Intel will be releasing a new mobile Pentium chip in early Q1; a ground-up redesign of the chip specifically for mobile devices that should allow laptops to run for a full day on current battery technology (i.e., a 600% improvement) w/ built-in Wi-Fi support (no additional card needed). I don't have nor have I used 802.11b, so I don't know the answer... but it would seem like a useful piece of functionality to have the card 'poll' for access, automatically alerting the user/owner when it had "reception" (much like a cell phone).

==> DRIVE-BY SPAM ATTACKS HIT WIRELESS LANs

The proliferation of unsecured corporate wireless networks is fueling a
surge in drive-by spamming, a security expert warned attendees of the First
International Security Users Conference in London. "These people simply
drive up to a building armed with their pornographic e-mail, log into the
insecure wireless network, send the message to 10 million e-mail addresses
and then just drive away," said Adrian Wright, managing director of Secoda
Risk Management. With more ISPs instituting no-spamming rules, these
unsecured networks have become easy targets for would-be spammers. All they
have to do is find an unprotected SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) port
on a company's server and then pose as legitimate users of the network --
the mail server can't tell the difference. Wright warned that between 60%
and 80% of corporate wireless networks are unsecured, often because
managers fail to change default settings when they install a wireless LAN.
The security hole has led to the new phenomenon of "wardriving" -- driving
around a city until you find an unsecured wireless LAN -- which leads to
"warchalking" -- drawing a symbol in chalk on a wall or pavement to mark
the presence of a wireless networking node. And the practice isn't just
confined to metro areas, said Wright, producing a photo of a warchalking
symbol drawn on a buoy floating at sea.

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