Bob Tanner wrote: > Quoting Mike Hicks (hick0088 at tc.umn.edu): > > I recently bought a laptop (looks like it's been delivered, but is sitting > > in my apartment building's office tonight), and am looking at getting a > > wireless card for it. Since 802.1x is the Next Big Thing, do I have to > > worry about hardware supporting that, or is it just a software layer, or > > what? > > It's all in the card. Just get a good PCMCIA card and you'll have not problems. 802.1x is an authentication scheme, and will affect things like the host driver implementation more than the cards hardware/firmware. > Nate will fight me on this, but I prefer the Cisco AiroNet stuff. It's a little > more pricey then others, but it's rock solid under linux. I even took my Cisco > Wireless specialization course using AiroNet gear under Linux, even though > Windows was "required". The Cisco cards are good. Lucent/Orinoco/Agere are also solid performers (they are rebadged as Compaq, Gateway, Sony and others.) The D-Link/Linksys/SMC/Netgears of this world are mostly quick-spins on the Intersil reference design, and the range and performance reflect this (as does the price.) Among Intersil-based cards, the zcomax is said to stand out for it's above average performance. You can pick up Agere silver(40 bit WEP)/gold (128 bit WEP) cards on used market for $50-$75 if price is a concern. -- andyw at pobox.com Andy Warner Voice: (612) 801-8549 Fax: (208) 575-5634