What kind of wireless interface cards (WICs) should students, faculty or staff purchase for their laptop or PDA?
The TTUnet wireless network implementation will support ANY 802.11b Wi-Fi compliant cards provided the vendor has 802.1x compliant drivers available. Newer 802.11g cards should be backwards compatible but have not been tested by our staff. Many current model laptops, those purchased within the last 12 – 15 months, may have wireless “onboard”, meaning additional expansion cards are NOT necessary. Laptops older than 12 – 15 months will most likely require the purchase of a wireless interface card. Wireless interface cards for laptops come in two basic “flavors” PCMCIA or USB. Laptops less than 4 years old usually have both PCMCIA and USB ports, while laptops that are 4+ years old probably only have 1 or 2 PCMCIA ports. USB and PCMCIA cards are available for ALL standards of wireless.
