mini mac wireless?

[jackash]

hi there, complete noob wen it comes to macs, please be nice. I am thinking of buying a second hand mini mac which doesnt have wireless built in. Is it possible to use a usb wireless adaptor instead?
thanks

 

[kwood]

Yes, as long as you have the drivers.

 

[iMeowbot]

For Bluetooth, USB adapters can be fine. USB WiFi adapters, on the other hand, tend to be finicky and unreliable. You'll be a lot more satisfied if you get a mini with wireless included. Second best (not necessarily easy to do yourself, but the results are the same as wireless from the factory) is to get hold of a Apple internal upgrade kit.

 

[pianoman]

i would go for the one with the wireless already built-in.

if you want to try using the USB adapter, go ahead. you can always buy just the airport card and have a genius at the apple store install it for you or install it yourself (minis can be tricky, though).

good luck and enjoy your mac!

 

[jackash]

thanks for the responses. How much would it cost to have wireless fit? Also how unreliable IS wireless via usb? What is it is sat next to a windows laptop connected via a wireless connection, can it be connected via a lead through that?
thanks guys