- Confusion on Centrino and Wifi
- Posted by JKaye1 on August 3rd, 2003
I was looking to buy a new Centrino laptop. The new Sony tr1a comes with wifi
built in but it is the b and not the g version of wifi. Isn't this already
outdated? I am concerned that by next month or so, they will be out with the g
version. Does anyone have any thoughts or insight on this. I am a newbie, so
sorry if this seems simplistic.
Jim
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- Posted by eMeL on August 3rd, 2003
"JKaye1" <jkaye1@aol.comqqqspam> wrote in message
news:20030803100405.24129.00000902@mb-m16.aol.com...
If it is branded "centrino" it has to be 802.11b. "Centrino" means a specific Intel
chipset + 802.11b Wi-Fi chip + Pentium M processor. Intel is well behind the rest of
the world with Wi-Fi, regardless of what they say in their ads.
Keep in mind that some Pentium-M laptops come with 802.11b and g (or - seldom - a)
Wi-Fi and therefore are not branded "Centrino" even though have the same chipset and
processor as their Centrino counterparts. Say, I got a Fujitsu P5000D with 802.11 b
and g networking, which is otherwise identical to Fujitsu P5000 "Centrino" but the
latter has only Intel 802.11b Wi-Fi chip.
If you want confusion and marketing mumbo-jumbo you can always count on Intel.
:-)
- Posted by LPB on August 3rd, 2003
"eMeL" <badbatz99@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:viq6c12nvimm0b@corp.supernews.com...
Do you know if it is possible to swap out the mini pci .11b card and slot in
a .11g card on the TR1A/MP
- Posted by WiScottsin on August 3rd, 2003
"JKaye1" <jkaye1@aol.comqqqspam> wrote in message
news:20030803100405.24129.00000902@mb-m16.aol.com...
802.11b is still the standard in the business world, even though 802.11g had
now been approved as a standard. Most 802.11g access points are backwards
compatible with b also. I wouldn't worry about it too much - by the time
802.11b is obsolete, the rest of the laptop will be as well ;-)
If you have a built in B card, you could always buy a PCMCIA G card ( or
whatever comes after G )
- Posted by Andrew on August 3rd, 2003
JKaye1 <jkaye1@aol.comqqqspam> wrote:
: I was looking to buy a new Centrino laptop. The new Sony tr1a comes
: with wifi built in but it is the b and not the g version of wifi.
: Isn't this already outdated?
Hardly. 802.11b is by far the most supported wireless standard out
there. If you plan to use your laptop at airports, hotels, coffee
shops, book stores, etc., you will be using 802.11b, at least for the
near future. All that equipment out there now is 802.11b, not
802.11g. If at home is the only place you will use your laptop and
you really want 802.11g - that's about the only reason I'd be worried
at all (and not that much).
Sure, at some point the owners of all this 802.11b equipment will
start to phase in 802.11g, which is compatible with 802.11b, but
that's not exactly simple or cheap and won't happen overnight. I
think 802.11b will be around for quite a while, at least for a few
years, while 802.11g picks up steam.
Even so, you can always get a different wireless card for your
laptop. Centrino includes a wireless card plugged into the laptop's
mini-PCI slot; you should in theory be able to replace this with an
802.11g card someday. A dealer may even be able to put in a future
Intel card that still keeps the "Centrino" standard intact.
Worst case, someday you buy a PC Card wireless card and disable the
internal card you have now.
Andrew
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----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
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- Posted by Andrew on August 3rd, 2003
eMeL <badbatz99@hotmail.com> wrote:
: If it is branded "centrino" it has to be 802.11b. "Centrino" means
: a specific Intel chipset + 802.11b Wi-Fi chip + Pentium M processor.
Not quite true. Centrino has to include an "Intel-approved"
(i.e. Intel manufactured) wireless card, which as of today happens to
be 802.11b. Future Centrino's will undoubtedly be 802.11g-compatible,
and I would not be surprised if they will allow an upgrade of old
Centrino machines with a new Intel 802.11g wireless card.
Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
************************************************** *****************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
************************************************** *****************
- Posted by marlinspike on August 3rd, 2003
Airports have wireless net set up????!!!! Is it free?
Richard
"Andrew" <usenetMYSHOES@bizaveMYSHOES.com> wrote in message
news:chjrkrfyfy40664645843007@bizaveMYSHOES.com...
- Posted by Howard McCollister on August 3rd, 2003
"eMeL" <badbatz99@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:viq6c12nvimm0b@corp.supernews.com...
It certainly is a muddled market. To be labeled true "Centrino", I believe a
machine has to have Intel's ProSET 2100 WiFi board which is 802.11b. This is
by far the most widely available wireless protocol, installed in thousands
of airports, hotels, and Starbuck's.
