Apple Airport Card - Network adapter - AirPort - 802.11b Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm using an Airport card with my iBook, and have been extremely impressed with the way it "just works". Part of the credit goes to the Mac OS X operating system of course, but such totally transparent ease of use is rare in any piece of consumer electronics.
There is one caveat: Apple's very newest machines come with slots for "Airport Extreme" instead. Since Airport Extreme cards are smaller (as well as faster), they aren't interchangeable with "classic" Airport cards. Whichever kind of Airport card your computer supports is what you need to get.
Should you wait to get a machine with Airport Extreme? Probably not, if you're ready to buy. Since even the older Airport cards are faster than any connection to the Internet you're likely to find, the extra speed is only really useful when transferring files between machines at home, or at the office.
I'm not quite sure what the "electronics fan" from Los Angeles is blithering about. On any recent machine from Apple, the Airport (or Extreme) card installs without an adapter. The last "special edition" iMacs came out about two years ago. All of the flat-panel iMacs with G4 processors take Airport cards without needing an adapter, or so says Apple's spec site.
As for Apple being a non-contender in wireless, the previous reviewer couldn't be more wrong. Not only were they the first to make widespread use of WiFi (802.11b aka Airport), they were first to market with 802.11g (Airport Extreme). And as far as criticising them because a computer needs an adapter to use a technology that didn't even exist when it was designed, well, be glad you can buy that $20 adapter instead of having to buy a whole new computer.

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Apple Airport Card - Wireless Ethernet - 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b Type II PC Card Only Pulled p/n M7600LL/E, 630-2883 or 630-2883/C with 90 days warranty.

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Apple M8881LL/A AirPort Extreme Card Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The beauty of Apple is the simplicity of their products - the Mac, the iPod, everything just works without having to consult Carl Sagan, Neil Armstrong or Miss Cleo.
A note to those wanting to go wireless with an older computer: The Airport Card and the Airport Extreme Card are two different critters. They look different and this card will not work on older Macs fitted for the standard Airport card. Apple doesn't even sell the old Airport cards anymore. If you have an older Mac and want to get more speed, you cannot hotwire it to do more with the newer card - you'll just blow a gasket on your Mac.
If you're adding a new computer to your existing Airport-based network and are underwhelmed by the performance, you may be using an original Airport Base Station - these older models maxxed out at 11bps, where the new ones max out at 54bps - a nearly 500% increase in network access speed.
This is NOT the model to get for a Mac Mini. The Mac Mini has a different form factor and has a slot for a special Airport & Bluetooth combo card that this card will not work with.
Installation is a snap - literally. Pop it into place and attach the antenna cord and you've got WiFi. I installed one of these on my older 1Ghz iBook G4 and instantly saw all the wireless networks in my neighborhood. Viva la Macintosh!

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The AirPort Extreme Card allows your AirPort Extreme-enabled Mac to communicate with local AirPort Extreme networks or other Wi-Fi certified 802.11b or 802.11g networks, including earlier versions of Apples AirPort Base Station. AirPort Extreme-enabled computers that join an AirPort or other 802.11b wireless network can achieve data rates up to 11 Mbpsthe maximum allowed by 802.11b. For higher data rates, you need both the AirPort Extreme Card installed in an AirPort Extreme-ready computer and an AirPort Extreme Base Station. AirPort Extreme provides a range up to 50 feet at 54 Mbps and up to 150 feet at 11 Mbps for AirPort Extreme-enabled computers. This AirPort Extreme Card is not compatible with the Mac Pro or the Power Mac G5 Dual and Power Mac G5 Quad computers.

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