Save money: Create your own motel Wi-Fi hotspot
(MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Even as most of the world switches to free (or almost free) Internet access, motels and hotels remain a notable exception, often charging not just for a connection to their network, but for every connection to their network. If you have a laptop, an iPad, and an iPhone, you might have to pay three times.
Or consider my recent experience: Living in an extended-stay furnished apartment when I moved to Southern California, I was limited to signing on with no more than 5 devices. If I connected a sixth gadget, the first one would automatically get booted off the network.
Thankfully, there are workarounds. You can, with just a little effort, turn a laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot and (re)broadcast your own network, allowing all of your devices to sign on after paying just one fee.
Create an ad-hoc network. If you don't mind fiddling around in the bowels of Windows (and honestly, it's not that bad), you can configure Windows 7 to behave like a hotspot. To do that, make sure your laptop is connected to the motel's Internet service via a wired Ethernet cable. Then go to to the Network and Sharing Center in the Control Panel and choose to Set up a new connection or network. Then click Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer network) and finish setup by completing the wizard. (Don't forget to configure your new network with WPA security). The final step: Go back to the Network and Sharing Center, click Change adapter settings, and enable Internet sharing for your wireless network.
Do it all with Connectify. If you want something a little easier, install the free Connectify app, which automatically configures your laptop to become a Wi-Fi hotspot with just a few simple clicks.
Photo courtesy Flickr user Milo Riano
Dave Johnson
View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch »
Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
