ENCORE ENUWI-1XN42 Wireless N150 Adapter, 2dBi IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 150Mbps Wireless Data Rates WPA2

Pros: Very easy to install and works perfectly on Windows 8. I have full wireless signal and I'm about 30 feet away from the router.

Cons: None

Pros: cheap, effective (while it lasts). When it worked, great speeds, good signal and distance.

Cons: after about 20 months of use on a stationary desktop system, it started having daily issues. Had to uninstall/reinstall the driver almost every day. sometimes the computer wouldn't recognize anything plugged in. sometimes it saw it and said it was disconnected????? right-click and choose the option to connect (this is in the network interfaces menu) and nothing happens. Already ordered a rosewill wifi pcie x1 card and it is on its way. Not getting one from this brand again.

Other Thoughts: Unit never had a heat issue, but seems SLIGHTLY better now that i open the plastic shell around it. Now it is just the naked microchip and the antenna, soldered to the usb male connector. Hopefully it will last 3 business days til the new and different card gets here.

Pros: Easy to install driver. You can have Windows manage wireless connections and avoid bothering with the included software. Decent range. Functions well for your average home internet user.

Cons: It's a cheap and easy wireless option with semi-shoddy software, should you choose to use it. Handy, but don't expect the world for under $20 ;)

Other Thoughts: I worked in a store for a couple of years where we fixed PCs and sold these adapters because they work well and are cheap, which is why I snagged one when we moved into our new place and had use for it.

Pros: Amazing value, fast download/upload speeds. Can download at 2 MB/s if the speed source can keep up. No difference between this and wired. Very good adapter.

Cons: Might get in the way of other perphrial ports if you plan on installing this in the back of your computer. If you are a simpleton like me, and only use half of your USB ports, then this should be no problem, however, the adapter is a little wide and might make it hard to plug in other devices next to it. Luckily Encore offers a smaller option if you forsee this being a problem.

Pros: Priced right.
Realtek RTL8188CUS radio well supported under Linux.
Works out of the box in both Raspbian and Raspbmc; the latter requires broadcast SSID unless you tweak NetworkMonitor by hand.

Cons: Power consumption may affect RPi when directly plugged in.

Other Thoughts: No sturm und drang, it easily connected to my WLAN plugged into my Win7 laptop and Raspberry Pi board. Also nice and cheap when on sale. This basic USB adapter is sold in different packages & antenna configurations (nano, single 2dB, single 5dB, and I believe dual 5dB). I wanted a detachable antenna for future expansion.

I docked one egg as I suspect that power consumption pushed my Raspberry Pi onto a performance edge. My SD card became corrupt after running Raspbian for a few hours with this adapter connected directly to the RPi. Things seem to run smoother with the adapter connected to an external powered USB hub. Just a hunch at this point.

Pros: Great adapter. Owned for about 2 years until casing fell apart because of moving it around too many times.

Cons: Casing was cheap

Other Thoughts: Definitely worth it if you need a cheap adapter that gets awesome signal.

Pros: Great price.

Cons: Even though the price was right, if the product isn't going to hold up more than a few months, it's not a bargain. Worked great for a few months, then suddenly it was kaput.

Pros: nice antenna, which may be too big for the dongle

Cons: broke after a few months. the dongle may not be strong enough to hold the antenna. now I have to bend the dongle for it to work.
tried emailing support, the email bounced. filled out the online RMA form, never got a reply. called them and never got the RMA email that was promised.

Pros: Price
Free shipping
Good Range

Cons: When taking the cost of the item into consideration, really can't think of any cons.

Other Thoughts: Bought this for my wife's netbook because it was getting horrible range. Pluged it in, installed the drivers without a hitch. The netbook gets way better signal strength from anywhere in the house. Got it for 9.99 with free shipping, can't beat that. Would recommend to friends and relatives.

Pros: Cheap, Linux drivers available

Cons: Linux drivers are only available for x86 or amd64 architecture, no other CPU architecture supported.

An unfortunate problem with many wifi cards is the closed-source drivers... as result, since there was no source code available, and no alternative drivers were published anywhere, it's impossible to use on a PPC system.

Other Thoughts: I'm using this card in a different desktop now, it's working quite well.