Ladies and Gentlemen, Question of the Day, What Is The Next Step After Wireless?

[sharq]

Originally posted by: stingygrrl
sharq
I'm getting the 23731fu- it has built in 802.11b and I can add g via the cardbus slot or M-PCI, the M-PCI is IBM only - they've locked the BIOS so it can't accept a non-IBM branded card.
They said that a MPCI would give better connectivity that a PCMCIA 802.11g because it directly ties into the antennas. I'm just wondering if I can skip it or get say, a compaq x1000 for less $ that HAS it. I'm opting for the IBM bec it has XP Pro, a 3 yr warranty adn 2d battery. Of course it costs more.

Comparing 2 similarly outfitted laptops, with pro and the warranty, teh IBM is about $200 more.


but if I don't need g and can use b until the next standard comes along (esp since we aren't maxing out b anyway), then it's one more vote for the IBM

I would go with the IBM and the 802.11b should be fine (just my $0.02). I have seen and used IBM laptops, and I know they are worth the extra money. I saw how the built in/MPCI antenna's are setup and you will definitely get a good signal with the laptop, so you should be able to avg 2mbps on your laptop easily (probably more). I get 1-2mbps anywhere in my house on 802.11b (it's a netgear card, not great on range, but I like my toshiba router ), since my broadband connection isn't even 1mbps, doesn't matter to me, even if it was, I only use wireless for web browsing and/or chat.
My linux desktop is used for practically everything, I can't tell you how wonderful X forwarding in SSH is. I put linux on the laptop, and I run everything from my desktop, barely even matters that the laptop is a celeron. Plus, with SSH I get some of the toughest encryption available. Sorry, veered off-track.