[clue-tech] going wireless

[Angelo Bertolli]

Roy J. Tellason wrote:
> I recently acquired this Sony laptop that isn't "new" enough to come with any 
> sort of wireless built into it.  I've shrunk the installed XP down to 3G or 
> so and have been running Slackware on the rest of it for a while now.
>
> I'm looking to get some idea of what I need to do to get wireless going with 
> this machine.  There's some work that I'm looking at that seems to require 
> it.  I don't even know if I want a pcmcia card or something that'd plug into 
> a USB connector,  or if I have an open slot inside somewhere.
>
> A bit of reading on the subject tells me that there are issues with what 
> appears to be the same adapter using different chipsets from time to time.  
> Other than that,  I've not really much of a clue as to what I need to do 
> here.
>
> Recommendations for both hardware and software would be appreciated.
>   

Yes, you generally can't determine compatibility based on the brand.  
They can have different chipsets.  However, the good news is, just about 
everything works now.  I don't have a single wireless device that I 
can't get working with ndiswrapper.

The best advice I can give is not to buy the cheapest thing if it's 
really new.  If you buy a card that's already a year old, you'll have a 
good chance of it working with at least ndiswrapper.

(Too bad ndiswrapper doesn't have its hardware list anymore.)

Angelo