[DuoList] Basic OS X questions (yes I searched archives!)

[Moe]

Hello all,

I'm thinking about installing OS X on a Newer G3/240/512kb machine
with 112mb RAM.  After scouring the archives, I still have a few
unanswered questions:

1. Is there any build that people have found to be the best balance
between usability/speed and compatibility?

2. Do PCMCIA cards work, or don't they?  Some reports claim they do,
others claim they don't, yet others claim only Cardbus.  What's the
real deal people?

3. Can I set the display to use more than 8bit/256 colors?

4. Is there a benchmark on bootup time?

5. Has the sound only at maximum problem been fixed in XPF yet?

6. What's the deal with using 802.11b in OS X?  Does it work
decently/at all without major hassle?

7. If I have an external and ancient 2x Apple SCSI CD-ROM, can I use
the OS X install disc and still install it without removing the hard
drive from my machine?

8. Any other comments about this or heads up I should be aware of? 
I'd honestly like to use this for everyday use and feel like if I get
a USB Pc card and a wifi/ethernet card, I'd be essentially good to go
for my purposes (word processing, minor web browsing/e-mail/instant
messenging, MAYBE music(mp3s))

Thanks a ton people, I GREATLY appreciate your wise experience!

Morris