ndiswrapper

[Jonathan Hutchins]

As I understand it, there is the potential for 802.11g cards to disrupt, or at 
least use, frequencies that are used by the military.  Manufactureres have, 
according to rumor, been pressured not to release information that would 
allow users to select these frequencies.  Open Source software does not 
provide any means for manufacturers to do this, and aparantly locking down 
the available frequencies in the hardware is impractical.

This is just rumor - I have seen no confirmation that there has been any 
pressure on the manufacturers, nor can I confirm that this potential is 
anythnig more than an excuse to stick to a propietary model.

That said, 
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11ag.html

Lists two 802.11g device driver projects, the Prism54 driver at 
http://prism54.org/ and the Intell IPW2200 at 
http://ipw2200.sourceforge.net/.

A little searching finds the prism-based Tekram TM-802G available from 
pcbay.com at $22.98 shipped.

This article says that Intel is releasing Linux drivers for it's Centrino 
platform: 
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39156340,00.htm

Here's an article from someone who picked up a prism based Netgear WG511 for 
$35 a year ago - gotta be cheaper now: 
http://toys.lerdorf.com/archives/15-802.11g-Netgear-WG511-and-Linux.html

So it's just a matter of putting in the effort to find one that works, even if 
you really want 11g speed for $25.