A communication interface device includes a wireless Internet packet (IP) transceiver
and a PCMCIA card electrically connected to the transceiver. Also, a universal
serial bus (USB) connector is plugged into a hub that holds the PCMCIA card, with
a cord extending from the USB connector and terminating in another USB connector.
Accordingly, the device can be engaged with the PCMCIA bay of a user terminal or,
if a user terminal has no PCMCIA bay, with a USB receptacle of the user terminal,
to establish wireless communication. To simplify set-up, a CD containing all operating
system versions of PCMCIA and USB drivers is engaged with the user terminal. The
terminal's operating system is then automatically determined, and only the drivers
associated with that operating system are loaded onto the terminal.
