Need Wireless Laptop info

Just about made up my mind to go ahead and get a laptop.

Trouble is I don't have clue #one about computers so:

What's a good machine/brand/model

How exactly does wireless work? I mean if you're computer is wireless ready you can just walk into any hotspot and get access for free, right?

I've seen alot of computers on Craigslist for $200-$300, which is about what I'm hoping to spend. any tips on what to look for/ what to look out for?

Any info would be a big help.

 

some wireless hotspots charge,

orinoco has nice cards,

I don't know what exactly you want in a comp so I can't make a reccomendation there, tell us what you're using it for that'll help

other than that there is little I can help w\ atm

 

thanks for the reply.

I'll be using it mostly to get online. Other than that, just word processing so I'd guess I wont be needing anything too fancy.

How do the cards work?

 

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you can just buy any old laptop with a PCCard or PCMCIA slot and plug a card in. If you use windows, I think you just need to install the drivers and it works, no problem. With Linux, it can take some playing around with.

 

well I'm on a desktop w\ a linksys wireless g in it right now...... High latency but 54mbps bandwidth........

not optimum for gaming, freat for moving files...

 

Thanx for the info.

 

just make sure the wireless card supports 802.11 a/b/g

at minimum, b and g