802.11n and coffee shops

Hello, I need to get a wifi card for my laptop (no wifi at this time). I'm not an expert on this, hence the reason I'm here - to hear from you experts out there !

WiFi Coffee shops, libraries, etc. are transmitting using what...802.11b/ g ? The newest cards are 802.11n right, so if I get a 802.11n wifi card, will I be able to use it on 802.11b/g network?

Any guidance will be appreciated.

J
Reply to
hdjim69
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On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:23:59 -0800 (PST), hdjim69 wrote in :

Correct.

PRE-n -- 802.11n has NOT been approved, and there is no guarantee PRE-n products will be compatible with the final standard. I suggest buying a good (and cheaper) G card instead.

Yes.

Reply to
John Navas

Thanks for answering

ok, but what happens when 802.11n does become a standard and coffee shops upgrade, will my 802.11g card still work on an 802.11n network? And if it does, obviously not at full bandwidth...

J
Reply to
hdjim69

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:59:23 -0800 (PST), hdjim69 wrote in :

Your G card will still work, and even a B card is faster than the Internet.

Reply to
John Navas

that always amazes me..... when people say... I need a FAST card with 22mbps or 54mbps - so I can use it at the local WiFi hotspot - that is running a 1.5mbps DSL line !

then again - our local library is running a 20mbps network node on our local muni network node.

Reply to
P.Schuman

Suggestion.. Quit reading ads and listening to the lies by the salespeople.... You used one word above ("obviously"), that assures you have no interest in the truth but in the lies the salesdroids are telling you to try and get your money... Hint.. if their mouth is moving when they talk, they are lying (PS, i'm not a salesdroid and am typing not talking! Whew :)

Reply to
Peter Pan

so I take it speed is not the issue. Then I deduce it's....distance ?? Then again, if I'm sitting IN the coffee shop I should have no problems with distance. But if I were say a hacker sitting across the street in the back of my van, then distance would be an issue. This begs the question...why not keep the distance short so no one can be out of sight??

J
Reply to
hdjim69

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:33:59 -0800 (PST), hdjim69 wrote in :

It could be. The real point is that N is totally unnecessary for a coffee shop. Even B is more than good enough when there's no security.

If I were responsible for the coffee shop, I'd recommend WPA Enterprise with a RADIUS server, with a small printer to print out time limited authentication credentials for paying patrons, which would essentially mean going with G over B. That way all connections would be isolated and secure. I'd also recommend a high-grade router with traffic shaping so no one patron could hog all the bandwidth, and blocking of filesharing.

Correct.

Some places do just that, but it can often be defeated with a high-gain antenna. Others use authentication to keep out the leeches, which is much more effective.

Reply to
John Navas

Speed is NOT the issue, and distance may *NOT* be any different.. have you noticed they ALWAYS use the weasel words "range UP TO" 4x 8x 10x etc... is there any promise of more, or are they just saying that it CAN be more?

While it changes on a daily basis, i have seen long distance records for standard B/G wap's (with custom antennas of course) of 63miles, and last week 231 miles, and there is talk of putting something on the space station so you will get a range of many thousands of miles!.....

at any rate, not sure where you are, but I used skynet of spokane

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) several HUNDRED square miles of hot spot area, with standard b/g stuff....... There are many other providers that serve many other areas See the map at
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and select your state

Reply to
Peter Pan

that's right

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Reply to
onlyking0594

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