> > Try searching on wpa_supplicant.
> 
> NOW we're talking. Thanks! You too. Munir (:

wpa_supplicant works, but is an extreme pain to configure via command line
and the config file. I run debian with gnome network manager and it works
really well. You can select a network if it's within range and the SSID is
broadcast in the beacons. If SSID broadcast is turned off, you can also
select an option to manually configure the network, including encryption and
authentication types. It stores the passphrase or hex key in the keyring
manager automatically.

As for which cards work well, I usually point people in the direction of any
Atheros based chipset since they have great Linux support and are great for
network auditing. If you're in the market to buy one new, check out the
Ubiquiti SuperRange Cardbus or SuperRange eXpress.

Regards,
Andrew