Subj : Re: Learned something new To : August Abolins From : Ky Moffet Date : Thu Jul 25 2024 10:30:00 AUGUST ABOLINS wrote: > Hello Ky.Moffet! > > ** On Tuesday 23.07.24 - 20:50, Ky.Moffet wrote to August Abolins: > >>> Hello Ed.Vance! > >> I can't find Ed's message on the topic, but anyway. Pretend >> you're Ed. I'm talkin' to Ed. :) > > OK. I'll try. But I can't speak for Ed! LOL Ed, you've changed! >> There's no such thing. You're probably remembering a USB-to- >> Ethernet adapter. ... > > I'm guessing the same thing. But maybe Ed thought it was > something else. All these gadgets look much the same, plus or minus some length of cable. > >> Bluetooth is much less secure and a lot more likely to >> randomly fail to connect. Especially does not work well with >> XP. I have a BT adapter on my XP64 box for no good reason, >> because it won't connect with any modern devices, and only >> sees about half of them. Its only virtue is it's old enough >> that the driver is for XP. > > There are about 5 generations of BT now. My XP laptop (a > thinkpad TP40) worked well with an original generation Kobo's > BT feature. It was really convenient to transfer ebook > downloads via BT to the Kobo. Later Kobo models abandoned the > BT feature. Meanwhile, even a later model Thinkpad T60 (also > XP) simply does not work with newer BT devices. Yeah, it's all over the place. I have a brand new keyboard designed for BT to modern tablets, and which tablet can't see it? the relatively new Kindle Fire. Works with the aging and old phones, but not the newish PinePhone. Doesn't see the XP64 box's BT adapter (USB dongle). Meanwhile, the $10 BT keyboard I've had about ten years does better than anything else (it will usually connect, if you wait long enough). Yet another BT keyboard of the same vintage, I've never got to work at all. > The problem is that Ed's internet is supplied by the phone > right now, and he refuses to use wifi. There is no "wired" way > to feed the internet from the phone to his XP laptop. I really These exist, https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/connect-phone-tablet-to-internet-ethernet-cable but I don't think they turn the phone into a network switch, which seems to be what he's after. > don't understand his reluctance to enable hotspot mode using > wifi on the phone and feed the internet the XP laptop's wifi > that way. His wife could even continue to use the phone while > it's operating in hotspot mode. He'd be able to use his XP Um, yeah, that would definitely be the way to go. > laptop and enjoy the larger screen and normal keyboard many > months ago! Or.. maybe he truly does enjoy using the smaller > screen and virtual keyboard on the phone afterall. LOL. I enjoy it so much I refuse to do it. >> Wifi will never be as secure as wired, because it's broadcast >> to the world, and you need to make sure security is set (if >> not on by default). > > He has some kind Moto model of smartphone (I'm too lazy to > check older messages for the specific one). It would have built > in security for hotspot mode. As long as Ed configures a good > password he should be fine and it wouldn't matter if the > phone's SSID is "broadcast to the world". The Motos are pretty good, from what I read. Should have very mature tech for all this. >> One of my small entertainments is watching wifi-enabled cars >> go by on the highway. It's about 200 feet away but they still >> show up on any device that's looking for wifi. Some are >> secure, but many are not. > > Hmmm.. I scan the environment for other wifi devices too from > time to time. I use Fing on one of my smartphones for that. I > work at a storefont that is right next to the main street in > town. I'd see an SSID show up and then it would disappear a > minute or two later. The one's I've seen have all been secure. > I haven't noticed an open one. I see a lot of them in cars (mostly Hondas), and one day something went by calling itself a printer. But unless you're deliberately stupid, I don't see how you'd disable the default security on PC-and-phone wifi. Should be plenty good enough. þ RNET 2.10U: ILink: Techware BBS þ Hollywood, Ca þ www.techware2k.com --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .