Six Ways to Get Online From Anywhere
We're all so accustomed to having Internet access in so many places--at home, at the office, at airports, at coffee shops--that it can be infuriating to travel and find yourself with low-speed service or none at all.
Mon, November 23, 2009
Macworld — We're all so accustomed to having Internet access in so many places--at home, at the office, at airports, at coffee shops--that it can be infuriating to travel and find yourself with low-speed service or none at all.
20 Crazy Things People Do to Get Wi-Fi Connections
Fortunately, there are six good ways to make sure you--and anyone traveling with you--can can access the Internet using your laptop's built-in wireless networking, even when you're nowhere near a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Note: Two of these options--cell phone tethering and using a 3G adapter--connect a laptop to the Net and then share that connection from the laptop.
To set up that sharing, first establish the Net connection to the laptop. Then open the Sharing preference pane (System Preferences -> Sharing) and select Internet Sharing. (Don't check its box yet.) From the Share Your Connection From drop-down menu, choose the active Internet connection. In the To Computers Using list, check the AirPort box. If you want to password-protect the connection you're sharing (an advisable thing to do), click AirPort Options and set it there. Finally, check the box next to Internet Sharing to turn sharing on. You may need to repeat these steps each time you enable the connection.
AirPort Express in a hotel room The AirPort Express ( Macworld rated 4 out of 5 mice ) is a portable powerhouse of a base station. In hotel rooms that have only wired Ethernet for Internet access, plugging an Express into that wired connection not only lets you work on your laptop from anywhere in the room; it also lets you share that connection with other devices that have Wi-Fi but no Ethernet (such as an iPhone) and with family members or colleagues. Apple says the AirPort Express can support up to ten simultaneous Wi-Fi connections. You may first need to connect your laptop via Ethernet to register or activate the room's connection, then plug in the AirPort Express. Make sure to activate WPA2 Personal encryption so your shared connection isn't accessible to just anyone.
Tethering with your cell phone Tethering services for cell phones let you turn the mobile device into a modem. The phone connects to the Net over a 2.5G or 3G network; you then connect your laptop to the phone via Bluetooth or USB--voila, you're online. You can then use your laptop as a base station to share that connection via Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the iPhone doesn't yet offer tethering in the United States; AT&T promises that it's coming. If you're using another phone, check with your cell provider. Some phones may let you tether, but the provider might slap expensive transfer fees on top of whatever data plan you already pay for.
