centrino T40 2wire wireless connection

My T40, running XP, identifies the signal from the 2Wire 1000SW router supplied by SBC. However, it won’t connect. The 2Wire support person thinks it’s interference. His only suggestion is changing the frequency channel away from default, and not using it within range of cordless phones, microwave ovens, and other wireless routers. I have connected the T40 successfully to a LAN in an office environment.
Does anyone have more to add?

If you suggest linux, please be specific about where to go for configuration guides. Yast shows it properly installed with driver working, but it doesn’t show up in the configuration tools.