OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the
shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go
THROUGH A HUB?

I'm using it now and it seems okay, but it seems safer to have 3
possible methods than 2.

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

Usually I'm at my desk and the cable is right there. I can't help
thinking that copper carries signals better than the complicated method
of transmitter/air/receiver does.


For background and why I'm especially worried, I had a problem for the
last couple years that the cable would stop working after a couple days
and I'd have to unplug it, then the wifi would start up automatically
but after a couple days it would stop working and I'd have to plug in
the cable again, but at least it would start working automatically.
Then in the last two weeks, there have been 3 or 4 times when neither
worked and I'd have to reboot windows. (One more reason to buy a new
laptop.)
I've been using the USB adapter** for 3 days now and no interruptions
but that's not very long, no longer than the average time between
failures I had been having.
I made a point to watch some youtube videos and they seem fine. Are
there HD videos aomewhere that require a better connection? .

** Nothing special, $10 and was even 3 dollars off on Prime Day. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M77HMU0

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 7/24/2024 4:14 PM, micky wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go THROUGH A HUB?

Yes. It's that good. I have one. On a share, a large file proceeds
at 112MB/sec, just like I was using a PCIe NIC. I call it my
emergency adapter, but I have plenty of older NICs in the junk
room, that aren't as good as an ASIX chip. I could see myself
using it permanently, but I also like to put a working
solution inside the desktop casing, as it's a bit neater.

The trouble with really modern (useless) laptops, is having
to carry a kit bag of wires to do stuff. The inventors think
that the users plunk a $300 "dock" on their desk, to make up
for the missing hardware. But a guy living in a car, is not
going to like a dock falling off the front seat all the time.

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 7/24/24 04:14 PM, micky wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go THROUGH A HUB?

I'm using it now and it seems okay, but it seems safer to have 3
possible methods than 2.

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

Usually I'm at my desk and the cable is right there. I can't help
thinking that copper carries signals better than the complicated method
of transmitter/air/receiver does.

For background and why I'm especially worried, I had a problem for the
last couple years that the cable would stop working after a couple days
and I'd have to unplug it, then the wifi would start up automatically
but after a couple days it would stop working and I'd have to plug in
the cable again, but at least it would start working automatically.
Then in the last two weeks, there have been 3 or 4 times when neither worked and I'd have to reboot windows. (One more reason to buy a new
laptop.)
I've been using the USB adapter** for 3 days now and no interruptions
but that's not very long, no longer than the average time between
failures I had been having.
I made a point to watch some youtube videos and they seem fine. Are there HD videos aomewhere that require a better connection? .

** Nothing special, $10 and was even 3 dollars off on Prime Day. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M77HMU0

There are USB-C to Ethernet adapters. https://www.microcenter.com/product/667409/j5create-usb-c-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

For $20 US I would say this would be nice to have in the future. This was the cheapest and maybe
not the best.
--
Linux Mint 21.3, Cinnamon 6.0.4, Kernel 5.15.0-116-generic
Al

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 7/24/2024 8:33 PM, Big Al wrote:

On 7/24/24 04:14 PM, micky wrote:

** Nothing special, $10 and was even 3 dollars off on Prime Day.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M77HMU0

There are USB-C to Ethernet adapters. https://www.microcenter.com/product/667409/j5create-usb-c-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

For $20 US I would say this would be nice to have in the future.  This was the cheapest and maybe not the best.

https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/what-is-the-best-usb-ethernet-adapter-driver-free-for-freebsd.85813/

"On FreeBSD, I found the best option to be the Asix corp. AX88179
based USB-Ethernet adapters. For example, the Amazon Basics
USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Internet Adapter
is based on the AX88179, cheap enough, well built, and works
very well under FreeBSD. But Plugable and others also make similar products.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-1000-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00M77HMU0
"

"Your next best option is anything based on Realtek's RTL8153 chip.
Adapters of this kind are more common than those based on the Asix chip,
often cheaper too. TP-Link and UGreen products most likely will use the RTL8153.

