NOT VIA CHIPSET
after i placed the order, i noticed that the image shows an ALI chipset. emailed customer service, they apologize, but it is indeed an ALI chipset card, not a VIA, VIA ones are out of stock. they returned my email quickly, so i'm not saying they are a bad seller.
perhaps you folks who got in earlier will get VIA's.
so, i'm not in on this. i got the $10 one from linkcomm a few months back and i'm happy with that, guess i'll get another. i doubt all ALI chipsets are bad, but there was some bad press on them, so i'm just going to avoid it - too lazy to chase down the details. i read that NEC and lucent/agere are best, VIA is good.
<rant>
how about those $0.75 usb cards on ebay... the ones with $16 shipping.
</rant>