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Get an 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter for $12.99

Just plug this tiny gizmo into a USB port and rev your desktop or laptop to Wireless-N speeds. It's small enough that you can leave it in your laptop 24-7.

rickbroida
rickbroida
Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
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Rick Broida
2 min read
Tiny Wireless-N adapter, tiny price, huge Wi-Fi performance gains. Meritline

You may have noticed a minor change here at the ol' Cheapskate blog: I'm now posting later in the day.

Before now, I'd usually publish my daily deal at around 10 a.m. ET--only to routinely watch it sell out at around 10:43. That's pretty frustrating, especially for West Coast readers who aren't even awake yet.

Thus, I'm experimenting with a later post time, usually in the neighborhood of 12-2 p.m. ET. So far, this has resulted in fewer sold-out/expired deals. Let me know if you like, don't like, or don't really care either way about the change.

On to business: it's not enough to have an 802.11n router in your house. To maximize the Wi-Fi performance of your PCs, you need 802.11n adapters for them.

Right now, Meritline is offering one of the best deals I've seen: an Airlink101 Wireless 11N USB adapter for $12.99 shipped. No rebates, no refurbish-ness, just an outright bargain.

What I like about this particular adapter is it's tiny: it protrudes from your USB port by no more than about an inch. If you're a laptop user, you could likely leave it inserted without working about it getting ripped loose.

The Airlink101 is compatible with all current Windows and Mac operating systems, and it's backed by a one-year warranty.

I haven't used the product myself, but most of the Meritline user reviews are very positive. Bottom line: if you have an 802.11n router (and you should), here's your chance to bring your PCs up to speed on the cheap.