Personal computing discussed

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tanker27
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Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 12:21 pm

So this is one I cant really answer that I am throwing out to you Macheads:

I have a relative who travels A lot! Like 80% of the month a lot. So he stays in different hotels world wide most of which dont offer wireless in the room just a hard connection. What he wants to do is carry the Airport and just his iPad and connect. But the problem is how do you configure the Airport from the iPad. Do you really need a laptop/pc to do this. I mean there should be an app for it :wink: !

So can anyone offer some sort of detailed solution as to how you go about doing this? Or provide a link to an app that can do this if I missed it.
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Skrying
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 12:33 pm

Besides how ridiculous the entire idea is... the Airport isn't configurable via the web browser? Otherwise, if Apple requires you to install an application then yes a laptop would be necessary (and is the better solution anyway).

This reminds me of a growing problem here on campus. See a number of students, some professors and even one or two IT folk using iPads and constantly running into situations where their laptop would have been far more practical.
 
cjcerny
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 1:16 pm

Wifi and hotels will never get along well. Way too many firewalls (the real kind, not the kind in your router) and steel doors and just regular thick walls in everyone's building codes for hotels and wifi to get along. You would be wise to remind your relative of this and advise him that wired browsing is likely to be his only option for some time to come, unless he's in an open space like the lobby.
 
UberGerbil
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 2:00 pm

I've never configured an Airport, but I assume there's a web interface for configuration. However, most such access ports do not allow configuration via wireless by default, and instead require changes to be made over a wired connection. It's possible that can be changed, though he then runs the risk (probably small) of losing control of his Airport to any malicious wardriver in range who can guess his password. He also better get familiar with configuring his Airport, because different hotels may require different things, and he won't be able to look things up until he gets online. Some hotels require you to "OK" your way through a bunch of terms of service and indemnity agreements as soon as you connect a device, which can be tricky to do when the device is the WAP rather than a normal client.
cjcerny wrote:
Wifi and hotels will never get along well. Way too many firewalls (the real kind, not the kind in your router) and steel doors and just regular thick walls in everyone's building codes for hotels and wifi to get along. You would be wise to remind your relative of this and advise him that wired browsing is likely to be his only option for some time to come, unless he's in an open space like the lobby.
I assumed the relative simply wanted to be able to use his iPad in his room (and maybe out on the lanai if his room has one) without having it tethered to the wall by an ethernet cable. It's a lot of work just for that limited amount of freedom, but people want their iPad experience to match the one they've seen on TV, so...

It is of course possible he's completely unaware of the limitations of WiFi, particularly in commercial construction as you noted, and expects to wander down to breakfast or elsewhere in the hotel with access to "his" connection. But some hotels do offer WiFi in the more public parts of their building (the lobby and conference areas, etc)
 
blorbic5
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 2:09 pm

If they really travel a lot why didn't they get the 3g? They should also look into teathering with a smartphone.
 
apertur3
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed May 18, 2011 2:35 pm

Just have him get a super cheap ASUS WL-330gE portable wireless router, configure it to be in AP mode and pre-configure the iPad to work with it when he's at home (i.e., set up the SSID, encryption, etc.). Then he should be able to plug it into just about any wired outlet in a hotel or anywhere and have a perfectly functioning connection.

But in all seriousness, I'd tell him to quit trying to be hip and get a laptop.

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tanker27
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Re: Airport and iPad

Thu May 19, 2011 6:27 am

apertur3 wrote:
But in all seriousness, I'd tell him to quit trying to be hip and get a laptop.



Why must he be "hip"? There are some great uses for the iPad. Heck we even use them at my company for business. FWIW he has a laptop and is tired of lugging it around. If you traveled as much as he does you would want to travel light too.
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Thresher
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Re: Airport and iPad

Tue May 31, 2011 8:13 am

Unfortunately, the Airport Express has to be configured using software. I don't think it can be set up using a webpage.

I have one, never attempted to set it up outside of the software. I'd just pick up one of the cheapy portable routers that allow this and do it from a browser.
 
trackerben
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Re: Airport and iPad

Tue May 31, 2011 9:59 am

If he can't wait for the app tell him to get something similar to the Airport which can be configured via web interface. I've used the dualp-radio Sapido GR-1102 which is like the Airport but also works as a single-port wired router, does WPS and WDS, has print, file, and webcam servers and is compatible with some 3G WAN devices. It can't do iTunes streaming, but somehow I think your guy isn't looking for that when traveling...
 
RhysAndrews
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:57 am

Indeed, airports don't have web interfaces. You must configure them via the airport utility for Windows or Mac.

HOWEVER

You relative shouldn't need to configure the airport - get him to configure it once at home where he does have access to a laptop, and make sure it's set to bridged mode. That should be all you need to do.

-Rhys
 
potatochobit
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Re: Airport and iPad

Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:36 am

lesson A: first of all, any good router does not lose it's settings when it is unplugged for a short period of time, why can't you set it up at home before going?

lesson B: any modern router that is not a piece of crap has a 'connect to' button for easy access
it is very similar to a bluetooth pairing button

lesson C: your uncle should have stayed at a holiday inn express
every hotel I have been in within the last two years has had free wifi- but I don't travel to thailand I guess

Question: I dont own an ipad2, but I assume it has wifi connection options just like a 3GS? I think you might be making this harder than it should be

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