'Scuse me while I clean up from smashing powered looms (Luddites were
big on that during the Industrial Revolution) and point out a hidden but
somewhat consequential problem with going with new technology;
specifically, the introduction of Vista and Vista-ready computers, at
least for cruising sailors and those who use wifi in anchorages. Kiss
PC Cards (AKA PCMCIA cards) good bye and say hello to Express Cards
(and, no, they are not interchangeable or backwards compatible). So
what does this have to do with wifi in anchorages? Good luck finding a
wifi Express Card with a connector for an external antenna (the thing
that makes hauling in a signal from a couple hundred yards possible).
And that means back to the usual anemic reception, range, missed data,
and no data that we so learned to love with PC Cards without external
antennas.

Sooooo... time to get that latest and greatest WinXP system that you've
been dreaming about before they're all gone or sold as refurbs on eBay.
And, BTW, do not assume all units shipped WinXP have PC card slots. The
HP dv9xxx series, for example, is express card only and it's sold with
WinXP Pro. Ditto for some Toshiba laptops, too.

Have a nice day! [grin]

Cheers,
Rick Emerson

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Received on Mon Feb 19 12:25:42 2007