MacWireless ships 11g USB Stick

MacWireless has unveiled its 11g USB Stick, offering wireless internet connectivity for any Mac with a USB port. The low cost alternative to Apple's original AirPort card is fully compatible with Apple AirPort cards and base stations, as well as all 802.11b, 802.11g, and pre-n networks. The 11g USB Stick also supports WEP and WPA encryption for secure network connectivity. Offering a range of 100-300 feet indoors or 300-900 feet outdoors, the device provides up to 54Mbps of bandwidth when compatible networks are available and the accessory is plugged into a USB 2.0 port. The 11g USB Stick is priced at $80, and requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later.

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nat

explain this to me

12/18, 10:23am, EST

seriously, i don't understand. if you have an airport card what does this do that the airport card doesn't?

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vide0tech

Question answered.

12/18, 11:05am, EST

If you already have an airport card, this product is not for you. But if you are one of the many who own an apple that does not take the airport extreme, then this could be a good option. The original airport cards are out of production and usually cost over $100 dollars.

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mitchcohen

Potentially useful

12/18, 12:09pm, EST

I'd also be curious to compare ranges with some of the low-range Mac laptops. Certainly no external antenna on this USB dongle, but it's outside the bounds of a metal case.

I can think of many uses for this - folks with broken Airport or Extreme cards that don't want to mess with the internals, those that take the older non-Extreme cards that are hard to find, those who need wireless access temporarily, etc.

Too bad it requires a driver.

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toeknee

PCMCIA cards better

12/18, 7:08pm, EST

If you have a G3 or G4 Powerbook which has a PC card slot (all but the 12" Powerbooks), a PCMCIA card is a cheaper and easier way to get Airport Extreme. There are several models which use the same chipset as AE cards, so when you have them plugged in, OS X 10.3 and 10.4 recognize them as AE cards and work with no drivers or extra software.

I've used a Buffalo 54G card for a couple years now with no problems, just greater speeds and much better range than an internal card. Google around to find currently available cards with the same Broadcom chipset as AE cards. There are/were several brands which Macheads found, and they're under $40 usually.

iBook users need something USB.

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