USB ethernet and tethering on Android is certainly one way. Keeping the phone powered can present interesting opportunities, but it works well.
There's also other ways.
Like USB tethering. Plug the computer into the Android phone with a regular USB cable that is already kicking around. No ethernet adapter required; the phone behaves as a network adapter in and of itself. The computer keeps the phone charged. This worked at least as far back as the OG Motorola Droid, in 2009. (Drivers may be a fun thing to get working depending on the OS, but that's just a software problem.)
Or: Other hardware that is already laying around. That the old home network router that has been hosting generations of spiders for over a decade, in a dusty cardboard box at the back of a closet next to the favorite pair of shoes that are simply too nice to ever get worn? There's a good chance that it's hackable and able to run custom firmware. Stuff a period-correct copy of OpenWRT or DD-WRT or Tomato or [something] into it, and turn it into a wifi client bridge so your old Ethernet stuff can chat on the wifi network. (I've had the big, color HP laser printer at the shop connected this way with a hacked Linksys WRT54G for very nearly two decades so far. Part of me says I should upgrade that box one of these years, but it still works fine and I find this amusing.)
Or: Rube Goldberg minimalism. The Raspberry Pi Zero W that is in the drawer next to the extra key for the Ford that got sold a decade ago (and the spiders; there's always spiders): It runs Linux just fine. It talks wifi. It can talk RNDIS to a USB-connected Windows computer. It can therefore become a wifi-to-usb bridge, wherein the computer doesn't even know that it's talking to a wifi network. Drivers for this are built-ins as far back as XP and are downloadable for windows 9x. (The PC provides the power for the Zero W over the same cable that the data flows over.)
There's lots of ways that many/most of us computer-types can get this done without spending a dime, or ever waiting for a delivery. :)
I have no idea why we had red cables. There is absolutely no engineering reason why, when ethernet became a thing, that MDI-X wasn't sorted out automatically with some sort of signalling protocol. It was almost certainly a cost thing and that would probably been at the penny level (fuck customers - they don't cost me at the component stage).
To be fair, I don't know why USB had to wait until a few years back to stop acting quantum with its C incarnation. As you know a USB interface with two possible orientations will require at least three insertion attempts.
I grew up with RS232 and expected better. I had to wait quite a long time. USB C is quite good.
You can make a wifi bridge with a PC, even a Raspberry Pi, running IP masquerading and connecting as a wifi client. I use a Qotom mini PC with 5 NICs for this purpose and connect a whole wired network at my desk.
I've had good luck with easytether (was $10 last time I used it). It always worked ootb on Linux systems, didn't require a dongle. System saw it as a USB Ethernet.
Had that similar T series thinkpad 20 years ago too
I would say since it has mpci it’s easy enough to patch the bios and run a newer WiFi chip inside so you’re not locked into this but this is a great workout for older pcs.
Alternatively, many usb WiFi dongles do have windows xp support but yeah with the new standards def something else. It’s a cool workaround!
I recently repurposed a 2010 era Gateway computer with no WiFi. I got Debian installed on it and got it online through hardwire connection. It is running Debain 13 which is the latest release in server mode.
It replaced a 2011 MacBook pro running Ubuntu to host my website at https://www.dharwadkar.com. It is running blazing fast.
this is how I do invoicing, but I built an image disk useing "etchdroid", to get an the
machine running, so everything through a phone and usb
want a laptop now and will look at different
OS's
There's also other ways.
Like USB tethering. Plug the computer into the Android phone with a regular USB cable that is already kicking around. No ethernet adapter required; the phone behaves as a network adapter in and of itself. The computer keeps the phone charged. This worked at least as far back as the OG Motorola Droid, in 2009. (Drivers may be a fun thing to get working depending on the OS, but that's just a software problem.)
Or: Other hardware that is already laying around. That the old home network router that has been hosting generations of spiders for over a decade, in a dusty cardboard box at the back of a closet next to the favorite pair of shoes that are simply too nice to ever get worn? There's a good chance that it's hackable and able to run custom firmware. Stuff a period-correct copy of OpenWRT or DD-WRT or Tomato or [something] into it, and turn it into a wifi client bridge so your old Ethernet stuff can chat on the wifi network. (I've had the big, color HP laser printer at the shop connected this way with a hacked Linksys WRT54G for very nearly two decades so far. Part of me says I should upgrade that box one of these years, but it still works fine and I find this amusing.)
Or: Rube Goldberg minimalism. The Raspberry Pi Zero W that is in the drawer next to the extra key for the Ford that got sold a decade ago (and the spiders; there's always spiders): It runs Linux just fine. It talks wifi. It can talk RNDIS to a USB-connected Windows computer. It can therefore become a wifi-to-usb bridge, wherein the computer doesn't even know that it's talking to a wifi network. Drivers for this are built-ins as far back as XP and are downloadable for windows 9x. (The PC provides the power for the Zero W over the same cable that the data flows over.)
There's lots of ways that many/most of us computer-types can get this done without spending a dime, or ever waiting for a delivery. :)
Modern ethernet supports Auto MDI-X, which manages that automagically for you.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_crossover_cable
To be fair, I don't know why USB had to wait until a few years back to stop acting quantum with its C incarnation. As you know a USB interface with two possible orientations will require at least three insertion attempts.
I grew up with RS232 and expected better. I had to wait quite a long time. USB C is quite good.
I would say since it has mpci it’s easy enough to patch the bios and run a newer WiFi chip inside so you’re not locked into this but this is a great workout for older pcs.
Alternatively, many usb WiFi dongles do have windows xp support but yeah with the new standards def something else. It’s a cool workaround!
It replaced a 2011 MacBook pro running Ubuntu to host my website at https://www.dharwadkar.com. It is running blazing fast.
Curious to hear your thoughts