Mind you, there have been (maybe still are) driver/recognition issues with
RTL8153 based USB GbE adapters under FreeBSD, where the cdce(4) driver is
loaded instead of ure(4). The connection works even with the cdce driver,
but you cannot set media type, speed and other connection details.

Devices with earlier Asix and RTL chips also work fine under FreeBSD, but
obviously at Fast Ethernet speed instead of GbE. [the previous ASIX chip was 10/100BT on USB2 kinda thing]

Avoid USB Ethernet adapters with an SMSC or U9200 chip!
In my experience they do not work well (or at all) under FreeBSD.
"

Mine is an AX88179, and I'm amazed at the number of situations I
plug it in and it just works.

The Startech one, usually the chip they say is in an adapter,
that's what it ships with. But every company can be tempted to cut
corners. This is an AX88179 one.

https://www.startech.com/en-ca/networking-io/usb31000s#tech--specs

I would buy an adapter at the local computer store, the one with the 30 day no-questions-asked return policy, then verify what I got.

https://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html

When I bought a NIC a while back, the outside of the box said
a Marvell chip was inside the box -- when I got it home, it
was RealTek. Ever since then, the practice is "Verify! Verify! Verify!".
If you have a 30 day return policy, then you can reward sleaziness.

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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micky wrote:

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

That would be me. My 2018 Thinkpad connects to my router usually at 866
Mbit, so not much slower than through wired, so there is actually no
need to wire it up. Depending on the combination of hardware used this
of course may vary.

-jw-
--
And now for something completely different...

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:16:21 -0000 (UTC),
Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It depends on how often you're in places with no wifi but do have ethernet. >In my experience that's almost nowhere.

In the five or six years I can probably count on the fingers of one hand
the times where I needed an ethernet cable. The most recent time was when
the work wifi was failing, the ethernet worked better but also had
problems.

Ethernet USB adapters work great and make sure you get a gigabit one if >you're needing fast speed. Honestly, I haven't carried one for three years >now, so probably a waste of money.

So you stopped carrying one years before I even knew there was one.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:00:32 +0200, Joerg
Walther <joerg.walther@magenta.de> wrote:

micky wrote:

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

That would be me. My 2018 Thinkpad connects to my router usually at 866
Mbit, so not much slower than through wired,

Aha, well at least you enable me to maintain my faith in copper when you
say or imply the wifi is a little slower, even if there is no practical difference.

So I guess I can get along without the jack.

so there is actually no
need to wire it up. Depending on the combination of hardware used this
of course may vary.

Sure

-jw-

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:33:36 -0400, Big Al <alan@invalid.com> wrote:

On 7/24/24 04:14 PM, micky wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the
shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go
THROUGH A HUB?

I'm using it now and it seems okay, but it seems safer to have 3
possible methods than 2.

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

Usually I'm at my desk and the cable is right there. I can't help
thinking that copper carries signals better than the complicated method
of transmitter/air/receiver does.


For background and why I'm especially worried, I had a problem for the
last couple years that the cable would stop working after a couple days
and I'd have to unplug it, then the wifi would start up automatically
but after a couple days it would stop working and I'd have to plug in
the cable again, but at least it would start working automatically.
Then in the last two weeks, there have been 3 or 4 times when neither
worked and I'd have to reboot windows. (One more reason to buy a new
laptop.)
I've been using the USB adapter** for 3 days now and no interruptions
but that's not very long, no longer than the average time between
failures I had been having.
I made a point to watch some youtube videos and they seem fine. Are
there HD videos aomewhere that require a better connection? .

** Nothing special, $10 and was even 3 dollars off on Prime Day.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M77HMU0

There are USB-C to Ethernet adapters. >https://www.microcenter.com/product/667409/j5create-usb-c-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

This one is white, so I'll have to hold off and see what color the new
laptop is. I don't know want the colors to clash. (Plus I don't have a
type-C port yet anyhow.)

While shopping for a laptop, one of them listed as a feature,
"distinctive black color" I'm hoping to be distinctive.

For $20 US I would say this would be nice to have in the future. This was the cheapest and maybe
not the best.

