Quick question about ethernet...

Ok so I have a ps3 and hate wireless internet. I stray from online console gaming because of this. So, is there ANYway to get a wired connection without a direct ethernet port from the wall? Can a PC ethernet port be used to obtain internet, even if the PC is getting it wirelessly? Or is there some kind of converter to work with a cable port or a phone line?

you could get a router, it doesn't have to be wireless but why don't you like wireless if i may askJdbucc

because no matter where I put my ps3 in my room, it's never higher than 40% signal strength. idk if that's really that bad, but from what I've seen with SF4 online, wireless at 40% opposed to 100% isn't ideal.

there is a way to do that... share your wireless connection to other devices. i think it is called an access point or something like that. i am sure linksys has something that will do that.

There are several options. From your description I'm not 100% on your setup. Is your actual internet service wireless or do you have typical DSL or Cable but with a wireless router elsewhere in the house? For the sake of this discussion I'll assume that latter because it is far more common.

If your PC is getting it's internet access from a wireless connection then yes you can share that connection out over the ethernet port on the PC. The feature is called different things in different versions of Windows but it's more commonly referred to as Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). This can be accomplished by locating your wireless network adapter in the control panel under Network or Network and Sharing Center (again depending on Windows version), right clicking it and clicking properties. There should be a sharing tab that will allow you to choose what adapter you'd like to share the connection out to. Once your wired adapter is selected your internet will be shared through Port Address Translation (PAT).

You can then connect the PS3 to the computer via one of two ways, directly or through a switch/hub. If you have a switch or hub and you connect the PS3 through it then you are done, but if you connect directly you have to use what's called a crossover ethernet cable. Like in a telephone the switch of a network acts like a telephone switchboard and takes what you say over the microphone and puts it through to the earpiece on the other end of the call and visa-versa. Without the switch, the wires go straight across so the "sound" comes out by the PS3's mouth instead of it's ear so nobody can hear one another. A crossover cable swithes the ear/mouth side between the two ends so a switch/hub is not required. They can be made for pretty cheap if you have a spool, a crimper, some rj-45 ends and some know-how but if you don't want to go that route you can order them from monoprice.com. Don't buy those or any other ethernet cable from retail stores because the markup is usually around 500-1000%.

If you have more questions, post back with more details.

-Byshop

Bear in mind, however, that this will only help your situation if your computer gets much better reception than the PS3. Otherwise you may want to look into other options like http://www.smarthome.com/6407E/Corinex-AV-Phoneline-Ethernet-Bridge/p.aspx or http://www.homeplug.org/en/products/products.asp.

I cannot vouch for these products as they are kind of ghetto solutions in the networking world.

-Byshop