<s>
The	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
is	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
game	I-General_Concept
adapter	I-General_Concept
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
and	O
Buffalo	O
Technology	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
,	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
and	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
users	O
without	O
a	O
Wi-Fi	B-Application
connection	I-Application
or	O
compatible	O
Wi-Fi	O
network	O
to	O
establish	O
an	O
Internet	O
connection	O
via	O
a	O
broadband-connected	O
PC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
inserted	O
into	O
the	O
host	O
PC	B-Device
's	O
USB	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
connector	O
functions	O
with	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
,	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
,	O
DSi	B-Device
and	O
3DS	B-Operating_System
,	O
permitting	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
play	O
Nintendo	O
games	O
that	O
require	O
a	O
Wi-Fi	B-Application
connection	I-Application
and	O
access	O
various	O
other	O
online	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
9	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
announced	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
Network	O
Adapter	O
,	O
an	O
802.11g	O
wireless	O
router/bridge	O
which	O
serves	O
a	O
similar	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
is	O
essentially	O
a	O
re-branded	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Buffalo	O
WLI-U2-KG54-YB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
differentiated	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
from	O
most	O
other	O
Wi-Fi	O
adapters	O
as	O
it	O
could	O
operate	O
as	O
a	O
software	O
access	O
point	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
soft	O
AP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
few	O
Wi-Fi	O
adapters	O
could	O
do	O
this	O
on	O
a	O
Window	O
's	O
operating	O
system	O
as	O
Windows	O
lacked	O
both	O
the	O
software	O
necessary	O
to	O
configure	O
a	O
soft	O
AP	O
and	O
capable	O
drivers	O
that	O
were	O
natively	O
supported	O
by	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
community	O
development	O
tools	O
and	O
drivers	O
exist	O
which	O
expand	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
beyond	O
its	O
initial	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
not	O
officially	O
supported	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
the	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
can	O
function	O
as	O
a	O
standard	O
wireless	O
adapter	O
by	O
using	O
modified	O
Ralink	O
or	O
Buffalo	O
Technology	O
drivers	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
send	O
official	O
game	O
demos	O
and	O
homebrew	O
software	O
to	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
through	O
the	O
Wireless	O
Multi	O
Boot	O
(	O
WMB	O
)	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
works	O
only	O
with	O
approved	O
devices	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
and	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
consoles	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
behavior	O
is	O
an	O
intentional	O
design	O
decision	O
on	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
Nintendo	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
prevents	O
outside	O
parties	O
from	O
connecting	O
to	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
with	O
their	O
computers	O
and	O
accessing	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
Internet	O
connection	O
or	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
can	O
be	O
modified	O
to	O
bypass	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
unsupported	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
only	O
supported	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
XP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
main	O
concern	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
older	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
,	O
principally	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
after	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
criticism	O
shifted	O
to	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
Vista	B-Application
drivers	O
were	O
eventually	O
released	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
of	O
Europe	O
and	O
Nintendo	O
of	O
America	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
first	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
drivers	O
were	O
available	O
and	O
several	O
months	O
after	O
Vista	B-Application
's	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
as	O
a	O
USB	B-Protocol
Wi-Fi	O
NIC	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
other	O
access	O
points	O
under	O
Linux	O
and	O
BSD	O
when	O
using	O
the	O
appropriate	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
is	O
provided	O
by	O
Windows	O
 '	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Connection	I-Protocol
Sharing	I-Protocol
(	O
ICS	O
)	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
a	O
Windows	O
computer	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
router	O
and	O
automatically	O
configure	O
client	O
devices	O
for	O
Internet	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
software	O
itself	O
,	O
ICS	O
offers	O
the	O
user	O
no	O
configurable	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
network	O
is	O
currently	O
relying	O
on	O
ICS	O
or	O
is	O
using	O
software	O
that	O
utilizes	O
it	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Windows	O
Media	O
Center	O
Extender	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
usable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
not	O
an	O
innate	O
fault	O
with	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
itself	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
,	O
a	O
software	O
firewall	B-Application
like	O
those	O
commonly	O
installed	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
Windows	O
computers	O
hosting	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
will	O
interfere	O
with	O
its	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
alleviate	O
this	O
issue	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
must	O
allow	O
the	O
software	O
full	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
or	O
manually	O
specify	O
acceptable	O
port	O
ranges	O
to	O
allow	O
through	O
the	O
firewall	B-Application
;	O
depending	O
on	O
how	O
that	O
particular	O
firewall	B-Application
is	O
configured	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unfortunately	O
,	O
some	O
firewall	B-Application
products	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
ZoneAlarm	B-Protocol
and	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
OneCare	I-Protocol
,	O
are	O
incompatible	O
with	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
's	O
only	O
option	O
in	O
this	O
scenario	O
is	O
to	O
risk	O
connecting	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
unprotected	O
or	O
install	O
a	O
different	O
firewall	B-Application
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
complaint	O
from	O
more	O
advanced	O
users	O
is	O
the	O
complete	O
lack	O
of	O
user-configurable	O
options	O
in	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
software	O
and	O
installer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Novice	O
users	O
see	O
this	O
as	O
a	O
much-welcomed	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
over	O
a	O
traditional	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
,	O
but	O
for	O
those	O
users	O
who	O
wish	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
device	O
in	O
a	O
more	O
complicated	O
network	O
environment	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
an	O
insurmountable	O
obstacle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
will	O
cause	O
an	O
IP	O
conflict	O
if	O
an	O
existing	O
network	O
is	O
using	O
the	O
192.168.0.x	O
or	O
192.168.1.x	O
IP	O
schemes	O
,	O
both	O
common	O
IP	O
ranges	O
used	O
in	O
consumer	O
routers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
includes	O
a	O
USB	B-Protocol
extension	O
cable	O
,	O
a	O
manual	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
software	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
recommended	O
that	O
the	O
latest	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
software	O
should	O
be	O
downloaded	O
and	O
installed	O
rather	O
than	O
using	O
the	O
CD	O
versions	O
,	O
as	O
important	O
updates	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
in	O
the	O
newer	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Devices	O
shipped	O
with	O
software	O
driver	O
versions	O
below	O
1.05	O
are	O
incompatible	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
until	O
updated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
has	O
been	O
prevented	O
from	O
trading	O
in	O
any	O
products	O
adhering	O
to	O
the	O
802.11a/g	O
standards	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
connector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
only	O
states	O
on	O
their	O
website	O
that	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
discontinued	O
,	O
and	O
offers	O
a	O
standard	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
as	O
replacement	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
:	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Please	O
note	O
:	O
The	O
Nintendo	O
Wi-Fi	O
USB	B-Protocol
Connector	O
has	O
been	O
discontinued	O
until	O
further	O
notice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
alternative	O
for	O
online	O
access	O
,	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
owners	O
can	O
use	O
a	O
standard	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
,	O
or	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
LAN	O
Adapter.	O
"	O
</s>