You guys have pretty much convinced me that I don't need the port.
Thanks to all of you.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:41:31 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:

On 7/24/2024 4:14 PM, micky wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the
shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go
THROUGH A HUB?

Yes. It's that good. I have one. On a share, a large file proceeds
at 112MB/sec, just like I was using a PCIe NIC. I call it my
emergency adapter, but I have plenty of older NICs in the junk
room, that aren't as good as an ASIX chip. I could see myself
using it permanently, but I also like to put a working
solution inside the desktop casing, as it's a bit neater.

The trouble with really modern (useless) laptops, is having
to carry a kit bag of wires to do stuff. The inventors think

I already carry a hub, a mouse, a keyboard, USB speakers, an extension
cord, a foreign outlet adapter, a couple empty flash drives, charging
cables, (a power supply, of course) and in the rental car an automobile
power supply, so one more small thing won't be a problem.

I used to carry an SD card reader and DVDs with repair software** so I
should carry flashdrives with the same stuff now, but the DVDs were
already written. The flashdrives I'd have to think about and then
write.

**(and I actually needed it after I used the laptop case to try to open
a pistachio nut. Fortunately this was early on when I wasn't using the
computer much and when I was going home in 2 days.)

that the users plunk a $300 "dock" on their desk, to make up
for the missing hardware. But a guy living in a car, is not
going to like a dock falling off the front seat all the time.

You remembner that I've spend about 100 days of the last 6 years in my
car. March of this year, I heard from my brother that my sister-in-law
doesn't want me there anymore, in florida, so I spent another week in
the car. I told them I was staying with my friend's friend who lives in Florida, but spent every night but one in one or another Walmart's
parking lot. Walmart has annnounced that people are welcome to do this.
One large lot in Hollywood had about 100 cars overnight, although in the morning I only saw people get out of about 2 of them. Others were too
far away to see, and some would have been overnight employees, but that
doesn't account for most of them. I don't know who owned the other
cars. Maybe people who had apartments but no place to park where they
lived, esp. if they had two cars.

Of course when living in the car, one is unlikely to have cable
internet.

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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micky wrote:

That would be me. My 2018 Thinkpad connects to my router usually at 866 >>Mbit, so not much slower than through wired,

Aha, well at least you enable me to maintain my faith in copper when you
say or imply the wifi is a little slower, even if there is no practical >difference.

Depending which OS you use you can see the wifi speed either in the wifi settings (like here in Ubuntu) or in your router, I don't know where to
look in Windows, my old Win PC is connected through cable. I just read
that the latest model of the so called Fritz! brand of routers, which is
very popular in Germany, can connect with up to 2 Gbit on short
distances.

-jw-
--
And now for something completely different...

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-07-25 10:00, Joerg Walther wrote:

micky wrote:

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

That would be me. My 2018 Thinkpad connects to my router usually at 866
Mbit, so not much slower than through wired, so there is actually no
need to wire it up. Depending on the combination of hardware used this
of course may vary.

Not all my routers support that speed, not am I sure that the laptop
will always be at home.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2024-07-24 22:14, micky wrote:

OT? Will I regret not having an RJ-45 port?

It turns out many new laptops have no Ethernet port, because afaict,
they are thin and the jack is too thick to fit!

Right now IL have 3 ways to connect to the net, Wifi, the ethernet port,
and I recently bought an ethernet-to-USB adapter.

Is this adapter as GOOD as and as FAST as a port, especially since the shortage of USB ports on most of these laptops means I will have to go THROUGH A HUB?

I'm using it now and it seems okay, but it seems safer to have 3
possible methods than 2.

Or are most people fully connected with wifi? And they vever use a
cable?

Usually I'm at my desk and the cable is right there. I can't help
thinking that copper carries signals better than the complicated method
of transmitter/air/receiver does.

I specifically do not buy any laptop without that connector.

In my experience, I had cases where the WiFi would not work for whatever
of many reasons. But I mostly use Linux, and it can happen on a new
laptop that the driver for a new WiFi hardware does not exist yet, or
that the installation DVD doesn't have it.

In other cases, the WiFi router failed. Or I don't know the password,
but I have ethernet cable.

I just do not want to close a door.


--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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