Actiontec's 802.11a Wireless Networking Card

In the area of odd naming conventions this year, remember that 802.11a was released after 802.11b and provides faster network speeds. Seems almost designed to confuse consumers, doesn't it? Maybe they should have called it 802.12 or something to make it easier to understand that it's the next evolutionary step for the specification. That aside, 802.11a products have been coming out of the woodwork of late and one of the new gizmos is Actiontec Electronics' 802.11a Wireless Networking Card. Designed to fit into any notebook, handheld, or desktop computer equipped with a 32-bit Cardbus port (not too common on a desktop), the 802.11a Wireless Networking Card gives you access to your network at speeds up to 54 Mpbs. It also operates within the 5 GHz communications band, so it shouldn't interfere with your cordless phone or other devices. Because 802.11a operates on a different frequency, it can coexist with other networks, including those based on 802.11b (slower and older, remember?). The new card uses Radio-on-a-Chip technology developed by Atheros Communications and should be in stores in January with a suggested retail price of $149. Actiontec says the card is compatible with any computer or network running Windows 98, Windows 98SE, NT 4.0, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP and supports ad-hoc networking with other wireless devices and other 802.11a compliant access points.