Unfinished Windows 7 feature turns laptops into Wi-Fi hotspots
Ben Franklin-Funded Company, Nomadio, Finds a Windows 7 Niche
Free app lets iPhones, other devices connect to Internet via software-based router
By Gregg Keizer
October 29, 2009 06:22 PM ET
Computerworld – A Philadelphia developer has rooted out an unfinished feature of Windows 7 that turns any laptop into a wireless access point, allowing other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to share the connection without special software.
Gizis has used his Connectify-equipped Windows 7 laptop as a wireless access point for his Apple iPhone, for example, and to provide a wireless connection to multiple PCs when only one Ethernet jack was available.
“There are a lot of neat scenarios where this comes in handy,” he said. “For example, people can use a wireless printer without any setup, which usually requires that you first plug the [wireless] printer into the computer with a USB cable so it can select the network.”
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