I previously wrote: >A couple of people have recently mentioned the Lucent/Orinoco WiFi >card available from http://www.wagenermedia.com. The card is >described on their web-site as a 802.11DS RoamAbout card. > >What's a 802.11DS card? I know it's a wireless PCMCIA card. But >what's the "DS" stand for? And I've seen the "RoamAbout" description >before, but I'm not sure what exactly it refers to.
Thanks to CJ, Andrew Kershaw and John Slavin for answering my questions about the 802.11DS standard and RoamAbout. For those who want to understand it a little better, I just ran across a .pdf file entitled "wirelessnet.pdf" which discusses RoamAbout networks in detail. I haven't had a chance to read it all yet, but I perused it sufficiently to learn the basics. You can DL the file at: <http://ddi.cs.uni-potsdam.de/HyFISCH/Multimedia/Learning/funknetz/wir elessnet.pdf> Just FWIW, it looks like the DS (Direct Sequencing) is **required** to be able to utilize the RoamAbout ability. I would think that anyone who has purchased one of the Orinoco DS cards, or is considering it, might want to take a look at this .pdf file to learn more about the concepts. At 10:58 AM -0600 9/6/04, Andrew Kershaw wrote: >Looks like Wegener Media is inconsistent. Is it 802.11b or 802.11? >They claim: > >This card offers full 10bT networking capabilities, full > >compatability with Airport base stations, and the entire 802.11 > >network system! > > > >11mbs Transfer rate--cruise the web wirelessly as fast as your cable > >or phone line can connect!! > >But they are also careful never to call it an 802.11b card.... So >which is it?! Smells fishy. Anyone got one? In case you missed it, Drew, Clyde Kahrl said he bought a couple of the Wegener cards recently. I don't know if this answers your transfer-rate question or not, but the above mentioned file states (the ** emphasis is mine): "From the module-specific menu, choose Set Wireless Configuration, then choose Set Transmit Rate. The Auto Rate Select option **allows the Access Point to transmit at its highest supported transmit rate** and to switch to the next lower supported rate when data transmissions fail more than once." Perhaps if you're just using one WAP, you can use 11Mbit, but are choked back down if you want to move from WAP to WAP (i.e. RoamAbout). I dunno. Anyway, thanks again guys, Bob -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
