Q: PowerBook 1400cs/166 internet

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1079593

Offers several solutions for ethernet.  Note rumors about new products are not to be believed or used to make future decisions from this website, nor are posting rumors from that forum allowed on Apple's forum.

As far as I know the PCMCIA standard never got 802.11g wireless adapting possible directly, and certainly not for Mac OS 8.6.      But once you have ethernet, you can get a WiFi ethernet bridge to connect your machine to any wireless network.  I would not get one with just 802.11b though.   You might also need a crossover ethernet cable depending on the bridge's capability:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2274

That's the type of device you'd look for, but I don't see a Mac driver on that page. 

Hello Carlos,

The picture shows a Farallon PhoneNET network adapter. Apple used LocalTalk connection boxes and cables instead.

The short cable with the MiniDIN-8M plug was connected to the printer port of a Macintosh computer or a LocalTalk-capable printer. The connection between two PhoneNET adapters was established via modular phone-style cabling. One adapter at each end had a terminator (a 120 ohm resistor in a modular plug). This way it was possible to share files and print via a network.

The Ethernet adapter in your second message appears to be a CardBus card, which cannot be used in the PowerBook 1400 models. You will need 16-bit PCMCIA (PC Card) here. When you look for an Ethernet card, make sure that it is a model with appropriate Mac drivers.

It is possible to use certain old 802.11b (16-bit) PC Cards in a PowerBook. See, for example, the web page below:

http://www.penmachine.com/techie/airport1400.html

The speed would be limited to 11 Mbps, but that is not the main problem (that speed would be fine for a PowerBook 1400). These cards allow WEP security, which is not adequate today, Unless for a temporary network, you should normally use WPA/WPA2.

As a brody mentioned, you could use a wireless Ethernet bridge once you have a working Ethernet connection. One example with support for modern wireless security standards would be Netgear's WNCE2001. The disadvantage would be that it is an external device (and it needs a separate power supply).

Jan

Unless you plan to be over 500 meters from civilization, and no cars are driving by, and no one ever drives by who has a computer or smart phone or tablet, 802.11b is too old a wireless technology to be secure.  Not to mention it limits your wireless speed to 11 Mbps, and you have to set your wireless router to accept it, and any limited encryption 802.11b offers.  802.11b does not offer WPA2.   The WPA and WEP it does offer are easy to crack.  That's why I recommend an ethernet card and an 802.11g or faster WiFi ethernet bridge.

The Wi-Fi card could be a plain 16-bit model, but nothing is said about drivers for Mac OS 8.6 (it is often difficult to locate drivers for early Mac operating systems). Instead, have a look at the web page under the link in my previous message for details about wireless cards. Only some models are suitable.

I would not worry about the 11 Mbps speed (theoretical maximum) with an 802.11b Wi-Fi card, but the WEP security protocol (which per se is a different matter)  is not adequate, as I mentioned earlier. The card with WEP would determine the entire security setup for your home network, which is a bad thing (the normal wireless network should use WPA2, or at least plain WPA). One could possibly experiment with a second wireless router (running at low power and easy to switch off) in some kind of  separate network/segment for WEP, intended merely for the PowerBook 1400 during shorter periods. Only you can decide whether the reduced security level is acceptable or not.

Jan

Some 3Com cards (limited to certain exact models/variants) appear to work with Mac with a special driver, at least according to information on the Internet. Since this seems to be rather experimental, it is probably better to look for an Ethernet PCMCIA card from (for example) Asante or Farallon with explicit support for Mac.

Jan

When I said that the Wi-Fi card could be a plain 16-bit model, I was referring to your link with the SMC card. The TP-Link card appears to be CardBus, which cannot be used here (CardBus cards  have a gold strip near the connector).

For a PowerBook 1400, look for the Orinoco (with the correct antenna shape) or Dell 16-bit PCMCIA Wi-Fi cards mentioned in the article above.

Jan