<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MagMile:
Okay, I know this is a bit stupid, but I was wondering whether it's possible to use router with high speed access in hotels. I know a lot of hotels have an initial sign in page where you agree to the charges. Would you be able to get to that page with a laptop connected to a router, or could you just use the laptop first to get a connection and then add the router? Do hotels have any special setup that would prevent this?
If this is feasible, are there any really compact wireless routers out there? I know none of them are that large, but is there anything really small?
L</font>
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? If you simply want to have two laptops share your one Internet connection, I suggest bringing a laptop configured with Windows XP or 2000 (or Mac OS X) and both a wireless card and a wired ethernet connection. Plug the wired ethernet connection into the hotel's jack and follow the normal sign in procedure. Then set up your wireless card in ad-hoc mode, and enable Internet Connection Sharing (NAT) on your wireless card interface. Your 2nd laptop should be able to access the Internet as well.
You'll have to figure out the specifics for your particular hardware, and you may have to manually set an IP address and router address on the second laptop, but this works just fine for me. I also use this method to share my dialup connection with colleagues waiting with me at the airport lounge.