[Nottingham] Wireless network card for Linux?

[Stephen Hodgson]

David Aldred <nr at familyaldred.org.uk> wrote:
> Anyone know where I can get a wireless network PCMCIA card for a laptop, 
> supported by Linux?
> 
> The references I can find on-line don't tie up with the stock lists of 
> any local retailers!

The Prism wireless chipset is the most well-supported wireless chipset 
under Linux.  The 2.6.5 kernel includes support for the Prism wireless 
chipset and the Prism drivers (available from prism54.org) are 
straightforward to use with earlier kernels.  The Prism drivers are 
completely GPLed and undoubtedly offer the best wireless experience 
under Linux.

NdisWrapper [ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net] allows for the use of most 
Windows binary-only wireless chipset drivers under Linux but using 
Windows binaries with the NdisWrapper is far from an ideal solution and 
you'd probably be much better off going for the native support of the 
Prism chipset.

You'll also find support for Atheros-based wireless devices courtesy of 
the MADWiFi project [sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/].  I'm informed 
that MADWiFi drivers work incredibly well in Linux but I have no 
personal experience with them.

If you want a good quality Prism-based PCMCIA card I recommend Netgear's 
WG511 Cardbus device 
[kbserver.netgear.com/products_automatic/WG511.asp].  It's an 802.11g 
device with a good internal antenna and excellent Linux support and 
you'll be able to pick it up for between £30 and £40.

Stephen Hodgson