Cisco AM10 Valet Connector USB Wireless Adapter

My goal was to connect my new desktop (running Windows 7) to my existing wireless network.

What I liked:

1. It worked - not to set the bar too low, but this was the second adapter I tried. So I was elated that this actually worked.
2. Ease of setup - no extra discs, just plug it into a USB port and the necessary drivers (and the actual Win7 drivers, which it seems most adapters on the market do not have pre-packaged) are right in the adapter itself. Though this was not perfect - see below.
3. The design is attractive and convenient with a built-in stand.
4. Speed seems good - no issues so far.

What I did not like - the setup software that comes with the device wants to be the controller for your network. After downloading the drivers it did not want the password for my network, but rather the Hexidecimal password. After shutting that part of the installer down I just used the wireless network function within Windows itself to...Read more

It works just fine and the price here was the same as Woot.com the day I bought it.

This guy does a neat trick I've been expecting some device to do for years, but this is the first one I've seen:
It's a multi-function USB device.
When you plug it in, it appears to your computer twice: once as a wifi adapter and also as a USB mass storage device ("thumbdrive") WITH DRIVERS ON IT.
Surely there aren't drivers for every single OS ever made and ever to be made, but I'm sure the popular ones are covered. The WinXP ones were there for me. Not sure what else is.
So, in addition to being wifi adapter, it's also a USB mass storage device.
You could use it as a thumb drive. It doesn't hold a ton though. Seems like there's about 1-2 GB free.
So, no need for a disk with the drivers and no need to get drivers from the Internet (which can be hard it you're replacing another broken network adapter which is surely a popular reason for buying this).

I love this thing! I have the Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router which made setting up a home network and connecting all my wireless devises a breeze. I had a HP Media Center pc that was so slow I was forced to upgrade. I moved it to the guest/study room and was planning to use it for my kids but I could not get the pc to connect to my network. A quick call to Cisco Valet Plus customer service (I cannot say enough great things about their service) determined that the HP Media pc did not have built-in wireless. They advised me that I needed a wi-fi adapter to access my network, and more importantly to my kids - the internet with all its Cartoon Network games. Several options were provided that would work for my outdated Windows Service Package 2. I asked about this Cisco Valet connector since I was already impressed with the ease of the...Read more