For several days I'm digging the net for a replacement of WinXP built-in WZC.
Can't say that my quest is over, but here are some thoughts before.
A perfect connection manager should:
Be generic (support *most* cards - USB, PCMCIA, MiniPCI).
Small (Intel Proset latest distro is 80Mb - can you believe that? crazy!)
Display all possible information about the AP (MAC, vendor lookup)
Be able to lock to specific AP if many of them with same SSID are in range.
The last one is the most important! I have 5 AP's with the same SSID, but they have different internet connections.
And unfortunately, the slowest one (128kb ADSL) has the strongest signal. While fastest one (switched into 10Mbit) has a slightly weaker signal.
Nether Windows Zero Configuration daemon, nor any other third-party software allows me to choose among several AP's and "lock" to the fastest one (by MAC).
So far I tried:
Intel Proset - bloatware, awful interface, slow.
http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/proset/proset_software.htm
BVRP Connection Manager - they tried to make fancy design and forgot the rest.
http://www.bvrp.com/eng/products/connectionmanager/
Xenon Wardrive Toolbox - this is a joke! the windows arent even resizable.
http://www.xenon-inc.com/index.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=16&Surfer=
NetSwitcher - piece of crap, enough said.
http://www.netswitcher.com/
Boingo Wireless Manager - this one is nice, at least I stopped with it until I find any better. Shows AP's with same SSID, but cant choose. Although easy to use for most of people.
http://www.boingo.com/
Conclusion: I wish everybody to wait until a one beautiful day, when you right-click in Netstumbler on a desired AP and connect to it. A needful feature for all!
The search continues, please post links to alternative connection managers here!