Nate Carlson writes:
 > On Wed, 18 Sep 2002, rpgoldman at real-time.com wrote:
 > > I realize that this is a stupid question, but is there an Orinoco that
 > > is just a PCI card?  Or do I have to buy the $50-odd network card + a
 > > 50-odd PCI adapter for each desktop I have?  Seems not just expensive
 > > but kludgy.
 > 
 > Not orinoco that I know of, but Linksys has one.. and you can get 'em
 > pretty cheap, too. $70 at Amazon.. it's the Linksys WMP11.

OK, I'm puzzled.  Why would anyone pay the $50 + 50 for a more
cumbersome Orinoco solution instead of $50 - 60 for a linksys?

 > 
 > > Ouch.  For two desktops + an access point, pulling wire is starting to
 > > look competitive.  Even at electrician's rates $700 or so buys a
 > > reasonable amount of wire-pulling.
 > 
 > $700? You must be looking at Cisco gear.  :)

Yup.  Cisco and Orinoco both seem to be about $500 for the WAP.  And
the Linksys seems to be about $100.  MUCH more reasonable.

 > 
 > If you go Linksys, it'll be around $120 for the AP, and $70 for each card.
 > A bit more reasonable..
 > 
 > 
 > Could always do phoneline networking, but it's lame.
 > 
 > Really, I usually recommend wiring as much as you can.. makes life a lot
 > easier in the future. Plus, then you get 100mb.. of course, I also like my
 > wireless network, 'cuz I can walk around anywhere I want with my laptop. I
 > don't think I'd ever put a desktop on wireless unless it was the last
 > resort, though.

It might be the last resort.

My house was built in 1911.  Everytime I show an electrician the house
they wince and shake their heads sadly.  I love these old, solid, lath
and plaster walls, but compared to wallboard, they're a nightmare for
wiring.  The space between every pair of laths seems to offer a new
opportunity for plaster to glob through and snag wires.

Anyway, waiting for a wiring quote.  If it's less than the wireless
hardware, I'm there....

It's possible that what I want is more like bridging mode, so I can
have a network that covers both my third floor and my first floor,
through a wireless bridge, and have cables within each floor.....