wrote:
> Hello,
> I would like some advise on what type of network card or usb device I
> should be looking for.
> Here is what I basically have I am connected to dsl with a zyxel 660
> r elnk router/modem which right now is in bridge mode. I currently
> have a belkin f5d6231-4 802.11b wireless/wired router
> and have a simple lan setup with two computer a win98 desktop and
> tosiba satellite 2435-s255 laptop computer all hard wired to each
> other through the router and can talk to one another and can connect
> to the internet.
> What I would like is to have the laptop computer be able to connect
> to the internet via a wireless connection and be able to make a
> network connection just as if I was wired. For compatibility issues
> to make things easier I would like either a belkin wireless pcmcia
> card or a usb but from what I can see that most of the usb are not
> win98 compatiable they are mostly win98se compatiable. Oh I know that
> the speed of the wireless router is only a b and the cards and usb
> are g but right now the speed is not a issue I can always get a
> faster router later but the cards and the usb must be all backwards
> compatiable.
> Any advise would be appreciated.

Don't think it is feasible.. The original (first edition) of Win98 didn't
support USB at all, and many manufacturers did it their own way... When
Win98SE came out with USB, some manufacturers had their nonstandard
proprietary hardware talk to the device via other interim/converter chunks
of software... Since they were all different/did different things, very few
companies even bother with backwards compatibility to first edition, and
just did se compatibility..

"Peter Pan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> Don't think it is feasible.. The original (first edition) of Win98 didn't
> support USB at all, and many manufacturers did it their own way... When
> Win98SE came out with USB, some manufacturers had their nonstandard
> proprietary hardware talk to the device via other interim/converter chunks
> of software... Since they were all different/did different things, very
few
> companies even bother with backwards compatibility to first edition, and
> just did se compatibility..
>
Which one would you recommend a usb or pcmci card?

jon wrote:
> "Peter Pan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
...
> >
> Which one would you recommend a usb or pcmci card?


USB Wi-Fi adapters are unreliable, better to go with a PCMCIA card
that has an plug for an external antenna like an Orinoco Gold or silver
if you need something that can be moved to get around obstructions
or placed out a window.

If you can't find an Orinoco card at a PC store you can probably find
one cheap at a Mac Store, Lots of used mac stores stock them
because they work well with old Powerbooks.

Most versions of Linux have the drivers built in also.

[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <(E-Mail Removed) .com> on 3 Jun 2006
06:35:37 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>jon wrote:
>> "Peter Pan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>..
>> Which one would you recommend a usb or pcmci card?
>
>USB Wi-Fi adapters are unreliable,

Some are; many are not.

>better to go with a PCMCIA card

Some of those are unreliable as well.

The type of interface has little or nothing to do with reliability.

>that has an plug for an external antenna like an Orinoco Gold or silver
>if you need something that can be moved to get around obstructions
>or placed out a window.

Antenna cable causes signal loss. A USB adapter may be easily located
properly by means of a USB cable with no signal loss.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>