Since I’m in the business of web design, web hosting, and providing great customer support, I always have to be connected. So when we travel the first thing I ask is if the hotel we are to stay at has Internet connectivity. Internet can be free, but many times it is not. On our recent trip we paid 19 euro for 24 hours in Madrid, and in Barcelona we had free Internet.
We aren’t light travelers when it comes to technology. I always have my MacBook Air with me and we both have iPhone’s and I have my iPod Touch (for movies). So when we have down time in the hotel we like to be connected. Many hotels, like the big chains, that charge for Internet will bill per computer that you connect to the network. So if I took my laptop and signed up for it paying the 19 euro, in order for our iPhone’s to get access we would need to sign up with each one of them paying a lot more money.
There is a solution for this, the Airport Express. What you need to do is plug your Airport Express into the wall and then plug the Ethernet into the Airport Express. Only at that point do you hook up your computer to the network through your Airport Express. Then you register for the Internet.
The Internet in the hotel will register to your Airport Express device allowing you to share the Internet connection through the wireless network that you just created! So we paid the price, but for that price, we made our own mini network in our hotel room and had instant access for all of our devices.
Another benefit is signal strength. Our hotel in Barcelona, the Soho, boasted free wi-fi internet throughout the hotel. But we couldn’t get a strong enough signal unless we were standing at the door. But they did have a wall jack for Internet so we plugged in, created a network and voila, we now got to use their free Internet and we had strong and reliable service through the wire.
One thing that is good in preparation for doing this is to set up the Airport Express before you leave. It is very easy to do using the Airport Utility and you can set your security and make sure your wireless devices can access the network you set up, so basically when you get there you can plug and go.
With our reliance on wi-fi, it insures we are connected wherever we stay.
You can buy the Airport Express for only $99 from the Apple Store… good deal considering we paid $179 years ago!
And that is not the only use for the Airport Express.
The Airport Express also support AirTunes. It works with the iTunes that you have running on your computer through your wi-fi network. The Airport Express has an audio out jack on the bottom so you can plug it into your stereo in a different room and hear the music everywhere. But how do you control the music?
If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone you can download Apple’s free remote application that will allow you to browse playlists and control your music through your wi-fi network on your iDevice!
So you can hear the sweet sounds of Britney wherever you may be in your home!