Dell's D-series Latitude notebooks have the same basic hardware within each
model making them "Centrino-capable" (Intel 855 chipset, Pentium M
processor). BUT you can order the machine with either the Intel ProSET 2100
802.11b card (in which case it is a "real" Centrino computer complete with
'Centrino' sticker on the case), or you can get it with 802.11b/g, or
802.11a/b/g.
I just bought a D800, but the mini-PCI card I chose was Intel's 802.11b (so
I have a "real" Centrino-whoopee). I thought that it would be useful to get
an a/b/g card, but the reason I didn't is that I have heard of many problems
with Dell's TrueMobil wireless mini-PCI cards. As near as I can tell, the
Intel wifi card is the only difference between a Centrino D800 and a D800
with TrueMobil technology.
If I ever need 802.11a or g, I'll either buy the mini-PCI version and slap
it in, or I'll buy it as a PCMCIA card and slap it in when I need it.
Until then, I have yet to see a hotel with any wireless broadband access
other than 802.11b. I figure 802.11b will work great for me for the life of
this computer (2.5 years).
HMc
- Posted by Howard McCollister on August 3rd, 2003
"marlinspike" <marlinspike@erols.com.nospam> wrote in message
news:bgjeg8$8in$1@bob.news.rcn.net...
Almost all major airports have 802.11b wifi, and no, it's not free. Same is
true of a rapidly increasing number of hotels. I just stayed at a Marriott
in San Diego that had ethernet in the room, and wifi throughout the lobby.
Just stayed at the Silverado resort in Napa, and they had 802.11b virtually
everywhere at the resort, even the golf courses IIRC.
Just open your Centrino laptop, and have Intel PROset scan for networks.
Once you catch it, open your web browser and the screen that comes up is the
splash screen for the company that provides the network. You can have access
for 24 hours after shelling out anywhere from $8 to $10 with your credit
card. Simple process, similar to the wired networks found in hotel rooms.
Bandwidth is good. The one caveat is that the antennas on a typical PCMCIA
wifi card may not have the range for optimal coverage. Better off with
built-in wifi because of the antenna that is supposedly built into the lid
of the laptop. My wife and I found this out at Silverado. We were in a condo
at the end of the row, her Latitude with Wavelan Silver card had a lousy
signal, my D800 "Centrino" had a great signal.
HMc
- Posted by eMeL on August 3rd, 2003
"Howard McCollister" <hmacXX@XXcharter.net> wrote in message
news:3f2d837e$0$2369$45beb828@newscene.com...
If you connect wirelessly only in hotels and "4Bucks" then a 802.11b only setup is
fine.
802.11g lets me listen to mp3s stored on the server whereas a 'b' connection is a
little choppy if I connect from upstarirs in my house: 'g' gives me approx 20 mb
under these conditions whereas a 'b' connection to the same server maxes out at 4-5
mb under indentical conditions.
- Posted by Howard McCollister on August 4th, 2003
"eMeL" <badbatz99@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:vir48ukqn2bubf@corp.supernews.com...
iPod for MP3s so I'm not limited to my house and my laptop for personal
music. At the extreme ends of my house, I get 4-5 mbps too. My internet
connection is 1.5 mbps.
When I need 802.11g (I probably will someday), then I'll buy Intel's
mini-PCI card (when it's available), but I"m pretty sure that by then my
D800 will be pretty high up on the relative obsolescence scale and I am
confident that Dell or Apple will have what I need to meet my wireless
bandwidth requirements at that time.
HMc
- Posted by eMeL on August 4th, 2003
"Howard McCollister" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:3f2da573$0$2366$45beb828@newscene.com...
You know...You can never be too slim, too rich, too handsome, or have too much
bandwidth...
:-)
- Posted by marlinspike on August 4th, 2003
"Howard McCollister" <hmacXX@XXcharter.net> wrote in message
news:3f2d8702$0$2369
What is this Intel PROset? Would I have it if I don't have centrino but I do
have built-in 802.11b?
Thanks,
Richard
- Posted by Howard McCollister on August 4th, 2003
"marlinspike" <marlinspike@erols.com.nospam> wrote in message
news:bgkgbn$16$1@bob.news.rcn.net...
Only if your 802/11b adapter is Intel. Intel PROset is the software that
controls the Intel PRO line of mini-PCI wifi adapters. All brands wifi cards
and adapters will have software specific to them that will have the wifi
scan for wireless networks, and I think it's also part of WindowsXP if there
is no other software loaded. They will all have some mechanism for
automatically or manually scanning for available wireless networks.
HMc
