What type of product can one buy to give Ubuntu 7.10 access to an 802.11b/g network?

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A *Nix compatble WiFi card might be a start... Think Linksys do one... ask BudMan, he's the networking guru round these here parts.

1) Avoid Broadcom chipsets
2) Mostly anything with Atheros chipset will work (but check on the net, as some features are limited, like Adhoc)

and some of you won't agree with me, but linux + wireless = losing your nerves as haven't found a card that would work properly, like in Windows.

btw. I use linux and I use external Client AP's

I've had 2 different ones work just fine in my laptop, one Belkin pcmcia (the port stopped working though) and now I use one that's a Linksys USB. Easiest way to avoid hassle is like this. Research what's compatible (or ask around).

I've got a netgear wg311v3 (marvel chipset), it was very easy to setup using ndiswrapper!

You cannot guarantee what chip your card has without looking at the revision on the card itself then doing some research. Manufacturers are switching them all the time. I've never known Linksys to use Atheros. DLink, and Netgear have been though. Linksys usually usues Broadcom, RaLink, or Marvell. Atheros chips are great. If the card you get does not work out of the box, use Ndiswrapper to get it working.

is there anything i can buy at a retail store (brick and mortar? which one?) to get my ubuntu 7.10 computer on wifi? like a USB wifi dongle...i bought one a few months back, but i didn't know what to do

well dell sells laptops with ubuntu on them so i would have to assume wifi works in linux.

The best guaranteed way is using a bridge on a hard ethernet port, in my point of view.