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(More customer reviews)This is the worst wireless adapter I've ever had the displeasure to work with. Its only saving grace is that it was bought for me, as a gift, so I didn't have to shell out any money for it.
There are two user interfaces available for the purpose of connecting to the internet via the OfficeConnect card: the standard Windows Zero Configuration interface, and 3com's Wireless Utility interface. I chose the awkward phrasing of the previous sentence for a good reason: these interfaces are FOR THE PURPOSE of connecting to the internet, but only one of them actually works. It's not WZC.
After you finally find the toggle that lets you use WZC (it's only available in the right-click menu of the Quick Start toolbar), the card cheerfully "allows" you to "connect" to any wireless network it can detect, whether or not you have the correct password. Then it tells you that you have an excellent connection to the network in question, that your data is coming in faster than the wireless router is running, and that there is nothing at all wrong with your connection even though you can't even ping anyone successfully. It won't even successfully connect to a PUBLIC network - it just tells you you're connected at full speed with no problems, and continues to laugh in the face of your futile attempts to actually USE this supposed connectivity.
Leaving the WZC interface disabled - dooming yourself to connecting to a network entirely on your own, since most people who set up or manage wireless networks can't deal with anything else - leaves you in the hands of the 3Com XJACK Wireless Utility utility, an interface apparently designed to keep your information secure by not allowing you to connect to any network you don't personally own. Not only do you need to know the security type and password of the network you're trying to connect to, but also its transfer rate, operation mode, bit encryption, encryption type, key index, social security number and mother's maiden name. I once managed to connect to a single wireless network with this card, after more than a day of back-and-forth with the property owner finding more and more obscure information about the network and router's setups. I've tried connecting to at least seven others, with varying levels of help and information from their administrators, to no avail. And forget about connecting to a public network! Apparently, the designers of 3Com's software didn't think it was worth their time to even include "None" as a security type option.
The only people I would recommend this wireless card to are parents trying to limit their children's internet access ("I'm not buying you another wireless card! Your current one set us back more than $70!") and those who want a passive-aggressive way to torture their exes.
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OFFICECONNECT WIRELESS 54 MBPS
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