Update: The rebate is only valid if bought from Buy.com, not an associate merchant. Buy.com may be showing in the list of available merchants in the box on the right, while the main page shows an associate merchant. Must be ordered by 8/17/2008 and postmarked by 10/17/2008, so there's time to wait on delivery if out of stock.

Zyxel Wifi a/b/g Finder & USB Adapter (be sure to select free budget shipping)
UPDATE: also detects "draft-N" routers per factory website, and comes with software so it can be used as an access point to share your internet connection.

Item: http://www.buy.com/prod/zyxel-ag225hsp-802-11a-b-g-wifi-finder-802-11g-usb-2-0-adapter-and/q/loc/101/207980305.html

Rebate: http://ak.buy.com/buy_assets/retail/pdfs/08Q3/0801-0817ca-la_15zyxel.pdf (limit 5 rebates, postmark by 10/17/2008)

My friend had one of these (paid $40 AR) and it worked well, so I bought it (Trendnet brand for $45 on sale). It's the best standalone wifi finder I've found, plus it doubles as a USB wireless adapter. It also shows if the wifi site is G, A or B, locked or unlocked, and signal strength (correlates fairly close to laptop signal strength). A whole lot easier than unpacking and firing up the laptop to find a signal. The battery lasts for months without recharging. I'm getting several, will make a good gift.

Credit to my4mainecoons for asking about this in another thread.

ZyXEL AG225HSP Fully functional 802.11a/b/g HotSpot Finder with USB adapter support - perfect for the road warrior The ZyXEL AG-225HSP is the ultimate high-tech tool for the road warrior. The AG-225HSP combines an 802.11a/b/g USB 2.0 adapter technology with a fully functional wireless hotspot detector all housed in a sleek device small enough to fit into your pocket. Detect any flavor of wireless network from 802.11a, b, g standards. The dual-band tri-mode USB adapter is equipped with a high contrast LCD screen and built-in LiON battery, allowing you to scan the environment for hotspots without turning on your computer. With WPA and WPA2 support, the AG225HSP can provide a secure wireless connection when used as a 54Mbps high-speed USB wireless adapter. Mac OS support brings the AG225HSP to another level of functionality and compatibility never before thought possible!

Specs
Device Type: WiFi Finder & USB WiFi Adapter w/ Software AP Support
Standard Compliance: IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11b
Application: Wireless Access for Desktop/Notebook PC's WiFi HotSpot and AP Locator
Wireless Internet Sharing with Software AP Mode
Frequency Range: 802.11a: 4.9 ~ 5.850GHz, 802.11b/g: 2.4 ~ 2.4845GHz
Data Rate: 802.11a/g: 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6Mbps, 802.11b: 11/5.5/2/1Mbps
RF Output Power: 802.11a: 14dBm @ 54Mbps. 802.11b: 18dBm @ 11Mbps, 802.11g: 15dBm @ 54Mbps
Modulation Technique: DSSS/OFDM
Network Architecture: Infrastructure & Ad-Hoc
Security: 64/128/256-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2
Hardware Specifications: N/A
Environmental Specifications:
Storage: Temp -20~70C Humidity 10~85%
Operation: Temp 0~40C Humidity 10~70%

System Requirement:
Desktop/Laptop PC with Pentium II
300MHz or above CPU
Minimum of 32MB of RAM *64 Recommended
Microsoft Windows XP/2000/Mac X* 10.3
Available USB v2.0 slot *for 54Mbps Data Rate

Edit: To the people who voted this red (crippledgiant, easymoney, funktuna, Justus, michaelkenyon):
How about posting your reasons? If there's something wrong with the deal, please tell others.

I dug around but couldn't tell for sure: is this the later model of AG-225H that has a backlit display?

JPMorgan said:So....

Just to clarify, this will find wifi and it will also allow you to connect to wifi?

I have an older laptop with no built in wifi and a broken cardbus slot.

Thanks!

JPM

Yes, this is both a standalone wifi "finder" (you turn it on and it searches to find wifi signals and tells you what signals are available where you are) and a USB wifi adapter. You can plug it in to your USB port and it will then connect to a/b/g that it finds (subject, of course, to such either being non-secure signals or ones for which you have a password).

Another thing this does is act as a repeater/access points so that you can share your wireless connection with others (e.g., you only have one password at the airport for the T-Mobile service, but 3 computers...you can connect with this and then share that connection with other computers around you).

I've got an older one, but I'm in for a spare.

Thanks OP

According to the product page at Zyxel's site, 1.1 should be sufficient:

System Requirement

* Notebook or PC with the Pentium II
o 300 MHz or compatible above
o Minimum 32MB RAM (64MB Recommended)
o A minimum of 20MB available hard disk space
o A CD ROM drive
o USB Type A slot (V2.0/V1.1 Comparable)
o Microsoft Windows XP/2000

JPMorgan said:
Thanks! I have needed one for a while! Only other thing I need to know is, it should work ok with usb 1.1?

I did say it was an older notebook......

Thanks for the info, holycrap!

JPMIYep, should be no problem w/USB 1.1, since the 2.0 spec requires backward compatibility.

Is the rebate reliable?

Thanks OP, I was looking for a USB Wifi adapter for my homemade Mac. The fact it also works as a Wifi finder is an extra cool bonus.

If you just use it as a Wifi finder, how long does the battery last? And when the battery dies, can it be charged or replaced?

thanks for the info cpusrvc! Do you have to install any zyxel utilities? I hate it when they require you to install additional software to use the wireless card. I like to keep things simple with just the driver

DEAD. Note that it's currently only sold by ANTOnline so if you were to buy it your rebate would be denied.