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this ibook doesn't have a slot for pc card, so I guess the only choice if I want wifi is to buy an apple airport card, right?

if so, I guess ebay's the place......? anything I need to know? will any apple airport card do?

thanks!!!!

You want the original Airport card. Small Dog may also have some left.

yes you need an apple airport card.
apple airport extreme cards will not fit.

gack....$100, even on ebay. small dog's $120...and out of 'em.

Look for older airport base stations.

email me-I have a local store selling the original airport card for $90. if you can't find any others

Oh duh, I forgot about the old Base Stations --- Georgia, there's an Airport card <i>inside</i>.

sorry, Ken and dealDave....feeling dumb.

Are you saying that old Base Stations also contain a client card, and the package is cheaper than just the card?

i don't get it!

>Are you saying that old Base Stations also contain a client card,

Yes, that's how the flying saucer does the wireless thing. Somewhere on the 'Net there's even a picture of how to get into it.

>and the package is cheaper than just the card?

It might be! Normally it wouldn't, but since the original Base Station "has" to compete with newer wireless routers, including Apple's own, it has been discounted a bit. The Airport card itself, while just as old, is considered a more specialized item rarely discounted.

It's kinda the same situation as the 4GB Hitachi MicroDrive that's in the iPod mini and one of the mp3 players from Creative. Alone, the drive is like $400 or more. Hitachi saw their sales of drives dry up as photographers were buying the mp3 players, removing the drives and tossing the shell, so they removed the CF functionality to "add value" back to the drive...

OK, so maybe that's a different scenario, but you get the idea. Value is where you find it, not always what the marketing department says.

Don't forget, you can get certain USB wireless adapters that will work fine. The Belkin F5D6050 is great and works in OS9 and OSX [www.compusa.com]

This will also work [eshop.macsales.com]

awesome, thanks to both of you!

No, the original ABS has a WaveLan Silver card.

ooh....$28 with shipping at overstock.com: [www.overstock.com]

I have the Snow AirPort Base Station, and it has an official Apple Airport card-that has been used in my Dad's Pismo.

I may have been wrong when I said old base station.

There were 2 versions of the Belkin USB..the one with only one antenna has much better reception. I have both, and have tested them side by side. The have the same part numbers. There is also one that CompUSA had that ended with the Letter A, F5D6050A This was listed on the box as Mac compatible--They all are, and Belkin has the drivers.

The single antenna version has an attached USB cord, while the double antenna version has a removable ISB A-B cable.
As strange as it seems--YES, the single antenna gets almost twice the reception.

I would also like to reccommend the Belkin that was suggested above (F5D6050) -- I'm using 2 of them in the house and they're performing wonderfully....and they come with an extra long USB cord so you can position it a bit to achieve the highest signal.

And they're cheap! 10 bucks after rebate at CompUSA.

rebate deal at compusa has expired, drat

You don't want to deal with dangling USB WiFi cards, unless you usually use the iBook at a desk. Spend the extra and get one to go inside the iBook. They can't be that hard to find. That way you can get up and go to the sofa, etc. any time you want without something dangling inelegantly. The clambshell iBooks get excellent reception with the Airport card inside, due to the great antennae built around the LCD screen. (I have an extra card, but I'm keeping it as a spare for 2 iMacs, and 2 iBooks that can still use it, if needed.)

Jeff99 wrote:
>
> I would also like to reccommend the Belkin that was
> suggested above (F5D6050) -- I'm using 2 of them in the house
> and they're performing wonderfully....and they come with an
> extra long USB cord so you can position it a bit to achieve
> the highest signal.
>
> And they're cheap! 10 bucks after rebate at CompUSA.

You can still pick them up for $10 after rebate at Staples.
Go to staples.com and search for 482092.
I was able to pick up a single antenna model in store.

Good Luck!



----------------------------------------------
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I stock them deep and sell them cheap! - Crazy Gideon

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compusa has the dlink usb adapter.. runs using OS 10.2 (or maybe 10.3) or better... 9.99 after rebate this week.

greg



bradsdad
(no signature required)

Ok, bought the single antenna belkin 6050. Plugged it into my iBook. Tried to launch the Airport app, and got this message:

"The required AirPort hardware was not found on this computer. If you recently installed an AirPort Card, shut down your computer and make sure the card is proberly installed."


Now what?

Your problem is you're not using Airport. You're using, or trying to use a third-party 802.11b product. It should still work, but it will not use the standard Airport interface. You probably will need drivers, and I'm not even sure you'll be able to get one. Was the adapter marked as Mac-compatible? If so, consult your Belkin manual. And if not, well, then you're probably SOL I'm afraid.

Yeah, unfortunately it seems that your adapter requires a special driver, and the manual mentions no Mac-compatibility whatsoever. Don't give up on your iBook 466 though, I love mine (and am typing on it right now).

Check the new issue of MacWorld, which has a short piece on drivers for non-Apple wifi cards (drivers are available from <www.ioexperts.com>. The article also mentions a Belkin USB adapter (I forget the model) that works with both 9.2 and X. If I remember right, it tells you how to make the adapter work with AirPort by changing some settings.

"Don't give up on your iBook 466 though, I love mine (and am typing on it right now"


Oh, I'm not gonna give up on my iBook. I may, though, give up on dealmac. Multiple people were quite adamant that this item works.

Geej, I just went to the ioexperts site, and this card is not on their supported list.

Drivers for the Belkin FD6050 are available on the Belkin website. Just go to the support section.

Thanks, Bob. I grabbed it but will be a few days before I can check it out