Problem: Downloading bittorrents over wireless cards causes frequent connection drops, requiring removal and reinsertion of the driver module to restore the connection. Specifically, I have an Intel wireless card and I use the ipw2200 driver.
Solution:
The GNOME applet that detects the wireless signal is the cause of the problem. Remove the applet from the panel and the card should stay connected. There are still connection drops from time to time, but not nearly as often