setting up a serial network for my old laptops

[NoOp]

On 07/17/2007 09:29 PM, debiani386 wrote:

> i use a serial cable because my old 486 laptop does not come with a NIC.
> 
> i looked for a docking station for my laptop, but the docking station 
> didnt have a NIC
> 
> I looked for a NIC that would be compatible with it, but those are 
> extremely hard to come across (mainly because my PCMCIA is very old 
> (type I i believe) and i dont know if it even works)
> 
> and no vendors around here have crossover parallel, so i chose serial.
> 
> i know i couldve gone to ebay and got me a crossover parallel, but i 
> figured that i wouldnt have to wait so long for the cable to come in if 
> i were to purchase from a local vendor
> 
> --cj
> 

Does it have a usb port? If so I solved this problem on my old A21
Thinkpad by buying an Airlink 101 USB 2.0 Ethernet adapter. The laptop
doesn't have a usb 2.0, it's a 1.1, but the adapter works like a champ.
Just plug it in and go.
(http://www.airlink101.com/products/asohousb.html) Picked it up at the
local Fry's electronics store for about $13. Also added a docking
station that I bought at the local computer surplus junk store for $10
and set it up as a desktop (the screen is broken). I'm looking a buying
a few more simply to have around - when I couldn't get the built-in
ethernet port on my Presario 5670 w/Ubuntu (works find in Windoze), I
used the Airlink 101 until I found an old nic that would work.