Point to Point Wireless??

[Eric Dunbar]

On 19/03/06, Arjun Shankar <arjunsha at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm hoping this is not too dumb a question to ask. And frankly, I'm
> WAY off the correct mailing list to ask this, but here goes...
> The thing is, me and my friend have notebooks with 802.11b wireless
> NICs.

> Now some while ago when we didnt have a network in college,
> people with ethernet cards used to connect two boxes directly with a
> 'crossed' wire, without needing any extra hardware (hub or switch).
> Well, basically, in India a notebook is a luxury (I got mine with a
> loan :)), so a wireless hub is something I cant even dream of buying
> as a student.

> To get to the point, is there a wireless equivalent of
> connecting two computers directly (like its done with wired NICs)
> without needing a hub? If yes, how? and if not why not?
> Arjun Shankar

To get the discussion started: yes there is!!! How it's done in Linux
I do not know since I've never had to worry about it, but, in Mac OS X
(a UNIX... as you probably know Linux is very similar to UNIX) it's a
breeze (all done through GUI).

Basically, you turn one of the computers into a wireless router to
which you connect the other computers (you can share files, play games
and share internet connectivity (provided the internet connection is
on another port, e.g. FireWire, ethernet or a second wireless card)).
That said, I've see inexpensive wireless routers being dumped for ~$10
CAD (400 rupees)... but, that might be an artificially low price
simply to "move stock". I've seen "regular" priced 802.11b routers
being sold for $30 CAD.

Eric.