Having purchased a $40 Ambicom CF wifi card I'm wondering. If I get a wifi card for my old laptop can I run mp3s, etc off the laptop HD without having to purchase a wireless router? Another $30-40 is okay for the 'fun factor' but I'm not going to drop another $80 on top of that for a router just to show off.

Ounce

In general, yes, you can create a network using just two wifi cards without having a router or access point. To do this, you set the wifi cards up using "Ad hoc" mode instead of "Infrastructure" mode. I can't say whether you will be able to run an MP3 file off of the laptop since I haven't tried that. I was able to edit a text file that was on my laptop using my Axim, but I haven't tried anything beyond that. I seem to recall folks saying it wasn't possible to run music on the Axim from a remote location, but I am not sure.

If you do a search on "Ad hoc" you should find a number of threads that talk about how to set it up, including a MS tutorial that I think was helpful. Note that some people have found it much easier to setup a network with an AP/router, though my expereince was that I had no serious problems setting up in Ad hoc mode.

Good luck. Networking can be a pain in the a**, but it is pretty cool once everything is working correctly.

yes. set them up in ad-hoc mode and you can talk between 2 hosts without an AP

if the desktop then has internet access, does this provide the axim with wireless internet access (like the usb cradle/cable provides internet access for webbrowsing etc whilst connected)?

If you enable internet connection sharing on the desktop PC (depending on OS version), then the Axim can also access the internet wirelessly similar to when it's in the cradle.

Check out www.colligo.com. They have a sofware that let's you talk to another WIFI card WITHOUT a WAP. With just two cards you can set up a peer-to-peer network that you can instant message, swap files, and replicate databases. Neat software. I'm like you I wanted to be able to talk to my desktop but I can't put in a WAP (corp environment). But I could buy two cards and have my own little newtwork. Check it out.

John

Helsby -

The Microsoft tutorial that I have posted in some other "Ad hoc" threads takes you step by step through setting up both an Ad hoc network and sharing an internet connection if your desktop/laptop is running XP. I thought it was pretty well-written though I have to say that I didn't follow it all the way through the internet sharing piece since I can't configure my laptop that way due to hardware limitations. BTW - It isn't written with the PocketPC in mind, but many of the configuration issues are the same.

Johnt -

I don't know exactly what the Colligo software does, but setting up an ad hoc network does NOT require any additional software. I set one up between an Axim (Linksys WCF12) and a Dell laptop (Dlink Wifi card) without anything more than getting the network settings correct. From a glance, it seems that perhaps the Colligo stuff will make the process "idiot-proof," but I would have to see it to believe it.

i don't really want internet connection sharing turned on, after all i don't have it turned on at the moment and the axim can see the internet! still - we'll see. I may get an AP so my other pc's can join the network too.