Internet Connection Problem?

[420]

I am currently living in an apartment complex that has an internet connection sort of like a hotel does. There is a master overseeing open network for the entire complex that requires a username and password (that was given on movein) to access. It works fine for my laptop because the login page auto pops up when i open the internet.

My question is that I am trying to hook my PS3 up to the internet but am unable to. It states that it cannot locate the IP address which I am assuming is because of the constant password entering I need to do. I was just wondering if anyone has had this problem and able to bypass this to hook up a game system or other object without setting up a wireless hotspot or buying a whole new router/modem. Thank a bunch.

[Craig]

The cheapest way to do this is to use a crossover cable that is connected to the wired network port on your computer and to the PS3. Then simply configure your laptop network settings to "allow other network users to connect through this computer's internet connection". This will make your laptop into an internet gateway for your PS3.

Some considerations to keep in mind though... I am aware that this feature is ubiquitous in windows and Linux operating systems, but have not used a Mac to test it. Also, if you are using a crossover cable to connect two devices together, you will likely need to set both devices to network with each other manually, and you may need to set your PS3's internet connections to use your laptop as a gateway, since that's what it is.

While you're configuring your PS3 to use your laptop as a gateway, you will likely find an option to enter a password to use when contacting the gateway. You should be able to leave this blank, but you could also try entering your password for the wireless network in the PS3's wireless network gateway settings. This would connect the PS3 to the apartment network directly. If it does, you could also get a wireless router and configure it to access the apartment complex's network and then connect your equipment to the router any way you wish. You may need to do that if the network administrator has limited each household to one login. When you connect a gateway to a network, that network sees all traffic from that gateway as one computer, no matter how many computers are talking through it. (as a side note, a typical home router is nearly always run as a gateway and not a router at all)

It may sound complicated, but that's because it used to be. Networked devices are now much better at sorting out the details so that it is a lot easier to get connected, but there are still a lot of details left because when it was more complicated things were setup differently from each other, making modernization bumpy. Nowadays it's a lot harder to limit a connection than it is to achieve a connection to the internet. The cable is cheep and you can't really break anything with it, so give it a try... But try the last advice first because the results may be more satisfying.