Wireless Home Networking - Index of

Figure 2-5:
A wireless
PCI adapter.
Chapter 2: From a to n and b-yond
PCI adapters
Nearly all desktop PCs have at least one Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI) slot. This PCI slot is used to install all sorts of add-in cards, including
network connectivity. Most wireless NIC manufacturers offer a wireless PCI
adapter — a version of their product that can be installed in a PCI slot (see
Figure 2-5).
Some wireless PCI adapters are cards that adapt a PC Card for use in a PCI
slot. The newest designs, however, mount the electronics from the PC Card
on a full-size PCI card with a removable dipole antenna attached to the back
of the card.
USB adapters
The USB standard has, over the past several years, become the most widely
used method of connecting peripherals to a personal computer. First popularized
in the Apple iMac, USB supports a data transfer rate many times
faster than a typical network connection, and is therefore a good candidate
for connecting an external wireless network adapter to either a laptop or a
desktop computer. Several wireless networking hardware vendors offer USB
wireless network adapters. They’re easy to connect, transport, and reposition
for better reception.
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