This was never much of a success,
which probably explains why it??™s now nearly impossible to find a laptop (or printer, for that matter)
with an infrared port.
Build Your Network | 377
Networking and
Internet
Wireless print servers tend to be a bit flaky. Since most printers
don??™t need to be portable, consider a wired print server
for more reliable printing. Just plug the device into your
router with an Ethernet cable, and then plug your printer
into the device.
DVR, video game console, or other media device
If your device has an Ethernet port, just add a wireless bridge (sometimes
called a wireless game adapter) and cut the cords for good. Or, if
your device has a USB port for this purpose, you may be able to plug in
an off-the-shelf USB WiFi adapter if your device supports it.
Quick and Dirty WiFi Piggyback
Say you and a partner are staying in a hotel, and each of you has a laptop. The
hotel, of course, charges for wireless, and you don??™t feel like ponying up the
extra dough for two connections, nor do you feel like taking turns.
Or, perhaps a friend visits your home or office and wants to check her email
with her laptop. What if you don??™t want to share your wireless encryption
passphrase with any passerby who asks for it? Or, what if the laptop doesn??™t
have wireless?
Assume you have a sample wireless network like the one illustrated in Figures
7-3 or 7-4. You can, of course, plug any PC (provided that it has an Ethernet
port) directly into your wireless router with an ordinary category-5 patch
cable, and give it instant access to the Internet.
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