I need help with wi-fi and sharing an internet connection.
Situation: I am around several guys with laptops (many of these guys have Macbooks and Macbook Pros) all of which connect to a local hotspot. The hotspot uses some protocols that my precious Newton cannot directly negotiate for the initial login and connection (but could once login credentials have been validated).
My Evil Desire: I want to piggyback my internet connection off one of the many laptops in order to get around the security protocols that my Newton cannot negotiate. Were the laptops using a wired connection, I would simply add my WiFi card's MAC Address and set the laptop as a base station. Since all of these laptops are connected to the internet wirelessly, I do not know if or how to do this. I do know that several would allow me to do this if a way was known.
So, can I accomplish this?
I have thought about setting up a dumb Airport base station (using one of the Macbooks to do this) and then use the Airport but I do not have one available to me right now.
I don't think that a wireless card will support 2 simultaneous connections. Maybe if one of them had 2 WAN adaptors...
What kind of "security protocols" are enforced on the Wi-Fi network you want to connect to? My guess is that, based on your description, it employs MAC registration with an initial browser redirect (you open a Web browser after connecting to the network for the first time, and it redirects you to a page where it perhaps requests credentials, and, if properly supplied, adds the wireless adapter's MAC address to the network's routing scheme). In this case, you're likely stuck with your Newton unless you have a way of cloning your wireless card's MAC address to be the same as another network adapter that's already been registered on the network. Unless your wireless adapter's MAC is in the routing database, you aren't getting online -- and I'm not sure if most OS's "Internet connection sharing" options will prevent the outside connection from seeing your Newton's MAC address.
In any event, as said above, the laptop will need a second wireless adapter.
Perhaps you should trade your Newton for an iPhone or iPod touch?