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How do you get on the internet

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Chris88

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
54
0
Hi I am thinking about getting a Macbook my first. I did a search and found a lot of info but not really what I am looking for. I would like to get on the internet while on the road what would I have to get are what would be the best way to do that. I have a laptop that I use an aircard from Verizon. This is the only thing that I need to find out about before I buy the Macbook.

Thanks Chris
 
Ninja Guidan said:
Unless he can use a cell phone via USB, he can't with a MacBook since there's no slots for any cards. Only with a MacBook Pro.
Click to expand...

Ok so the macbook pro has slots for cards. I guess there is no way I can use my air card for both. I would like to get a mac but this is the only sticking point.
 
AT&T and Verizon offer USB cards that work with Windows and OS X. If you want a Macbook you could try looking at them.

Question: is your current aircard a PC Card or ExpressCard? The MacBook Pro only has and 34mm ExpressCard slot and its not compatible with the older PC Cards, so you may have to get a new card anyway.
 
TDM21 said:
AT&T and Verizon offer USB cards that work with Windows and OS X. If you want a Macbook you could try looking at them.

Question: is your current aircard a PC Card or ExpressCard? The MacBook Pro only has and 34mm ExpressCard slot and its not compatible with the older PC Cards, so you may have to get a new card anyway.
Click to expand...

It's a pc card and I have Verizon. I was looking on Verizon and some of the air cards say system requirements are Microsoft Windows 2000, XP and Vista
- Mac OS X 10.3.9 so I guess I am going to have to call Verizon (boy I hate that). But on the other hand if the Macbooks don't take the pc card I don't know.
 
You could get a Bluetooth phone capable of tethering, which means the MacBook could connect to the phone's mobile internet through Bluetooth.
 
Chris88 said:
Yep that was one thing I was thinking about
Click to expand...

Especially if you can find a phone that does EV-DO and BT2 / EDR, it might not be bad at all... and you won't have to plug anything into your notebook -- just have it available nearby (i.e. in your bag or pocket). However, I'm not sure how completely Verizon has discontinued its practice of disabling features like this on their phones. So you'll probably want to search for an example of someone doing this with the phone in question and verizon before you take the plunge.
 
mkrishnan said:
However, I'm not sure how completely Verizon has discontinued its practice of disabling features like this on their phones. So you'll probably want to search for an example of someone doing this with the phone in question and verizon before you take the plunge.
Click to expand...

Verizon still disables a number of Bluetooth-related features on their phones, including OBEX profiles and such. Verizon claims that this is for "network security," but it's most likely to prevent people from offloading photos or other content instead of being charged to send them through Verizon's network.

Verizon does have a data plan for tethering to a computer, but it's only through a USB connection kit.

Edit:

It does seem as if Verizon allows for Bluetooth dial up networking on certain phones. See here: http://support.vzw.com/pdf/BT_Chart_Handsets.pdf

When I purchased my phone (Motorola e815), all Bluetooth profiles except for the headset profile were disabled. I remember seeing various people completing seem edits on the phone's firmware with great success, showing that Verizon had artificially crippled the phone's Bluetooth capabilities.
 
I have the Q from Verizon and it has the personal network I migth try. I still need to call them.
Oh by the way I just got back from buying a Macbook this is my first mac
 
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