7 ms·

While the WiFi in most hotels is horrendous, wired internet is pretty awesome most of the time. A network cable is always in my suitcase and my laptop can run a

While the WiFi in most hotels is horrendous, wired internet is pretty awesome most of the time. A network cable is always in my suitcase and my laptop can run as an access point for my other devices. A separate access point could also come in handy (you have very small ones nowadays). During JSDay.it people had a lot of time even connecting to the WiFi while I was running at 80 mbps.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
guelo 12y ago
Sorry, we've moved on to the future, we're too cool to have laptops with useful ports anymore.
- colinbartlett 12y ago
  I know you're just joking, but the thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter I bought years ago has been worth it's weight in gold at hotels with slow wifi and fast wired.
  - joeframbach 12y ago
    Other things that have been worth their weight in gold while traveling: my thinkpad with built-in ethernet AND vga!
    - msh 12y ago
      but it dont have a punchcard reader!
- zevyoura 12y ago
  I realize this is a joke, but if it's a reference to Apple laptops, it's worth noting that an ethernet plug literally will not fit on recent models of the Macbook Pro or Air; they're simply too narrow. I'd much prefer a narrower portable to an ethernet port; when I need one I'm happy to use a dongle.
  - nitrogen 12y ago
    This problem was solved well over a decade ago by PCMCIA Ethernet adapters, but the pop-out slim RJ-45 connector is probably too fragile to be put into an Apple laptop.
  - jimmaswell 12y ago
    >I'd much prefer a narrower portable to an ethernet port Why? How in the world is a standard laptop with an ethernet too "thick" for you? Do you routinely try to slide your laptops under doors or through mail slots? Making laptops ridiculously thin doesn't solve anything except making them look thinner.
    - zevyoura 12y ago
      Thickness generally has a very strong correlation with weight. Weight is probably the single most important factor in a laptop for me. I didn't realize how much of a difference it made until I switched to an Air.
      - jimmaswell 12y ago
        I'm dangerously out of shape and carrying around my laptop bag with >10lbs of stuff in it doesn't bother me. Functionality is worth the weight unless you're averse to carrying a few extra pounds I guess.
        paulfurtado 12y ago
        What do you have against external ethernet adapters? I don't see how requiring an external ethernet adapter is a worse trade off than adding extra pounds and size.
        jimmaswell 12y ago
        An external ethernet dongle is more likely to break or get lost. Wasn't there a push against dongles a while ago? Are they becoming normal again? There's no VGA port either which is a necessity for me. No CD drive either. Is this thing a laptop or a big smartphone with no touch screen? No numpad either, wow.
- btgeekboy 12y ago
  Get an Airport Express that supports the 5Ghz band, and set it up to be a bridge. Best of both worlds.
tedunangst 12y ago
What's needed is a list of hotels that offer wired ethernet. Nobody seems to advertise that, and it can be hard to find out.
ChuckMcM 12y ago
+1 to this, I don't know how many times I've saved my bacon by having a access point with me. I use the TP-Link one (mid-tier Chinese OEM) and it has on more than one occassion gotten me much better wifi throughput than the hotel provided wireless. One hotel I stayed at had every access point on the same channel! That was kind of funny, in a sad you-really-don't-know-what-this-is-do-you sort of way.
aidenn0 12y ago
Sadly I staid in a room the other day where the wired jack just lead to a wall-wart 802.11 bridge. Needless to say, it wasn't faster than the wifi.
ytjohn 12y ago
I always have an access point and wire with me when I travel because of this, but Marriot and Hilton hotels I've visited in the last year did not have working wired Internet, despite having the port built into the desk. A Marriot in Seattle gave me link but no address. I followed the ethernet cable behind the desk to a DSL style modem that connected to the hotel's phone system. I checked it out and essentially, instead of running Cat5 wire, they re-used the phone lines and were basically doing in-house DSL to each room. I called the front desk and was told that they had discontinued their wired internet. Other Marriots and Hiltons I've tried since didn't even have the little device there, just a sad ethernet cable hanging down from the desk. Thankfully, my current job provides a hotspot, so most of the time I just use that. The cost of the room and wifi don't bother, it's the fact that the speeds are horrible during non-peak times and non-existant during peak times.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

guelo 12y ago

Sorry, we've moved on to the future, we're too cool to have laptops with useful ports anymore.

