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Hardware Review Website and USB WiFi Adapter advice Needed

If anyone knows of any really good websites for reviews and side by side comparisons of hardware, feel free to post them in this thread.

Recently I found a need for using wireless ( wifi ) to access the web and all I need is a couple of good USB WifI adapters ( dongles ) to build myself a cantenna. But I'm on a tight budget and trying to find one that works with Windows 98, that offers as many of the benefits available as is possible, isn't all that easy.

So, I was thinking that someone out there in html land might consider making a website where people could actually find information for comparison of factors other than just price. I'm thinking of a web page where I could enter my needs for the USB WiFi adapter, such as; being able to state the one or more operating systems that I might use with it, whether or not I want, or need wpa2, 802.11"b", "g", or "n", etc... Then have it tell me which USB WiFi adapters are compatible and show me ratings, reviews and pricing (as the last step) for each device.

The websites I've seen so far, (keep in mind I'm using painfully slow dialup), include CNET, ZNET, along with assorted other NET and geeky named sites that are so bloated with advertising with minimal useful info. The one site I found semi-useful was Amazon, only because the item I was looking at had high ratings on other sites and most people who reviewed the same USB WiFI adapter on Amazon said it had poor reliability and got seriously hot, to the point of being a potential fire hazard, (it was a big name brand item).

As things stand, I've had to do so many searches that I'm ready to say screw it and buy some cheap piece of junk from China, (which is likely where most of them are made anyway), and just go with that for now. I know that so long as I continue to use Win98, I'm going to have to make due with slower speeds anyway, but I do plan to upgrade to Win2K, or Win XP soon, so for now at least I need something that is Win98 compatible.

(/vent)

K.

Reply to
kickofthecat
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Just stop. Brand new or refurbished machines can be had, with the operating system, for less that $300. That's brand new, much faster, CPU, memory, drives, etc. Just end the madness of 98.

Stop ing and bite the bullet.

Reply to
Bill Kearney

I'll have a look at my virtual stock portfolio. j/k

Actually, I'm on a very modest fixed income and just don't have the extra cash for new computers right now. (Guess I should have mentioned that in the first post.) I currently use 2 P2's that both run Win98, 1 for selling some stuff online and 1 for personal use. I do hope to have enough cash to pick up a couple of high end P3's, or low end P4's by summer, but I'd save a lot of cash by being able to access wireless now using what I have.

The place I rent is about 500 to 600 feet from the owner's place and WiFi is actually included in the rent, "if" I can connect to it. I also need to consider portability, since I rent this place in the winter by the month, that is normally used in summer by regular customers, (at much higher rates). Which means that in the summer I'll be living in an old travel trailer I'm restoring, (which I don't mind, since I'm into gold panning and plan to spend the summer doing that). So, I'd planned on getting at least 1 newer laptop, but I know that theres no laptops that are going to get that sort of range. I also expect that while touring around in the summer months, I'll be pulling into areas that have hotspots and I'll be having need of extra WiFi range,

K.

Reply to
kickofthecat

You sound like you are on the Carolina coast. Where do you do most of your panning, Kersaw, Waxhaw?

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

Reply to
Rico

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