Ok, I just took a look at Tails 0.16 and it's actually running kernel 3.2, which is fairly recent. If you could post the exact model of your wifi card (but don't post any serial numbers), I can look into it some more. Also, forget about all those commands I wrote above. Just run the "lsusb" command and see if the NetGear device is listed. Don't post the exact line, just confirm whether it's listed.