a standard

I read all the reviews and couldn't wait for my access point and PC card to arrive. I consider myself a fairly techie person but I haven't dabbled in networking much. It took 5 hours and 2 phone calls to D-Link tech support to get this setup. The quick install directions for the card are pretty easy. Most of my problems were with D-Link's wireless access point (DWL-5000AP) and how it interacted with D-Link's router (I-604). But, I figured that once set up, who cares how long it took as long as the product works.
Here's where I had problems ... I could walk around my house and enjoy a very fast connection. Fifteen minutes to an hour later, the connection would drop. I could place my laptop next to the wireless access point and it couldn't get a signal. I called D-Link again. The tech service guy finally came back with an answer: .11a doesn't work well through walls. They suggested that I call the sales department to find a more suitable D-Link product. That didn't seem to explain my problem or anything that I read about .11a, so I shipped mine back yesterday. I'm going to give the NetGear .11b equipment a try. I know it won't be as fast or as cool. I'm just shooting for a reliable connection right now.

I purchased this card for my Dell c800 laptop together with D-Link's DWL-5000AP access point. For the most part, it works out of the box and installs flawlessly. However, this card does not appear to be fully XP compatible. The drivers available for it are quite "old" (April 2002) and ARE NOT CERTIFIED XP COMPATIBLE. This card is not "hot-swappable" as it will cause XP to blue screen if you pop it out of the slot without stopping it. A call to D-Link support confirmed this along with the fact that they have still not received certification from Microsoft. I would stay away from this product until they do.

All I had to do was install the drivers in my laptop, reboot and plug the card in the PC card slot. When it boots back up it recognizes the hardware and installation is almost instant. It even connects to the router/ap instantly. I was very impressed and pleased with the range and speeds I get with this wireless card. I am able to surf the internet and play games outside with a high speed connection and NO WIRES.

If you have the money I'd say go for it. If you are looking for a wireless 802.11b product I'd say go for the DWL-650+ because it's double the speeds compared to older 11Mbps hardware and a better price. But I like speed and 802.11a is all about speed.