Wiring Dial up to a Mac

[Tonic Please]

My girlfriend is going to be getting a Mac soon, and she wants the internet on it. It will be in her room, and wants to know how the wiring will be fitted. Not directly to the back of the computer, but througout the house. The house is 4 stories high. She wants the NTL dial-up package, as it says it is 10 pounds. (a cheap one!)

Just asking the simple questions like will it take miles of cables, will it use the modem externally (are they internal on a Mac? I am only adapt on PCs).

Hope I have asked enough to get some helpful feedback :)

Smooth skies,
Dan.

[Lost_luggage34]

From my limited exposure to MACs, the modem is internal.

Not sure what you need to know about the cabling ? - just a standard modem cable into the nearest 'phone socket should do the trick.

Sounds like you may be in need of an extension socket wired off the master socket (usually the first socket on the incoming cable). You can buy kits to DIY but 4 stories is obviously quite a distance.

[WeatherJinx]

Lost_luggage34 is quite correct..

Macs connect to the internet in exactly the same way as other computers. All new macs come with internal 56k v.92 modems as standard.

So, she will be able to connect anywhere in the house where she is able to reach a phone point, which will involve either the standard modem lead direct into the phone socket, or via an extension (I have a brand-new 15m one on a nice, tidy wind-in reel for sale, PM me if you're interested) ;)

But, with broadband access now available for just a few pounds per month more than dialup, why doesn't she just take the plunge and get connected to the fast lane? I've just done it, and believe me it's well worth the slightly higher price.

Jx :cool:

P.S - I can also happily recommend my ISP, Zen (http:/www.zenadsl.com) - not the cheapest, but customer service and speeds are excellent.

[Tonic Please]

hey all....thanks for the replies. The reason she is not going super fast, or "in the fast lane" like many of us, is because she is only 17, not got a constant income quite yet, and just wants an internet connection. The speed isnt rele an issue, she just wants it cheap...(NOT like most things I might add :{ )

I thought they came internal to Macs, but i wasnt sure. Yea her room is on the 4th floor, and there are no phone lines up there, so she was saying her parents wont really be too impressed with a 20 meter cable running from floor 4 to the bottom ones. Fait enough (although I said trun it under the carpet, but I wasnt going to argue :rolleyes: ;) )

Thanks for the replies, I shall let her read this if I give her the address.

Re: the for sale extension cable. I personally might be interested in that. We have the normal 2 floors, and the phone line is downstairs. I have a chordless phone setup in my room, and the wire needs to fit into an extension cable to run down the stairs into the socket in the wall. My kind father gave it to his dad, so I have to take the chordless downstairs. Dont ask me why they dont just have a chordless downstairs. Im working on them to understand the logic, but until then, I would be interested in purchasing such a product :)

Smooth skies,

Dan :ok:

[Gnocchi]

hmmm... 17...girl...okay it might not be speed...but i think broadband will be a great advantage in terms of connection time and with that money.

Mac's work perfectly wireless with airport. Check: http://www.apple.com/airport/

As a matter of fact i'm sitting on my balcony with my Powerbook G3 laptop right now!

just a tought,

Gnocchi

[WeatherJinx]

Gnocchi

Good point about Airport, but like the guy said his gf's young and therefore, like most 17-yr olds, probably a member of the 'permanently skint' club! Where's she going to find the money for a base station? :eek:

Tonic Please

Email/PM me re. the telecom extension reel, and I'll send you my contact details (I see you're in London, so it shouldn't be to dificult to arrange to pick it up).

I don't want much for it - I've only had it a couple of weeks (it became redundant kit when I got the ADSL connection). I think it was about £12.99 or something originally.

Hope it all works out..

Jx :cool:

[Tonic Please]

Thanks all. Yes she wont be able to afford the base station. We looked on the apple website today, and as I understood it, there is something else you have to buy...some card? That was 70 odd quid, and the base station airport thing was 189...Thanks for the information though! Useful to know to tell other people about it.

I'll PM you about the extension now.

Dan

[planecrazi]

There are cheaper base stations that a Mac can use. I believe you don't have to buy an airport base station, but I think broadband is best and get a long enough ethernet cable into the Mac as opposed to a slow modem connection if you can. Just plug in, start up and go with a Mac.:ok: