<p>Are there more than 2 ethernet ports in the dorms, specifically park? Because I know to connect an xbox it has to be wired and I assume 2 of the ports will be taken up by laptops.</p>
<p>No there’s two in a double. Xboxes can be wireless (they just need to be plugged in once to be able to use wustl wireless - although you have to use guestwufi to connect online, it’s generally a better connection to plug in directly). Laptops also have wireless. You can also use a cheap router to connect to multiple devices – but note you are not allowed a wireless router or your own wireless network.</p>
<p>Or simply unplug your laptop when you want to play 360.</p>
<p>Just buy a switch. Problem solved.</p>
<p>Or don’t buy anything, and just use wireless.</p>
<p>According to the latest SU email sent out, they upgraded the wireless system over the summer. So the issues from the past year should (hopefully) be gone.</p>
<p>Of course I would prefer wireless for the laptops but i heard the coverage in the dorms is spotty so i was assuming i would be plugged in most of the time. i did see that article about the better coverage and increased bandwidth, hopefully it will be better. did you guys go wireless on your laptops and did it work okay?</p>
<p>I used my ethernet cord maybe twice in my entire time in the dorms, and they were both in the beginning of freshman year before I hooked up wireless through STS.</p>
<p>And this was when there were obnoxious wireless issues. 90% of what you will need/want internet for will be fine with the current setup. The other 10% was probably engineering computing I was trying to do with remote desktop, and it was easy enough to go to the cec to not deal with it.</p>
<p>The only real ‘issue’ that will probably be left is that streaming shows is a pain - but there’s nothing that can be done when you’ve got another 1000 people trying to do the same (megavideo doesn’t work obviously).</p>
<p>The wireless last year was fine 97% of the time…occasionally it would drop for a couple of minutes.</p>
<p>Last year the ethernet was quite a bit faster than the wireless, although both are probably sufficient for your needs. The speed of both will slow down throughout the year, perhaps as people get comfortable and start to torrent stuff. Overall I found the ethernet to be much more reliable, but hopefully this year’s wireless is on par with last year’s ethernet.</p>
<p>do people torrent alot and is the university strict about it?</p>
<p>Torrent speeds are severely throttled to 1-2 kb/sec. Yes, the university is strict about it. If X company reports your ISP Wash U will withold your name at first (which I suppose is lenient). Future incidents will results in fines, permanent loss of internet access, and disciplinary hearings.</p>
<p>There was a big incident in 2005 I think where a bunch of people got reported by the MPAA and since then the university has been pretty strict. They’ll send out several emails during the year when torrent activity is high. Trust me, the college knows what you’re doing. And before you say you’ve never been caught before, companies are alot more likely to go after colleges where hundreds of people are torrenting things vs a single household. </p>
<p>I don’t torrent at College. Do you really wnat to lose all of your internet access at college? Do you want to be fined, possibly suspended?
If you want to download movies or tv shows, etc. do it when you’re at home on breaks.</p>
<p>So as to whether people torrent alot - I firmly believe the answer is no at Wash U. People will always do it, but some people will be busted every year for it. If you want to throw the dice, it’s a decision you have to make.</p>