But what if the router isn??™t in
a convenient location?
Fortunately, any Windows PC can act as a gateway, funneling Internet access
to any computer to which it is physically connected, using Windows??™ built-in
Internet Connection Sharing feature (discussed later in this chapter). All you
need to do is connect this new laptop directly to your own desktop or laptop
PC, and this typically requires only a single cable.
If the visitor??™s laptop has an Ethernet port, and your PC has an unused Ethernet
port (likely if you??™re on a wireless network), just connect the two computers
with a category-5 crossover cable, and you??™ve got yourself something like
the wired network shown later in Figure 7-19. Just activate Internet Connection
Sharing on your PC, and the guest PC will have Internet access.
You wouldn??™t want to use this as a long-term solution, but it works well
enough for a quick email download, takes only a few minutes and a $4 cable,
and doesn??™t compromise your network??™s security (much).
378 | Chapter 7: Networking and Internet
Handheld PDA
As introduced in the beginning of this chapter, there are two prevailing
wireless technologies: WiFi and Bluetooth. While some handhelds come
with built-in WiFi, a larger percentage support Bluetooth (and only a select
few play for both teams). Although only WiFi-equipped handhelds can
connect to the WiFi networks discussed throughout this chapter, you??™ll
need Bluetooth support if you want to connect to the Internet with your
Bluetooth-equipped cell phone.
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