Re: [tlug] A place to connect my laptop

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

On Fri, 7 Sep 2007, dave@example.com wrote:

> One is to bring the laptop into an Internet cafe and ask if I can
> just take the ethernet out of the back of the computer that I'll buy
> the time for, and put it in my laptop. I did this before, way back
> when I was in Windows world. Because internet cafes by and large are
> running Windows Share networks, it was easy to hook up. But now that
> the laptop is running Linux, I'm not sure I can just plug and play in
> a local network....

It should Just Work. In most cases, I would imagine, you just DHCP
an address and go. If they're assigning IPs statically, you can do
the same; just use the control panel or whatever to find the Windows
machine's address, and use the same one.

> But, I'm worried that a shared wireless network in a cafe will have it's 
> bandwidth choked by other users.

It will very, very likely be ok.

You could also look at http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/base.html ,
which gives you (slow) access even when there isn't a hotspot near by.

You might also consider grabbing a CardBus card that has an antenna
port, and a directional external antenna; that will significantly extend
your reach from any particular location, and there are a few friendly
people out there who run open-access WiFi.

cjs
--
Curt Sampson       <cjs@example.com>        +81 90 7737 2974
Mobile sites and software consulting: http://www.starling-software.com