If you’re pissed (politically correct statement: disappointed) with the pathetic Wi-Fi range your notebook provides, there are two things that you are going to do:
a) Throw your old notebook out and ask for MacBook Pro or Lenovo StinkPad
b) Get an USB adapter with an antenna
If you’re outta finances to buy a new notebook that has dual-antennas and is able to enhance the reception on its own (for instance, I own HP’s tabletPC – tx1000 – and it has a single sucky antenna), option B is most likely.
The number of Wi-Fi USB adapters on the market is huge, but there are only several worth mentioning. My attention was caught by AirLive’s WL-1600USB. This small stick comes with 20 dBm for minimum transmission power. The device has integrated small antenna and external 5dBi Omni antenna for maximum coverage.
Two possible configurations... for maximum range 😉
In a land of wooden houses (US), that means you can reach the distance more than a mile away, with an average bandwidth of 12Mbps. Not too shabby. For cement-happy Europe, I’d be more than happy to have the device that captures Wi-Fi from one office to another. In case you want to share data, this device also can work as a Wi-Fi AP (through software, of course).
All in all, useful device.
