USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook

In article <0001HW.C3EAE2C200335576F02066D8.RemoveThis@newsgroups.comcast.net>,
J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to.RemoveThis@but.see.sig> wrote:

> On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:31:58 -0500, OldCSMAer wrote
> (in article <OldDog-759AC2.08315827022008.RemoveThis@news.cha.sbcglobal.net>):
>
> > Wondering if anyone here has tried one of those USB wireless broadband
> > adapters on the Mac. (Sold by Sprint, Nextel, etc.) I just picked up a
> > new MacBook and don't feel like pulling out the plastic every time I
> > stop at Starbucks. :)
> >
> > Bob S
>
> They work. They're not as fast as the telcos say they are, but not as slow as
> I feared. (The Verizon one, anyway.) They'll cost you about $2 a day. How
> much coffee do you drink?

Thanks for the info. The Starbucks crack was (mostly) a joke. I have
to use the laptop away from the office, and it's a pain to find a
library, Panera Bread, or Starbucks for internet access.

Are you more or less happy with Verizon?

Bob S
 >> Stay informed about: USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook 

OldCSMAer <OldDog RemoveThis @NOSPAM.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the info. The Starbucks crack was (mostly) a joke. I have
> to use the laptop away from the office, and it's a pain to find a
> library, Panera Bread, or Starbucks for internet access.

As odd as it sounds, many Taco Bells in my area (Jacksonville, FL) have
free WiFi. I can't imagine wanting to take a laptop near all that
grease, though.

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 >> Stay informed about: USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook 

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 >> Stay informed about: USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook 

In article <OldDog-F3758E.11175127022008.RemoveThis@news.cha.sbcglobal.net>,
OldCSMAer <OldDog.RemoveThis@NOSPAM.com> wrote:

>
> Thanks for the info. The Starbucks crack was (mostly) a joke. I have
> to use the laptop away from the office, and it's a pain to find a
> library, Panera Bread, or Starbucks for internet access.
>

iPass is a flat-rate subscription service that has negotiated access
rights to some huge number (~100,000?) of WiFi hot spots around the
world in hotels, airports, conference centers, European train stations,
similar public spaces, and in chains like MacDonalds, Starbucks, etc.
You find local hot spots using a database they download to your laptop,
and connect to the Internet through their software using a password.

iPass sells both individual subscriptions and bulk subscriptions for
large firms and organizations to pass on to employees or staff. My
account through a university bulk subscription costs $20/month. I had
quite good luck with it in various US cities and Western European
locations on a couple of extended trips last year. It is, however,
limited to their (extensive) list of fixed hotspots rather than being a
mobile or cellphone-style means of access.

I'm wondering if others are also using it -- or know of any major
competitors to it?
 >> Stay informed about: USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook 

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:17:51 -0500, OldCSMAer wrote
(in article <OldDog-F3758E.11175127022008.DeleteThis@news.cha.sbcglobal.net>):

> In article <0001HW.C3EAE2C200335576F02066D8.DeleteThis@newsgroups.comcast.net>,
> J.J. O'Shea <try.not.to.DeleteThis@but.see.sig> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:31:58 -0500, OldCSMAer wrote
>> (in article <OldDog-759AC2.08315827022008.DeleteThis@news.cha.sbcglobal.net>):
>>
>>> Wondering if anyone here has tried one of those USB wireless broadband
>>> adapters on the Mac. (Sold by Sprint, Nextel, etc.) I just picked up a
>>> new MacBook and don't feel like pulling out the plastic every time I
>>> stop at Starbucks. :)
>>>
>>> Bob S
>>
>> They work. They're not as fast as the telcos say they are, but not as slow
>> as
>> I feared. (The Verizon one, anyway.) They'll cost you about $2 a day. How
>> much coffee do you drink?
>
> Thanks for the info. The Starbucks crack was (mostly) a joke. I have
> to use the laptop away from the office, and it's a pain to find a
> library, Panera Bread, or Starbucks for internet access.
>
> Are you more or less happy with Verizon?

They're a telco. It could be worse. It could be Sprint.


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 >> Stay informed about: USB Broadband Adapter on a MacBook