Ethernet? In 2018? Yes. Maybe you work in an office without Wi-Fi. Perhaps you need to connect your Mac and iPad together directly with a cable for super-fast file transfers. Or maybe you just want the most reliable network connection possible — when recording a podcast, for example.

Whatever the reason, Wi-Fi hasn’t completely ousted Ethernet yet. And using Ethernet on your iPad is easy. If you’re hooking up an old Lightning iPad, it’s pretty easy. If you’re connecting a new USB-C iPad Pro, it’s dead easy.

Don’t be jealous of the 10Gbps Ethernet port in the iMac Pro. OWC introduced an adapter for your MacBook’s Thunderbolt 3 port to connect to networks at the same massive speeds.

Just be warned, the OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter isn’t an accessory for the casual user. It’ll set you back $187.99.

Apple’s plan to dominate the 4K TV streaming market is up against some tough competition from the top company in the game.

Fresh off its IPO, Roku revealed its brand new lineup of streaming dongles today and while they may not pack as much processing power as the new Apple TV 4K, they have one killer feature that will lure in tons of buyers: a cheap price tag.

You know how the Lightning cable that plugs into your iDevice has a USB plug on the other end? That’s because the Lightning port is a kind of fancy USB port itself. You already know that you can in plug a keyboard, or an audio interface, or a camera, using Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera Adapter. But did you know that you can plug in all of those at once? That’s right — by using a powered USB hub, you can hook up as many accessories as you like to your iPad at once. If you ever use your iPad to work at your desk, with a keyboard, then you can use this tip to build your own iPad docking station.

iPads are made to go online with Wi-Fi, but what happens when the wireless goes down and all you have is an Ethernet connection to the internet?

With a couple of Apple dongles and a powered USB hub, you can easily use Ethernet to get online with your iPad, no Wi-Fi required.

Here’s how.

Did your Mac’s Ethernet port mysteriously stop working recently? If so, you could have fallen afoul of a nasty bug that was introduced in a recent OS X security update. Here’s how to fix it.

So far this week, we’ve spent time hacking our Macs via the Terminal, the best darn behind-the-scenes app you can find in Mac OS X. We’ve talked about tweaking the Finder, the user interface, security and privacy, and the Dashboard.

Today, let’s look at a few of the newer features of the OS X world, and how to make them work on older, unsupported Macs using some Terminal magic.

Kanex’s new DualRole will be pretty much essential for hotel-hopping MacBook Air owners the world over. It’s a little pocket-sized box which hooks up to the MacBook’s USB 3.0 port and turns it into three ports plus an Ethernet jack.

Yes, it costs $70, but you can expense that, right?

A USB 2.0 Ethernet adapter is a pitiful thing, an ugly workaround only really useful when you find yourself in a Wi-Fi-free hotel room with only your MacBook Air for company.

A USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter, on the other hand, is every bit as good as having a real 10/1000 network connector hole in the side of your machine.

Not to beat up on AirDrop or anything, but not all Macs can use the zero-configuration file sharing technology from Apple. In order to use AirDrop, you must have a a newer Mac, like a MacBook Pro from 2008 or later, a MacBook Air from 2010 or later, or a Mac Mini from mid 2010 or later (full list below)

Luckily, if you can connect your older Mac to an Ethernet cable and network, you can enable AirDrop on an older Mac. Here’s how.