Adapting Your Laptop
or PDA for Wireless
If your laptop or palmtop isn't equipped with an integrated wireless connec-
tivity solution -- or you're trying to increase the capability of a laptop that
is -- you're in the market for a wireless adapter.
A wireless adapter is, basically, a radio transceiver that (after the appropriate
software is loaded) enables a PC or PDA to send and receive radio signals
that carry data. The adapter is powered through the particular interface slot
or port that it's designed to use. It's like a CB radio for your laptop or PDA --
except it has to follow very specific standards and protocols (see Chapter 2)
and, of course, there's no trash talk.
When you're searching for a wireless adapter, you find several possible
solutions:
PCMCIA card adapter: The Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association has developed standards for the PCMCIA card,
known as the PC card. These cards (Figure 3-3 shows an example) are
available for various purposes and come in three different sizes. The
Type II card (5.0mm thick) is the size most often used to provide
input/output capability for laptops. PC cards can adapt a laptop for
(among other things), fax, dial-up, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi.
Another adapter card standard, known as an ExpressCard/34 (to reflect
its 34mm width) has been developed by PCMCIA. So far no wireless
adapter cards conforming to this standard are available, but the port is
beginning to show up on laptops like the Apple Macintosh MacBook Pro
and some Dell models. I expect to see wireless card adapters showing up
on shelves soon. If you want more info you can visit www.expresscard.
org/web/site
.
USB adapter: The Universal Serial Bus has quickly become the most
used and useful port on a laptop. It's also beginning to show up on quite
a few PDA devices. Although I don't yet know of any USB 802.11b/g
adapters for handheld devices, several are available for laptops (most
of which look like a broken lighter). If you happen to have an empty
USB port, you can always plug in a USB-powered cup warmer to keep
the coffee in your favorite Star Trek mug piping hot (I told you it was a
useful port).
Chapter 3: Gearing Up
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