However, the software, both that supplied with the card and the updated versions from the Linksys website, is very poor:

- As noted by other reviewers, it is very bad at finding hotspots. I have never had the configuration utility find a network's SSID automatically; I've always had to enter it manually. My partner's Mac is always able to associate to a network automatically, so it can clearly be done.

- There is an ENORMOUS memory leak in wpc11cfg.exe, the configuration utility. I've seen it use over half of my machine's available 256 MB of memory, slowing down the performance of all my other, more important applications.

- The configuration utility has a non-standard user interface. For example, there's no "Help->About" menu item that lets you find out what version you're running. This is a baffling omission, because surely the version is one of the most helpful bits of information you can give the helpdesk. It may seem a small complaint, but it's very frustrating to find out you don't know how to make your software do standard things.

- One of the programs that it installs, vanguard.exe, crashes at least half the time when I start up my Windows 2000 laptop. I renamed vanguard.exe to vanguard.exe.bak, so it no longer gets run on startup, and everything still worked. Vendors shouldn't make you run software that doesn't do anything!

Despite these complaints, the card is an acceptable buy if the price is right; it gets the job done, and the software hasn't annoyed me enough to make me buy a different card. If there's a different card at the same price, though, consider the different card very carefully.

I got the product last summer, and it has never had a strong enough signal for me to use it from anywhere on the second floor of the house (router is on the first floor). It claims to allow wireless access throughout an entire house, up to 1500 feet. Obviously, this is not true.

Like others have said, the signal seems to become weaker with time. Currently, I cannot get wireless access outside of the same room that the router is in. The router is connected to my desk top computer; so really what's the point of having wireless access anymore since the only room I can use it in already has a computer with its own internet connection?

I'm currently sitting five feet away from the router. The antennaes are pointing directly at me, and the wireless signal and quality are both listed as "Good: 47%". IMO, this product is pointless, and Linksys should refund all of us.

Do not buy this product, unless you only need wireless access for a couple of months.

The whole reason I bought the card was because the Prism chipset is supported in Linux. Unfortunately, Linksys did the underhanded thing and changed it in the V4 revision without notifying anybody or changing the model number. Linksys tech support say they have no plans to release Linux drivers either. This is really bad business practise and I hope they change their policies.

In addition, you can make your home completely wireless by installing a wireless router and wireless print servers.

All of the parts worked perfectly for me with no installation hassles whatsoever. This is absolutely the way to go.

I think the driver has issues with WinXP. When you install the driver, WinXP notifies you that the driver has not been certified with WinXP. The Linksys manual tells you to click the "continue anyway" button. (this *should* scare you) As my WinXP changed (via automatic and manually pulled in updates), my card became more and more finicky... to the point it is basically unusable.

Current set of problems:
a) dropped connections.. inconsistent on how to solve. Sometimes I boot up and the card can't find the DHCP server and get's an unusable Autoconfiguration IP address.. which you have to reboot (ipconfig /release; ipconfig /renew does not help). Sometimes, I have to completely reinstall the driver. But, then things go ill later that day. Sometimes, the DHCP server is contacted, but no IP address is obtained (though the router says it served one up to the card). Sometimes, when the machine goes into standby or hibernation, the connection is completely hosed, and the card says it can't see any signal whatsoever. SOmetimes you can pull out the card, and reinsert, and an IP will be grabbed.. sometimes not. Sometimes rebooting helps, sometimes not. VERY FRUSTRATING.

b) configuration utility does not tell you which networks are available. I use my laptop all over Stanford's campus, which has several different networks (ie EE building has a different network with unique SSID than the CS building, etc). It would be nice to choose from the network of your choice... but, you have to know the SSID (even though the SSID's are broadcasted). This is a pain.

c) poor reception. On campus, folks with laptops sitting right next to me will get great reception, while my signal strength teeters from 0-10%.. incurring lots of dropped connections. So, I'd get slow response.. plus when remotely logged into some UNIX boxes.. I'd have to completely reconnect. Now, I have a new Dell Inspirion 5100 with a built in receiver.. and my signal strength in my own home blows away my HP with the Linksys WPC11... and the Dell's antennae is internal, which typically reduces reception.

Anyway, my card WPC11 is hitting the garbage can, and I'm spending the extra dough to get a Cisco card. Saving 2 hours a day in reboots, hangs, dropped connections, and driver reinstallations will more than pay for the extra $40 bucks i'll spend on Cisco. (BTW- unless they fired all the Linksys employees and scrapped the Linsys designs, I think it will be a while before teh Linksys/Cisco merger trickles quality into the Linksys product line.

A couple of days later, after noticing that when uninstalling I received a message that two program files were "locked" and could only be uninstalled after rebooting, I called tech support again. After another 20-minute wait, I explained what I had noticed and asked how to "unlock" the files--which were the same files that control the WLAN utility monitor (which still wasn't opening at all). The tech had no idea what I was talking about. Following several more uninstall-reinstall roundabouts, the tech concluded that the adapter was bad. I know this isn't the case, as I attempted to freshly install my housemate's identical card on my computer, and I had the same problems. It works just fine on her system, so it must be a software glitch.

In sum, I am returning the adapter, which isn't worth the cardbox box it arrived in. I bought the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Adapter (MN-520), and installed it in 10 minutes without ANY problems. I was skeptical of Microsoft hardware, but it proved itself and surpassed wireless "leader" Linksys by far. Stay away from Linksys if you have Windows ME.