kpf, I don't think the wifi manufacturer matters much. They all work the same. Linksys, Netgear, Dlink are some brands I see in my area. Get something that has a big presence at your local computer store (you might ask the salesmen there which ones get returned, or look to see excess store-wrapped returns on the shelf).
Personally, I think the a/b/g cards are a waste of money. Hot spots currently all use 'b' (moving to 'g') and you can set up your home with 'g'. All 'g' cards are 'b/g', and you only need 'a' if your employer deployed it at work.
All the AMD laptops I see integrate 'b/g', and Centrino uses 'b' only, so I am still wondering how you found one without WiFi capability. No matter. The brand of WiFi is not an item of concern. Set up reasonable security on it, unless you are 100% sure that no one will snoop the radio frequency. Defining your security level is the important item that you need to think about, if you have questions I can help with that.
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