Plug a wireless adapter into your USB Port

Plug a wireless adapter into your USB Port

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has been one of the advances in
computer technology that I appreciate the most: It has opened up
a lot of possibilities.

To begin with, you no longer have to use a large, space-hungry
casing for your home-built PC if you want to load it fully with
expansion cards such as an internal modem and a radio/TV tuner.

Unlike in the past, you need not worry if you have only one or
two free PCI expansion slots left on your mainboard. If you want
to be able to watch TV on your computer screen, for example, all
you have to do is buy an external TV tuner and plug it into one
of those USB ports.

It is detected immediately and the right software driver for
it is automatically uploaded.

USB ports can also expand your connectivity, both wired and
wireless. So, for instance, if you have a Bluetooth-capable
cellphone or PDA and you want to be able to synchronize the data
on this mobile device with the data kept on the PC, all you need
do is plug a Bluetooth transmitter-receiver (transceiver) adapter
into one of the USB ports.

Of course, your cellphone or PDA may already come with a data
cable that will connect it directly to the PC. However, more
often than not, you will prefer to do the data-synching without
any cable. Here is where the Bluetooth can serve you.

Besides, adding Bluetooth to your PC, Mac or notebook can make
it easier for you to connect it to another Bluetooth device such
as a print server or a modem.

Which Bluetooth adapters can be fitted into the USB port?
There is plenty of choice on the market, including those from
3Com, AmbiCom, Belkin, Billionton, D-Link and Zoom. Most of them
can connect devices as far as 10 meters apart.

If you need a more powerful Bluetooth transceiver that can
cover a distance of up to 100 meters, it is also available and it
usually comes with an antenna outside of the casing. Keep in mind
that you need the same powerful Bluetooth adapters on both ends.
Otherwise, it will not work, as the communication between these
devices should be two-way.

Some Bluetooth transceivers also come in the form of a PC-
Card, and they are more suitable for notebooks. The advantage is
that, because it is inserted into the PC-Card slot, you can leave
it there while you are traveling and you are less likely to lose
it.

You can choose your PC-Card Bluetooth adapter from companies
such as Billionton and D-Link. Others even come in a CompactFlash
format, and are meant to be used with a PDA that still has no
built-in Bluetooth capability. An example of a CompactFlash
Bluetooth adapter is the Billionton CFBT02.

What about Wi-Fi? Is there a Wi-Fi USB adapter available?
There are many available in computer stores. The top names in
networking gear, such as 3Com, D-Link, Netgear, LinkSys and
Tekram, will offer one or two for you to choose from.

What should you check if you are looking for a wireless USB
adapter, whether Bluetooth or Wi-Fi?

First and foremost, check whether they are compatible with
your current operating system. If you have installed Windows XP
Service Pack 2 (SP2), for example, make sure the device is
compatible with this OS.

Some users of Bluetooth adapters have reported having really
bad migraines trying to make them work with SP2.

Next, make sure that it also supports USB 2.0, which is faster
than the USB 1.1. This is especially preferable in the case of
the Wi-Fi USB adapter. Most likely, though, it already does.

Finally, if you tend to break things that you work with, it
may be better for you to buy a PC-Card wireless adapter rather
than a USB adapter. The former will last longer.