Although the Gites here have broadband (at a decent 3Mbps I’ve tested), the range of the Wi-Fi is unfortunately limited by the big old stone walls. Luckily I had considered this being a problem before leaving so packed a geek-based arsenal to create a solution.
Step 1: Take an old laptop and a USB Wi-Fi adapter, install Windows XP and enable Internet Connection Sharing (couldn’t get bridge mode to work sadly due to old network adapters for those who are interested in why I didn’t do it properly). Place the old laptop in a location where the Wi-Fi signal is pretty decent and hang the Wi-Fi adapter in the window:
Step 2: Hide the laptop in a convenient looking cupboard on wheels and plug a very long network cable in to the network port:
Step 3: Trail the cable out the window and all along the side of the building, cross the fence to the building you are actually staying in:
Step 4: Take an old wireless-capable ADSL modem/router and disable everything but the Wi-Fi functionality, plug it in and connect to the new access-point from your laptop and bingo!
Now that’s what I call a Setup, great thinking.