Chossing wireless card or USB wireless device / express slots?
Looking at laptop computers yesterday and knowing I will need a wireless connection as I will travel with it; I noticed there are wireless cards and also wireless USB devices available (Linksys among others). What is the differance if any (I don't mean where they go into the computer but whay else).? Why would you choose one over the other? Also, do all laptop computers still have PCMIA slots where the wireless card would go. Some laptops had something called express slots. What are these and are they basically a PCMIA slot that does more? Will wireless cards still fit in them? Thanks.
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- There are three basic kinds of standard wireless, all of which could fit your description. The most common when people talk about wireless is WiFi. This is the wireless used by home networks and by "hot spots" such as Starbucks. There are different flavors of WiFi including, most commonly at the moment, A, B, and G. If you are connecting to hot spots you need to subscribe and your provider will be able to tell you what flavor you need. Similar to WiFi is Bluetooth. Bluetooth is designed to connect peripherals to your laptop. It has a much more limited range versus WiFi. In addition to peripherals such as a full size keyboard or mouse, Bluetooth might let you connect to your PDA or cell phone. The third type of wireless is cellular data service which has different names depending on the provider. Essentially this is the ability to use a cell phone company's lines for data. The speed will vary depending on how much you are willing to pay and the equipment is specific to the particular provider and the particular plan. Either of the first two types are often built into modern laptops. This is the ideal solution for them. Between USB and PCMCIA, the former requires you to have a key sticking out of the laptop but the latter is becoming less common, especially on smaller laptops, so a USB device might serve you longer. The last type tends to be only available with a PCMCIA card. I think one provider offers a USB option. Still, you basically pick the plan and they tell you what to get. An Express Card slot is not compatible with a PCMCIA card. I
