os9 doesnt support fw800 or usb2.0 no matter what. devices will be available but these will downgrade to usb1.1/fw400
its the same thing with the airport extreme, these are the factors that made them specify some mdds as X only.. they obviously either couldnt or wouldnt make them work under mac os 9.. jobs probably declared it a waste of time if they were running into snags making the drivers for os9... as far as i know no mac os 9 booting mac ever came with any airport extreme, they are only supported on mac os x.
question is, does macos9 support the pci wireless adapters?
this article
http://lowendmac.com/2009/wifi-for-desktop-macs-running-mac-os-9/ discusses using wifi pcmcia adapters meant for laptops in a desktop via a pci card pmcia adapter to convert them into normal pci cards
it links to this fabulous chart (Thanks to some googling + wayback machining - a very nice find indeed + usefull resource)
Mac OS Wireless Adapter Compatibility List
(Last updated November 30, 2007)
http://web.archive.org/web/20090323083515/http://www.stateofyo.net/metaphyzx/Wireless.htm
this is confusing because it mentions all these g type adapters. im pretty sure they dont work under 9 tho? unless im mistaken? ive only ever seen mac os x show "new device available in pci slot x" but yet in this chart there is a column depicting os support in 9!!!
but i think if u take time to go thru the chart it shoudl become apparent 9 support is only for B devices
we already established tht the best solution was to use a wireless to ethernet bridge
such as this little guy right here the dlink DWL g810
the only solution to have your cake and eat it too, compatible in both X+9 and providing wireless G speed to your mac os 9 desktop.
its perfect because it doesnt take up a valuable pci slot spot aswell.
looks like this article breaks it down for os 9 PCMCIA devices
http://lowendmac.com/2009/wifi-pc-cards-for-powerbooks-running-mac-os-9/if u highlight all the pci devices in the chart they are alost all for mac os x only..... seems like 9 only likes to support pcmcia devices so if u really want a pci card solution for 9. u need a pcmcia to pci adapter! (if u dont have an airport slot) original airport cards can be bought on ebay for $5 + ship if u have an original airport slot
whats funy is i just looked up the one pci device that suports 9.. and it literally is a pcmcia card on a pci card "cisco Aironet pci"
but it can even support 8.6 so maybe its a good buy for a b&w g3 classic user