OT Laptop / Hotel

An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

Thanks

Quoting "John" regarding OT Laptop / Hotel in a message
dated Sun, 21 Dec 2003 17:33:40 -0000:

An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

Thanks

Simply, a Laptop PC LAN card shoud do the trick. If your's is a "company"
laptop which can connect to your firm's network, then you should already have
what you need. You may also need an adaptor where one side connects to your
LAN card with the other end as a female RJ45 Jack (like a telephone jack with
8 wires instead of 4). You then need a cable going from the wall jack of the
hotel to the RJ45 jack end of your adapter, but many hotels have those. I bring
my own so I don't need to put down a deposit on it.

Connect everything up, boot your laptop and then go to your internet browser of
choice. You'll most likely be directed to a website where you authorize the
charges to your room # (usually one charge every 24 hours).

Hope this helps.



__________________________________

Regards,
Arnold.

(E-mail address altered, to prevent spamming. :-|
Remove all asterisks and the *hates*spam* to get true address.)

They will usually have it, but you will need a network cable to plug into
your Ethernet port on the computer. If you don't have an Ethernet jack,
then it won't work.

I travel with a long (25 foot) cable so I can work from just about anyplace
in the room, not just the silly three or four feet they give you.




"John" wrote in message
...
An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

Thanks

standard RJ45 (ethernet).

Jeff


"John" wrote in message
...
An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

Thanks

"The Bill Mattocks" wrote in message
om...
"John" wrote in message
...
What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?


Many thanks to all who replied for the info.

"John" wrote in message ...
What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

Depends on the hotel chain. Most Marriott Courtyards now have
high-speed internet connections - and most of them have a box on the
desk that takes either an ethernet cable or a USB cable. You should
find both types of cable hanging from a clothes hook in the closet.
Most laptops these days have an ethernet connection built-in, failing
that, a PCMCIA network card will do the same thing. Failing all else,
you can use the USB connector - but be warned - I have never tried it
myself, but I have friends who have, and they inform me that it's
messy to set up and slower than dialup. Don't know myself. I've
always had good luck with an ethernet cable.

As others have described, once you plug in and boot up, you should
launch your web browser, which should take you to some sort of 'sign
up' page instead of your home page. You indicate your willingness to
pay (some are free now) and agree to their terms of service, and
that's it - you're in.

I have run into a very few hotels that have high-speed connections
available via wireless ethernet, in which case you need a wireless
PCMCIA card or built-in wireless capability in your laptop. Honestly,
I haven't seen many of those, though.

Beware that some hotel staff members don't know what 'high-speed'
internet is! If you ask them, they'll say "Sure! We have high-speed
internet access!" What they mean is that they have a modem jack in
the phone or wall and you can dial in to your provider. It's no
faster than any other kind of dial-up access, they just 'think' it is
because the jack in the wall is labeled 'data'.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

"Mike Cordelli" wrote in message . com...
They will usually have it, but you will need a network cable to plug into
your Ethernet port on the computer. If you don't have an Ethernet jack,
then it won't work.

I travel with a long (25 foot) cable so I can work from just about anyplace
in the room, not just the silly three or four feet they give you.

Ha! I sometimes carry a mini-router/switch and run my own LAN in my
room. Thought about doing it wireless, too. One IP address external
to the hotel room, many inside. Fun.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Lots of people do the wireless thing, it lets them get to say the pool with
their laptop without running a cable across the patio.

One thing through John if you are still around, ask somebody in your IT
department if you have one how to change your network settings and put them
back to what they currently are. Most of the time you won't have to change
any of the network addresses and the rest, but it's good to know what to do
should you have to make the change. The hotel will of course be more then
willing to change them for you, it's getting them back that can be an issue.




"The Bill Mattocks" wrote in message
om...
"Mike Cordelli" wrote in message
. com...
They will usually have it, but you will need a network cable to plug
into
your Ethernet port on the computer. If you don't have an Ethernet jack,
then it won't work.

I travel with a long (25 foot) cable so I can work from just about
anyplace
in the room, not just the silly three or four feet they give you.

Ha! I sometimes carry a mini-router/switch and run my own LAN in my
room. Thought about doing it wireless, too. One IP address external
to the hotel room, many inside. Fun.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

"John" wrote in message
...
An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Heathrow Airport and they had a standard UK
phone plug and an RJ45 connector plug, side by side.

I went to the desk to ask how to I get myself set up to use the internet
system in the room.. 20 minutes later he still didn't understand the concept
of a network connection.. I gave up.

John wrote:

An off topic question but I'm sure many here will know the answer.

What type of interface do you need in your laptop to connect to the high
speed internet sockets available in some hotel guest rooms ?

The laptop should have an ethernet adapter. Check for a modular phone
type plug, but slightly larger. Additionally, some hotels offer wireless
service. Newer computers may have builtin wireless interface, or you
would have to buy one. If you buy a wireless adapter, you may (or may
not) need some setup. For the standard wired interface, no setup is
normally required. You would automatically get the interface configured
from the DHCP server.