ibook/internet

Are you debating between a portable or a desktop? The internet speed depends on what type of ISp service you choose. Teh iBook will take a dial up service thru teh modem or a dsl/cable connection thru the ethernet. If you have the Airport Extreme card you will be able to pick up wireless interent conenctions...

Andr_w said:

Should I get an ibook?

I live in Texas and I am going to live in Germany for a year. In a tiny little german town where there probably wont be a lot of internet cafes. I need a fast, reliable internet connection to use there. I'd rather not assume the folks I'm boarding will want me to use their connection all the time. Plus, I want to travel with it. What should I do????

thanks.

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Why don't you look up the town you will be staying in and see if there are any cyber cafes or high-speed ISP companies that support your area.

You should try to research this--if the people you are boarding with have only one phone line and do not have a high-speed connection, I doubt you will be able to connect to the internet at all.

An iBook would be great if you want to do some travelling - portability is good.

You are right though. There's unlikely to be many internet cafes and there probably won't be many (if any) wireless hotspots - in general Europe is way behind the US in this respect (certainly the UK!).

If you're staying with a family they are likely to have internet of some kind but it depends on how often you may be able to use it. You could always go a year without the internet - could be good for you!

grab an ibook with airport card, and a netgear wireless router.

share their signal wirelessly to yourself... that way you aren't "hogging" the internet access (except for bandwidth)

I respectfully beg to differ, johnny. I found wireless in many more hotspots in the UK and the continent (especially France and Germany) by far than I did in the US (granted, perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough). Having said that, they were more expensive, but that's a matter of degree.

But given that andr_w seems to be going to a small German village, perhaps you're right - unlikely there'll be hotspots there, but still a good chance you'll find an internet cafe somewhere - you'll be surprised. Having said that, I agree with the ISP/dialup idea. You will love taking the iBook with you - I did the same with my Powerbook. Can't recommend it enough, really enhances the experience and is a source of information and storage that allows you to do much more than you would otherwise be able whilst travelling. Enjoy!