I WANt My MacBook!
November 17, 2006 11:45 AM   Subscribe

Asking for my boss: Do MacBooks play nice with WAN?

He's ordering the office MacBooks, including one for himself. The one thing he absolutely wants is WAN connectivity...in addition to traditional LAN/WiFi that you can get anywhere, he often goes where the Internets aren't, and would like to use Verizon's WAN service to connect at hotels, etc, instead of purchasing service a la carte. Do MacBooks come with WAN connectivity or is there a quick and easy plugin hardware?

Googlefu is failing me, mostly because "WAN" is an awful lot like "want" and I can't seem to properly filter the results because i have no idea what I'm talking about.
posted by sjuhawk31 to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)
 
Best answer: Yep. All you need is the modem script for the phone. I have it working via bluetooth with my Motorola Razr on t-Mobile. Then you set it up in Internet Connect as a PPP service.

Try googling via the phone model and whatever verizon's service is actually named.

Don't forget that MacBooks don't have PCMCIA slots if it's a PCMCIA cart.
posted by SpecialK at 11:49 AM on November 17, 2006


*card
posted by SpecialK at 11:50 AM on November 17, 2006


Response by poster: Outstanding! Love the hive mind.
posted by sjuhawk31 at 11:54 AM on November 17, 2006


MB Pros come with ExpressCard slots. I have no idea if these are compatable with PCMCIA.

Every rinky-dink hotel I've been to in the past few years has had free WiFi, though.
posted by yesno at 12:12 PM on November 17, 2006


I'm a little confused by 'WAN'. Does he use a EVDO card to access something like Verizon's BroadbandAccess? I believe there are USB adapters out for that, and ExpressCard adapters should be released soon as well.
posted by dcjd at 12:15 PM on November 17, 2006


ExpressCard is not the same as PCMCIA. And, the MacBook doesn't have an ExpressCard slot. Only the MacBook Pros have one.

It looks like Verizon has an ExpressCard option.
posted by bshort at 12:15 PM on November 17, 2006


Well, it's possible in Sweeden (with the Pro only, as others have noted): Installing an HSDPA ExpressCard on MacBook Pro.
posted by Doctor Barnett at 12:39 PM on November 17, 2006


dcjd: Yeah, you can do GPRS (which is what I do with T-Mobile) or EVDO if your phone supports it.

Check to make sure your phone supports it Not all do!
posted by SpecialK at 1:09 PM on November 17, 2006


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