[Marc P.]

In a pinch, you could get at least 2 computers running through the same cable. Ethernet connections require a minimum of 4 conductors to operate, two for transmitting, two for receiving. Category 5 cable is composed of 8 conductors, with pairs of blue, brown, green, and orange cable inside. It's possible to crimp one connector on one set of pairs, and another connector on the other set of pairs, provided there are two matching connectors on the other end of the cable, and each are crimped appropriately. Basically it turns a single cat5 cable into a double cat5 cable, assuming both destinations are close enough where you wouldn't have to separate the cable too much. There may be adapters out there to do this, most but the limit would be two computers, and that's assuming you have two open connections where the cable originates (presumably a router). Crosstalk might become an issue on longer runs though, so it's sort of hit or miss.

Keeping in mind you would need two sets of these connectors (one for each side), plus the cost of patch cables, I'd be willing to wager the price of the connectors would get you most of the way to a cheap hub/switch anyway (roughly $20-25 for a decent 5 port switch, hubs are even cheaper). The switch would serve as a much better device anyway- you would only need one port coming off the router (or source) rather than two with the adapters, you wouldn't have to worry about crosstalk in the cable, and you'd have the capacity to plug in 4 computers (5 ports, one used as uplink = 4 available ports) over 2, and a switch would be more portable if you wanted to set up a quick LAN at those late night meetings or hotel rooms.