Dangers of 802.11g

Although some manufacturers are jumping the gun on 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless equipment, the truth is that the standard isn't finished and won't be agreed until June, as CNet News confirms. And only when it is finished can interoperability be tested, which leaves the current g products based on draft specifications facing two hazards: they may not correctly implement the standard, and they may not interoperate properly. Buyers should at least make sure than any ROM software is in Flash ROM in case it needs to be upgraded. Also, as usual with Ethernet, the "54mbps" speed claimed for 802.11g will never be approached in real life. You would be very lucky to get half that, and 22-23 mbps seems more likely. Of course, this is still a useful improvement for a LAN. However, since 802.11b is already faster than your ADSL or cable Internet connection, the extra speed of 802.11g is probably not of great significance to most home users.