Strell
11-30-2005, 04:59 PM
My wifi adapter arrived in the mail today.
Sadly, Nintendo has adopted Bestbuy.com's shipping policies it seems. The box is cardboard and flimsy, and it came in a non-padded plastic envelope, so the box got smashed a bit. Not a huge thing to worry about but I'd still like it to be pristine (seeing as how I already have wifi, this is more of a "support Nintendo finally doing something right" measure).
Anyway, ran it for a test run. You literally pop the CD in, attach the adapter when it says so, enable WFC on a DS (I used Mario Kart, naturally) when it asks, and it's done in about 2 minutes tops. You click on a "enable" option on your computer and that's it.
Ran a test with it on a worldwide race, had no hitches whatsoever (and I tied! eee!) or anything. I didn't test anything extreme (going outside to play, moving across the room, etc) but instead remained at my desk about 4-5 feet from the adapter total.
The adapter installs a taskbar icon (near the clock/volume/etc) where you can right click to check version information and enable/disable the wireless adapter. Setup is easy that I hope anything with a minutia of computer knowledge can use it (but still have some doubts). I have noticed it makes one of the Windows connection icons appear occassionally, but it's a minor, minor annoyance at worst (or best, depending on how you look at it). In fact it appears to do this when you disable the adapter but leave it plugged in. But you can just make it auto-hide, so problem (if even) solved.
The menu/icon are nicely laid out, with cool blue tones and the like. On the adapter itself, the non-USB end has this really nice blue plastic, which is very nice on the eyes. I was hoping it would light up, but there's a tiny green LED instead. You can't see the blue area in any press shots (since they are all from a top/side view), but it looks really nice.
You can dynamically add users easily, and block them if you wish (might be a good way to screw with people).
I ran it on a computer that connects wirelessly (has no broadband directly connected to it with a LAN cable) just for kicks, but surprisingly it works without problem. I figured it would require a hard wired connection, but it doesn't. This is good for me especially because while my apartment complex has a wireless connection, I couldn't get my DS to WFC correctly. This appears to solve that problem - I noticed it didn't have any hangups at all about wireless security (I was connecting to a WEP network).
I turned off the DS and then rebooted, erased all my stored WFC data (I don't really use them anyway) and it connected again without problem. So it doesn't take up any pre-defined wifi settings, making it a "fourth" option if you want to think of it that way. It is, however, much more painless. No DNS or IP settings to worry about.
In short, it works amazingly well. Even if you just have a computer on a wireless connection, it works. It runs a very small program that minimizes to the taskbar, and setup is virtually non-existent. The manual clears up some minor questions, and the additional USB extention cable is a nice extra.
I would advise that because the adapter is somewhat large (around two inches), if you plan on using it on the front end of your computer, use the cable and move it around so it is out of harm's way. Given that it is a Nintendo product, I would assume it's heavy duty and can withstand damage, but it's best not to chance it. It feels very sturdy, I can say that.
All in all a really amazing device. Obviously most people won't need it, but it is a nice thing to have. I think I might pick up at least one more to have just for backup purposes.
It is Windows XP only, and supposedly only WEP connections will work (no WPA), but I can't test either of those things and I wouldn't put it past someone to reverse engineer a work around.
I'd give it a 9 out of 10, if only for the taskbar icon issue. Maybe you could argue about WPA security/Windows XP only, and that the white color of the device is a little meh, but I think if none of those things bother you, it's fantastic.
I will report back with information from my apartment complex itself, as well as attempt to see if homebrew applications and things can use the device for DS communication. I don't think homebrew is possible yet since the drivers currently avilable only work for PCI/PCMCIA, but maybe someone will work around that.
Sadly, Nintendo has adopted Bestbuy.com's shipping policies it seems. The box is cardboard and flimsy, and it came in a non-padded plastic envelope, so the box got smashed a bit. Not a huge thing to worry about but I'd still like it to be pristine (seeing as how I already have wifi, this is more of a "support Nintendo finally doing something right" measure).
Anyway, ran it for a test run. You literally pop the CD in, attach the adapter when it says so, enable WFC on a DS (I used Mario Kart, naturally) when it asks, and it's done in about 2 minutes tops. You click on a "enable" option on your computer and that's it.
Ran a test with it on a worldwide race, had no hitches whatsoever (and I tied! eee!) or anything. I didn't test anything extreme (going outside to play, moving across the room, etc) but instead remained at my desk about 4-5 feet from the adapter total.
The adapter installs a taskbar icon (near the clock/volume/etc) where you can right click to check version information and enable/disable the wireless adapter. Setup is easy that I hope anything with a minutia of computer knowledge can use it (but still have some doubts). I have noticed it makes one of the Windows connection icons appear occassionally, but it's a minor, minor annoyance at worst (or best, depending on how you look at it). In fact it appears to do this when you disable the adapter but leave it plugged in. But you can just make it auto-hide, so problem (if even) solved.
The menu/icon are nicely laid out, with cool blue tones and the like. On the adapter itself, the non-USB end has this really nice blue plastic, which is very nice on the eyes. I was hoping it would light up, but there's a tiny green LED instead. You can't see the blue area in any press shots (since they are all from a top/side view), but it looks really nice.
You can dynamically add users easily, and block them if you wish (might be a good way to screw with people).
I ran it on a computer that connects wirelessly (has no broadband directly connected to it with a LAN cable) just for kicks, but surprisingly it works without problem. I figured it would require a hard wired connection, but it doesn't. This is good for me especially because while my apartment complex has a wireless connection, I couldn't get my DS to WFC correctly. This appears to solve that problem - I noticed it didn't have any hangups at all about wireless security (I was connecting to a WEP network).
I turned off the DS and then rebooted, erased all my stored WFC data (I don't really use them anyway) and it connected again without problem. So it doesn't take up any pre-defined wifi settings, making it a "fourth" option if you want to think of it that way. It is, however, much more painless. No DNS or IP settings to worry about.
In short, it works amazingly well. Even if you just have a computer on a wireless connection, it works. It runs a very small program that minimizes to the taskbar, and setup is virtually non-existent. The manual clears up some minor questions, and the additional USB extention cable is a nice extra.
I would advise that because the adapter is somewhat large (around two inches), if you plan on using it on the front end of your computer, use the cable and move it around so it is out of harm's way. Given that it is a Nintendo product, I would assume it's heavy duty and can withstand damage, but it's best not to chance it. It feels very sturdy, I can say that.
All in all a really amazing device. Obviously most people won't need it, but it is a nice thing to have. I think I might pick up at least one more to have just for backup purposes.
It is Windows XP only, and supposedly only WEP connections will work (no WPA), but I can't test either of those things and I wouldn't put it past someone to reverse engineer a work around.
I'd give it a 9 out of 10, if only for the taskbar icon issue. Maybe you could argue about WPA security/Windows XP only, and that the white color of the device is a little meh, but I think if none of those things bother you, it's fantastic.
I will report back with information from my apartment complex itself, as well as attempt to see if homebrew applications and things can use the device for DS communication. I don't think homebrew is possible yet since the drivers currently avilable only work for PCI/PCMCIA, but maybe someone will work around that.