colinbartlett 12y ago
I know you're just joking, but the thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter I bought years ago has been worth it's weight in gold at hotels with slow wifi and fast wired.
- joeframbach 12y ago
  Other things that have been worth their weight in gold while traveling: my thinkpad with built-in ethernet AND vga!
  - msh 12y ago
    but it dont have a punchcard reader!
zevyoura 12y ago
I realize this is a joke, but if it's a reference to Apple laptops, it's worth noting that an ethernet plug literally will not fit on recent models of the Macbook Pro or Air; they're simply too narrow. I'd much prefer a narrower portable to an ethernet port; when I need one I'm happy to use a dongle.
- nitrogen 12y ago
  This problem was solved well over a decade ago by PCMCIA Ethernet adapters, but the pop-out slim RJ-45 connector is probably too fragile to be put into an Apple laptop.
- jimmaswell 12y ago
  >I'd much prefer a narrower portable to an ethernet port Why? How in the world is a standard laptop with an ethernet too "thick" for you? Do you routinely try to slide your laptops under doors or through mail slots? Making laptops ridiculously thin doesn't solve anything except making them look thinner.
  - zevyoura 12y ago
    Thickness generally has a very strong correlation with weight. Weight is probably the single most important factor in a laptop for me. I didn't realize how much of a difference it made until I switched to an Air.
    - jimmaswell 12y ago
      I'm dangerously out of shape and carrying around my laptop bag with >10lbs of stuff in it doesn't bother me. Functionality is worth the weight unless you're averse to carrying a few extra pounds I guess.
      - paulfurtado 12y ago
        What do you have against external ethernet adapters? I don't see how requiring an external ethernet adapter is a worse trade off than adding extra pounds and size.
        jimmaswell 12y ago
        An external ethernet dongle is more likely to break or get lost. Wasn't there a push against dongles a while ago? Are they becoming normal again? There's no VGA port either which is a necessity for me. No CD drive either. Is this thing a laptop or a big smartphone with no touch screen? No numpad either, wow.
btgeekboy 12y ago
Get an Airport Express that supports the 5Ghz band, and set it up to be a bridge. Best of both worlds.

tedunangst 12y ago

What's needed is a list of hotels that offer wired ethernet. Nobody seems to advertise that, and it can be hard to find out.

ChuckMcM 12y ago

+1 to this, I don't know how many times I've saved my bacon by having a access point with me. I use the TP-Link one (mid-tier Chinese OEM) and it has on more than one occassion gotten me much better wifi throughput than the hotel provided wireless. One hotel I stayed at had every access point on the same channel! That was kind of funny, in a sad you-really-don't-know-what-this-is-do-you sort of way.

aidenn0 12y ago

Sadly I staid in a room the other day where the wired jack just lead to a wall-wart 802.11 bridge. Needless to say, it wasn't faster than the wifi.

ytjohn 12y ago

I always have an access point and wire with me when I travel because of this, but Marriot and Hilton hotels I've visited in the last year did not have working wired Internet, despite having the port built into the desk. A Marriot in Seattle gave me link but no address. I followed the ethernet cable behind the desk to a DSL style modem that connected to the hotel's phone system. I checked it out and essentially, instead of running Cat5 wire, they re-used the phone lines and were basically doing in-house DSL to each room. I called the front desk and was told that they had discontinued their wired internet. Other Marriots and Hiltons I've tried since didn't even have the little device there, just a sad ethernet cable hanging down from the desk. Thankfully, my current job provides a hotspot, so most of the time I just use that. The cost of the room and wifi don't bother, it's the fact that the speeds are horrible during non-peak times and non-existant during peak times.